EVEN BETTER THAN YOU THINK?

Description:

John Dunn ('Top Shots' P14 'Australian Shooter' July 2026) gave a good, long answer about Mr Maw's rifle but didn't get to the scope - so I will:

Yes, Joseph, the Kowa Prominar 4x was/is an excellent scope, probably the best-value model retailed in the mid-1960s. One of the last Japanese reticle-movement scopes, it was also sold as the Bushnell Scopechief for a number of years.

Though half the price of the Nickel Supra and about two-thirds that of the Pecar and Kahles equivalents, it was recommended by serious gunwriters like Colin Shadbolt. A well-known 21stC scope reviewer has told me it is still one of his favourites and that he only puts that Kowa and other fixed-powers made before 1971 on his many personal rifles.

Like Pecar and the Unertl family, Kowa must have decided it would rather go out of the scope business than put its name on the decadent image-movement models that took over. So, since those days we have seen only spotting scopes etc marketed under the Kowa brand.

Are Kowa riflescopes in good condition rare? They might be because many will have done yeoman service over many decades and that is likely to take some bark off. Also, my scope-reviewer mate now tells me he owns and uses eight Kowa riflescopes, so that's where some have gone.

Why are reticle-movement scopes still important when modern replacements are brighter and have many more features? Well, it all comes down to reliability. It's like having cash in your wallet for the day when your smart phone is not so smart and won't pay even for that coffee you just ordered.
- Samuel B. Mann

To get the big picture, read:
'LIGHT AT THE START OF THE TUNNEL - Are rifle scopes off the rails?'
Still $20 plus postage, now $5. It still comes with 24 pages of extra information emailed (or printed and inserted - $35-45)