I see pretty much everyone dropped their Hensoldt lines here in the U.S.. Was that Hensoldt doing that, or were they just crappy sellers? Are they gone forever?
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View thread Contact supportOh wow, dam. I wonder if it was their prices that did that.I was told: North American sales were weak and then Safran bought them and re-prioritized commercial sales. Not sure how accurate that is though (could just be range FUDD)
Yea, that's kind of what I meant; their prices were too high for what you were getting. Because all the rest of the other expensive guys kinda blossomed here. What confused me was where else were you going to sell super high end tactical rifle scopes, when we;re really the only country doing it lol. I guess they couldn't understand the "make it up in volume" kind of thing. Too bad cuz I really liked them.Crazy prices haven't affected Tangent Theta too much, but the problem with Hensoldt when it started that broad exporting to North America around 2012(?) was that in a lot of ways their scopes were kind of dated when it came to features. The glass quality was still top tier, and the ZF 3.5-26x was best in class for a while with that magnification range and elevation range, but it was way out of the comparable price range at the time (and still is, even though it's discontinued I think). But quickly over time other scope companies released optics with similar features for quite a bit less, so it's no surprise that that their traditional line wasn't selling (high cost, old features) and their top tier optic was really not selling on the commercial side.
I'm pretty sure you can buy those, they just come with slightly different knurling, engraving, and they say Minox on them.Sad they never made good on their 1-8 lpvo
I used my friend’s Hensoldt 3-12x56 FF in 2008 when my partner and I placed 2nd in the multi-day FinnSniper competition, which was great.
That was an excellent 3-12x in the late 2000s, 16 years ago.
Back when I could run fast.
This was before GAP did the GAP-10 series. I sent George my receivers, BCG, barrel extension, FCG, JP handguard, RET, buffer, spring, and other small parts and asked him to do a nice pipe, profile, and reliability/accuracy build. He used an Obermeyer pipe, fluted it, and that rifle shoots lights-out. I later did them same thing for .260 Rem, which he used a Bartlein for, which is also a laser.That is awesome. Few questions; GA precision was making rifles that long ago? lol. And secondly, your unit had GA precision AR's?
Observer-Controller
Not to mention that it was only available in CW elevation adjust and had a terrible reticle. I would have bought one had it been CCW and had a more modern reticle.Crazy prices haven't affected Tangent Theta too much, but the problem with Hensoldt when it started that broad exporting to North America around 2012(?) was that in a lot of ways their scopes were kind of dated when it came to features. The glass quality was still top tier, and the ZF 3.5-26x was best in class for a while with that magnification range and elevation range, but it was way out of the comparable price range at the time (and still is, even though it's discontinued I think). But quickly over time other scope companies released optics with similar features for quite a bit less, so it's no surprise that that their traditional line wasn't selling (high cost, old features) and their top tier optic was really not selling on the commercial side.
100%Fundamentally, Hensoldt never really cared about the commercial market and never put any effort into making those scopes optimized for that. Zeiss sold Hensoldt to Airbus, which later spun off as Cassisdian. Now, Hensoldt is a standalone sensing company. With every one of those transitions, they got yet another step away from caring about the civilian world.
At this stage, day optics are an infinitesimally small part of what Hensoldt does.
Another 100%In theory, they could go back into the riflescope world, but unless there is a lucrative government world to go after, it is hard to imagine them doing it.
The competition is very strong. Contract values are trivial for Hensoldt compared to the sensing world.
My bet is they never will. The fan boys will need to adjust.The name is iconic in the riflescope world, so if they wanted to re-enter the market, they could. However, that would require someone high up to champion it internally
For Erna as an OC, you wore a cloth shoulder brassard to denote you from participating teams.But did you still wear the white engineer tape on your helmet?
Are in you the Guard in NJ? I’m trying to think how many FinnSnipers and Häyhä competitions I did.Awesome report. Going back for the 5th time this year myself. Never did place higher than 10th though, back when there were 35 teams and many international ones. After covid the competition took a big hit with regards to international teams applying. Last year our team was the only international team.
They kinda have. I only know one, a former sniper. He now likes his Nightforce stuff and Leupold.100%
Another 100%
My bet is they never will. The fan boys will need to adjust.
In Finland in the dead of winter, we were watching constellations and planets translate through the FOV using the Mil reticle to calculate the earth’s rotation. Amazing spotting scopes in terms of glass quality, FOV, and resolution. We were out hunting those little deer they have that look like puppies compared to our mulies here in the Mountain West US, but it was still a great time.I've had my Spotter 60 for ten years and I'm a zealot for it.
