Can anyone tell me what this scope is?

[Yarf]

Hi

I bought this scope in with a whole job lot a while back. It has the same post setup as a DOW ZF-4. This scope is marked DOW+ and it has the word ANTIREFLEX on the side in english (well I guess that's english). I expect this is a post-war commercial scope. But if so, why does it have a DOW+ marking on it?

Thanks for your help, Geof

 

[mauser99]

odd scope. The DOW looks larger than what I have seen on other war time Dow scopes. But, remember after the war was over things were getting back to normal and was business as usual. Not uncommon for manufactures to use up wartime parts In the post war era. Not sure if this is what you have or not ??? Others more knowledgeable should know for sure. Dkl was another that used wartime tubes and had commercial markings as well.

 

[John Strunk]

This scope look's remarkably like a Czech Lovec. I believe that the Czech factory which produced the Lovec was given the DOW code by the German's during the war.

 

[agalland]

This scope look's remarkably like a Czech Lovec..

Agree....I thought the exact same thing when i saw it @ first.

 

[Yarf]

Okay, I thought it was Czech, good to have a lead on the model. So if I take the dow+ mark as being due to leftover wartime parts and the lack of a serial and the English anti reflex word, then I have an immediate postwar built for export? Is that consensus? Zero chance of being wartime I guess? What year did they adopt the dow code? Was that after the start of the war? I was considering whether it could be a post Munich but prewar but that depends on when those codes were adopted. No serial and no WaA precludes any German use but the dow code is confusing.

 

[Dave Roberts]

Here is 3 pics of a Post Lovec Scope War very similar to Yours in question . IMHO the dow marking are fake . The dow Code was given to Opticotechnica GmbH, Prerau/Prot , not Lovec . Lovec Scopes were used by the Germans on Sauer Sniper Rifles 2 of which were SSR and HT Rifles .

 

[Amberg]

The Lovec (= hunter) scope was made by Srb A Stys, Praha (Prague). After the German occupation, the inscription changed to: Srb & Stys, Prag. Later the code bmk was assigned.
For a short history of the company see:
http://www.binoculars-cinecollectors.com/html/body_unusual_page_8.html#bmk

 

[Nigromontanus]

I also think the marking is a fake.

 

[vaughn99]

Hello,

The scope has had the Meopta or Srb Stys markings removed in front of the Focus ring. The DOW+ are completely fake as this model was never made by Optikotechna pre WWII ONLY post WWII under the Meopta name. This Model of Lovec was ONLY made by Srb Stys pre war and post war. Srb Stys was it own company privately owned till government take over and merged with Optiktotechna/Meopta in 1948/49 roughly. the scope is post war as both of the lens screws in the front and rear are steel they were brass pre-war and a new version for the sniper used to install a sunshade was made of a different material. the ANTIREFLEX is only seen on scopes post war. Of all my examples observed only 1 was Srb Stys marked the other 28 example were Meopta marked scope so more than likely you have a MEOPTA scrubbed scope body some one tried to pass off as a WWII sniper scope. value would be about 175-200 on its best day for parts these don't bring much on post war scopes. the scope parts are not interchangeable pre war vs, post war and Srb vs. Meopta as I ran into this with a fellow board member trying to fix his scope using a couple scope donors. I have Optikotechna/Meopta in business in 1933, Srb Stys 1919 but I do need more info about these companies as it is very scarce.

later
vaughn