physics

Leupold & Stevens

Leupold & Stevens is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leupold & Stevens rather than just read about it. In short: Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is an American manufacturer of telescopic sights, red dot sights, binoculars, rangefinders, spotting scopes, and eyewear located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The company, started in 1907, is on its fifth generation of family ownership.

Key takeaways

Leupold & Stevens belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Leupold & Stevens to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Leupold & Stevens from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Leupold & Stevens, Inc. is an American manufacturer of telescopic sights, red dot sights, binoculars, rangefinders, spotting scopes, and eyewear located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. The company, started in 1907, is on its fifth generation of family ownership.

History

Leupold & Stevens was founded by the German immigrant Markus Friedrich (Fred) Leupold and his brother-in-law Adam Voelpel in 1907, under the name Leupold & Voelpel. At the time, the company specialized in the repair of survey equipment. In 1911, Leupold & Voelpel was contracted by John Cyprian (J.C.) Stevens to manufacture a water level recorder he had designed and patented. After the initial success of the product, he was made partner in 1914 and the company was renamed Leupold, Voelpel, and Co. Besides the first water level recorder, the company invented several other innovative pieces of equipment, such as the Telemark water recorder which was patented in 1939. This device could transmit water level information via telephone, allowing for remote monitoring of water resources to become feasible. In 1942, the company name was changed to its present form, Leupold & Stevens. Surveying equipment, rifle scopes, and related products are sold under the "Leupold" name, while water monitoring instrumentation, such as level and flow recorders, are marketed under the "Stevens" brand. After World War II Leupold & Stevens began making gun scopes after Marcus Leupold failed to hit a deer with his rifle. His scope fogged up and he is reported to have exclaimed "Hell! I could build a better scope than this!" as the deer bounded off. In 1962, Leupold invented the Duplex Reticle, which most riflescopes now use. By 1979, Leupold scopes were generating twice the total revenue of Stevens instruments. In 1969, the company acquired a majority interest in the company Nosler Bullets (also a family company), and then sold off their portion in 1988. Other ventures include Biamp Systems (1985–1986), makers of sound equipment, and Fabmark (1984–1990), a sheet metal fabrication division that serviced high technology companies. By 1996, the company had sales of $100 million. In 1998, the water monitoring portion of Leupold & Stevens was spun off into its own privately held Portland-based business, Stevens Water Monitoring Systems, inc., with Leupold & Stevens also retaining the "Stevens" name as part of their corporate identity. In 2002, Leupold & Stevens won a Wausau Insurance Gold Award for workplace safety at the company's factory. By 2006, the company employed 600 people at its Beaverton facility. The company is now in its fifth generation of ownership. In 2008, Leupold & Stevens purchased Redfield Optics along with its brand name and all intellectual property rights. In 2010, the company added almost 100 employees, bringing total employment to almost 700 by November of that year. In late 2010, a Portland Business Journal article gave the company's annual revenue as approximately $160 million, citing Reference.com for the estimate. A new chief executive, Bruce Pettet, was named in February 2014. The 2014 NRA National Championship equipment survey listed Leupold as the most popular scope manufacturer for both the high power and high power hunter competition.

Products Leupold currently produces telescopic sights, red dot sights, binoculars, rangefinders, spotting scopes, and eyewear products in addition to scope mounts, apparel, and accessories. In 2020, Leupold launched a virtual factory tour.

Riflescopes VX-6HD VX-5HD VX-3i LRP VX-3i VX-Freedom FX Series (fixed power) Competition Rifleman Mark 8 Mark 6 Mark 5HD D-EVO

Red dot sights Freedom Red Dot Sight (RDS) Leupold Carbine Optic (LCO) DeltaPoint Pro

Binoculars BX-5 Santiam HD BX-4 Pro Guide HD BX-T HD BX-2 Alpine BX-1 McKenzie BX-1 Yosemite BX-1 Rogue

Spotting scopes SX-5 Santiam HD SX-4 Pro Guide HD Gold Ring Mark 4 SX-2 Alpine HD SX-1 Ventana

Rangefinders RX-2800 RX-1600i RX-1300i RX-FullDraw4 RX-FullDraw3 RX-950

Mounts Standard (STD) Dual Dovetail (DD) Quick Release (QR) Cross Slot (PRW2/QRW2/LRW) Backcountry Ringmounts Mark 4 Integrated Mounting System (IMS) Rifleman DeltaPoint

Eyewear Tracer Packout Becnara Katmai Switchback Payload Refuge Cheyenne

Military contracts

The company's riflescopes are used by organizations such as the United States Army, the Secret Service and the Navy SEALs. The United States Navy and the Marine Corps also use their scopes.

1988–2014 | M24 1989–present | M107 – Mark 4 LR/T 4.5-14x50mm 2002–present | MK12 Special Purpose Rifle (SPR) – Mark 4 MR/T 2.5-8x36mm TS-30 A2 2004–present | MK14 Enhanced Battle Rifle – Mark 4 LR/T 3.5-10x40mm 2008–2019 | M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System – Mark 4 LR/T 3.5-10x40mm 2010–present | M151 Scout Sniper Observation Telescopes (SSOT) – Mark 4 12-40X60mm Spotting Scope 2010–present | M2010 – Mark 4 ER/T 6.5-20x50mm M5A2 2011–present | Classified – Mark 8 1.1-8x24mm CQBSS 2011–present | Heavy Day Optic (HDO) – Mark 8 1.1-8x24mm CQBSS 2013–present | Enhanced Combat Optical Sight-Optimized (ECOS-O) – Mark 6 3-18x44mm 2020–present | M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System – Mark 5HD 3.6-18x44 2020–present | MK22 Mod 0 Precision Sniper Rifle – Mark 5HD 5-25x56

See also List of companies based in Oregon

References

External links Official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leupold & Stevens

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leupold & Stevens claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leupold & Stevens before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leupold & Stevens ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leupold & Stevens

In research: Leupold & Stevens appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Leupold & Stevens in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Leupold & Stevens is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1907 establishments in Oregon, Companies based in Washington County, Oregon, Optics manufacturing companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leupold & Stevens outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Leupold & Stevens in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leupold & Stevens means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Leupold & Stevens out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leupold & Stevens in simple terms?

Why does Leupold & Stevens matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leupold & Stevens?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leupold & Stevens.