doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Scoping a vintage gun (sorry)

Say you have a nice vintage sporting (ok so 1954 is vintage to me)it was made (or altered) to accept scope & mounts:

Would you use modern stuff?

Look for appropriate vintage glass?

Also what would you consider appropriate? The gun is picured in a seperate thread http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbt...ge=2#Post121908

Personally, I would find a scope of the same vintage. But then I've never been accused of being too modern anyway.

Mark the Rigby deserves a vintage scope. Problem is finding the mounts not a vintage scope. A lot of the English rifles came with German scopes. I have 3 coming in my next shipment. A Westley Richards 8mm, a sporting mauser in 9mm and a Westley takedown in .318. I hope at least one has been scoped before. I want to keep one of these and I don't like to put holes in a rifle that doesn't have them already. Unfortunatly my eyes need a scope or at least a peep.

A lot of money has been spent over the years reversing modern scopes mounted on vintage rifles. Your rifle looks like it had a scope so should not be a problem, although I don't recognize the mounts I'm sure others might. Find the mounts first before you buy any scope.

Sometimes a rifle is desirable enough to have all the work reversed. This is a John Dubiel marked Mauser that had both receiver bridges drilled and taped, a modern scope mounted, the bolt bent and the bolt handle dished out, a new piece of wood inlayed across where the Lyman 48 was then re-inletted for the bent bolt. It was a mess, now unless I tell, no one would ever know. This quality of workmanship is way beyond my abilities, this was a job for an expert.

If you can do it correctly by finding the right mounts, or having a good set made to fit your bases, then I'd definitely mount a vintage scope. Otherwise I wouldn't do it unless it can be done right.

Post deleted by Vall

Don't recognize the mount bases from that side view. Can you post a photo looking down at the receiver from above?

Texraid, I'm leaning that way as well, but don't really know what would be appropriate, I assume american made at that point in time, would that mean Lyman? Leupold?

Mike, The Rigby has no holes, and I won't be the guy to add them. The Westley Richards appears to me to have been built for a scope, notice the shape of the stock & bolt, WR cannot confirm/deny that the mounts are factory though.

Michael, The current bases measure 19 mm, I'm thinking of using Warn or Talley QD's for a BRNO/CZ until I find something more appropriate.

Vall, I'd like to do it right, I'll spend some time & effort researching.

mkbenson, Here are a couple of pics.





Thank you all for your input.

Mark

I do not recognize those bases. Parker-Hale made mounts for 19.5mm dovetails, but the mounts had a stud in the center that fitted into a hole in the dovetail to brace against recoil.

The bases are engraved en suite with the receiver, which suggests that W/R installed them. Perhaps they can ID the mount.