Heads up on WEAVER CLASSIC EXTREME

Just an FYI for anyone looking at these

I have been looking the Weaver Classic Extreme since I noticed them on Natchez. I have several Weavers and am 100% happy with all of them so far, but they are all the upper end Weavers. (Ill admit to not having a lot of rounds downrange with any of them but so far they track correctly and to my eyes are just as good as my Vari X III's)

I almost pulled the trigger on a 6-24-50 last weekend but "God" intervened and I had to put it off so I did a little more digging on them.

What I kept noticing was most of the reviews were OLD. I finally ran across a post from a guy saying these were not the same scopes that were discontinued. He stated the old ones were made in Japan at LOW IIRC and the new ones were made in the Philippines and the glass was not as good.

So today I spent about 10 min on the phone with a really nice guy in weavers tech support.....

Turns out he was 100% correct. I was told the scopes currently being sold by Natchez are not closeout at all, in fact they are brand new scopes in the distribution line that are not built the same as the old ones and they are right off the boat sent directly to Natchez. They come from the same factory as the old 40/44 IIRC is what he said. And the glass is not the same as the old ones that came from Japan. He also stated he didnt know why they are running them as closeouts because they are newly manufactured and NOT closeout. (I think “I” Know why they are doing it) They do have a lifetime warranty.

Seems disingenuous to me on Natchez part and personally I think its not to good on Weavers to allow it. I don't think they should have kept the name the same.

They may still be a great scope, I don't know, but I think everyone deserves a heads up that you are not buying a Grand Slam / Super Slam level scope at a great price like they are implying.

I've don't business with Natchez for a long time and have always been pleased but from now on I will be VERY careful when I buy.

Just FYI

Larry

I have 2 of these scopes that I purchased from Natchez. There is nothing on the boxes or scopes as to where they are mfg'd,so I don't know.
I also have a Weaver Super Slam,and the Classic Extreme's glass is every bit as clear and bright as the Super Slam,so I'd say the glass is definitely Japan.The scopes quality,IMO,is just as good as the Super Slam and I have been very pleased with both of the one's I purchased.

If Natchez Shooters Supply is being untruthful in their advertising,and Weaver is also allowing them to post their products as a "Closeout" when they are in fact a newly produced product,both companies are opening themselves up to False Advertisement lawsuits as well as Mail fraud since they are a mail order company. I just don't see both of those companies being that stupid,but you never know!

I have several higher end scopes-Swarovski/Zeiss/Sightron SIII,and the glass in the Classic Extreme's that I have will run right with most of them.

The Originals WERE Japan glass

Call Weaver, they were pretty straightforward about it, no...." uh well uh uhm"

I think Weavers way of weaseling is "we dont know why they call them closeouts"

as to Natchez youll notice in the current adds there is nothing saying where the scopes are made.

It's a new trick they are pulling and the scope makers are in on it too. A seller will want more of a discontinued scope so the maker agrees to build them a run but they have to buy the whole production run. And they can build them cheaper, instead of being made in Japan they move the production to the Philippines, I was told LOW runs both lines. The two examples I know of is the Weaver Classic Extreme and the Vortex Viper. Natchez sold a ton of the closeout WCEs, they were the best scope bargain of the decade, and people wanted more. One of the big retailers wanted the old style Vortex Vipers, so Vortex made the deal but supposedly at the last minute realized they were going to have to warranty them. I have a made in Japan 2.5-10X56 WCE, when these first came out they carried a MSRP of almost $1k. I flat love this scope and if it wasn't for the close-out price I wouldn't have bought it. But if it fails and Weaver has to replace it the only thing I'm going to settle for is a Super Slam Euro.

Burris did this awhile ago too. Some folks bought their tactical scopes when their website still advertised them as being from America. However his was made in the Philippines I believe. Burris refused to refund or exchange despite the false advertising. The Made in the USA is now off their website though.

In my experience, if a company does not say EXPLICITLY where it is manufactured, or it is difficult to find out, its because it wasn't made anywhere they are proud of.