That spotter has been all over the country with me and I’ve loved every second of it. It has been amazing at every scenario and match I’ve put it through. Trace is remarkable and honestly that spotter allowed my buddy and I to see hits at 600 yds on a swinger rack at the local range with Vudoo .22’s and center X lot tested ammo. Ilya knows this range very well. The impacts were impressively small and the plate hardly moved but the Spotter 60 allowed me to see it and I’ve got the video somewhere.Hensoldt Spotter is an excellent spotter for shooters. In terms of pure image quality, the best from Howa and Swaro are better. However, Hensoldt, whether in the Spotter 60 or Spotter 45 guise, is still very good optically and has really large depth of field. For scanning and for watching bullet trace, depth of field is a huge advatnage. Unfortunately, Hensoldt spotter are not really available any more. Sector's upcoming S1 spotter is a similar design-wise with a few additional tricks up its sleeve.
Still, I was very sorry to see Hensoldt's spotters pulled from the US market.
Years ago, I convinced @Covertnoob5 to buy one and he has not regretted it (his wallet hates me though).
ILya
I am not afraid of your wallet. You should see the hate mail I get from wives and girlfriends when I talk people into buying Tangents. There is a reason I maintain two fake addresses... (oh, and you should spend some time with the new 7-35x56 Tangent. I had it side by side with the 8-40x ZCO and this will not score me any points with your wallet).That spotter has been all over the country with me and I’ve loved every second of it. It has been amazing at every scenario and match I’ve put it through. Trace is remarkable and honestly that spotter allowed my buddy and I to see hits at 600 yds on a swinger rack at the local range with Vudoo .22’s and center X lot tested ammo. Ilya knows this range very well. The impacts were impressively small and the plate hardly moved but the Spotter 60 allowed me to see it and I’ve got the video somewhere.
My wallet still hates you….
Dearest ILya,I suspect my opinion might be a little unpopular, but optically Hensoldt was always a little overrated.
I tested several of them over the years. 3-12x56 and 4-16x56 were quite good, but not the best. The eyepieces were excellent. Turrets tracked but the feel was subpar. Reticles were very outdated. Optically, they were midpack for the category. 6-24x72 was unique and I was sorry to see it go, but Hensodlt never released it in FFP aside from the ridiculously priced SAM version. In low light, the 6-24x72 was exceptional, but SFP was a turn off. These were all designed when they were a part of Zeiss.
Then, they made 3.5-26x56 for particularly military tender. Optically, it was always subpar starting with the first prototype onward. Final version was OK, but not close to the best. Turret feel was always crap with minor improvements toward the end.
To be fair, Hensoldt always tried to make a short scope with a large objective, which is like starting with a handicap.
Fundamentally, Hensoldt never really cared about the commercial market and never put any effort into making those scopes optimized for that. Zeiss sold Hensoldt to Airbus, which later spun off as Cassisdian. Now, Hensoldt is a standalone sensing company. With every one of those transitions, they got yet another step away from caring about the civilian world.
At this stage, day optics are an infinitesimally small part of what Hensoldt does. In theory, they could go back into the riflescope world, but unless there is a lucrative government world to go after, it is hard to imagine them doing it.
The competition is very strong. Contract values are trivial for Hensoldt compared to the sensing world.
When they wanted to bid on an LPVO contract, they took GSO's design, rather than try to develop one internally.
Hensodlt has an office in the US to deal with the military stuff. The name is iconic in the riflescope world, so if they wanted to re-enter the market, they could. However, that would require someone high up to champion it internally.
ILya
That one scope was amazeballs - nothing else like it since.I have a friend with the 6-24x72 and he easily gets an extra few minutes of shooting light, compared to scopes of a lesser Hubble-like size.
I have looked at a couple of 3-12x56 scopes, one FFP and one SFP. Wasn't yours the SFP one?Dearest ILya,
You shut your mouth...
I think it might have been my 3-12 you tested in the long-long-ago... and I still love that scope. For a hunting rifle, it is awesome, easiest scope I have to get behind, low light performance is great, and I don't need a complex reticle - I been trained...
For many applications, it is not near the top of the list - and I do worry what happens if it breaks, I don't know where or to whom it goes for that (Hudisco was my last experience in that regard, and it was not a good one.)
I have a friend with the 6-24x72 and he easily gets an extra few minutes of shooting light, compared to scopes of a lesser Hubble-like size.
In the end, Hensoldt was a very good optic that flamed out due to corporate decisions. I still love mine, but would not buy a new or recommend one (unless you find a used 6-24x72 for a decent price - get that for sure...)
Warmest regards...
Just an FYI, but Chad at LRI is making rails for those that need them, and can't get them anymore from Hendsoldt.Just expensive, Euro Optics used to sell them, they had several for a while,
I know I recently got rails from them