Favorite Vintage Scopes

[mesa]

Been getting into vintage scopes lately, curious to hear what all of you like the most.

For me its my Kahles Helia 4 S1. Glass is better than my eyesight. Parallax adjustment is stuck, but they did redesign that for the super line a few years later. Not sure if the weather sealing works fully but it has it! And click adjustable elevation, in fact its one of their first to feature it. Awful eyebox is the big glaring flaw, its on par with my 1930s zeiss zielvier.

Runner up is my early retailer branded schmidt & bender 1.75-6x36. Glass is damn good, and its got a nice, proper eyebox. But there's a flaw and its fatal. There's something, disintegrated weather sealing perhaps, dangling in front of the lenses. Kahles design wouldnt do that, its tucked away properly! And the parallax ring is stuck so I haven't managed to get it apart to clean. Also 1 turret screw, everything else some cyanoacrylate debonder loosened but still. Fatal. I'll get it open eventually.

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[Andy54Hawken]

USA made Weaver K4 and K6
Lyman Alaskan
Older Leupold Vari X series of scopes.
Andy

 

[red442joe]

Dunno about "vintage" but I have a bunch of 4x Tasco Pronghorns on 22 rifles. I have only ever had one problem. On one, the reticle would turn each shot, but still held zero.

Joe

 

[Spitpatch]

Weaver K10 (with adjustable objective) on a restored Remington 512. Weaver was a pioneer in much of sporting optics, and this scope was (IS) a favorite among varmint hunters.


On the same rifle, a Bushnell Scopechief 3x-7x. These little scopes (7/8 tube) have incredible glass, and sadly fell by the wayside in the'70's when someone decided all .22's deserve "real" scopes of 1" tube diameter. Not true at all, and most sporting .22's are BETTER served with a scope that matches them in size, while not compromising on performance. These little gems can still be found like new (or in the box with factory sticky labels like this one)!


A legend in sporting optics. This Lyman Alaskan 2.5x is the perfect complement for this Remington Model 722 in .300 Savage which is graced with 3 operational sighting systems: reliability in spades for a rugged hunt.


A Weaver KV5 serves admirably on a 1950 manufactured Remington Model 721 in .270 Winchester. This scope is an early variable, or more accurately "Optional". the hunter's choices were 2.5x OR 5x. This required removing the little cap on the power dial, turning it up, then replacing the cap. How many of those caps were lost in the field? In defense, most variable big game scopes are set for that day's/terrain's hunt, and never adjusted unless time allows. This one was restored by Vintage Gun Scopes in Corvallis, Montana: an extremely valuable resource for those interested in older optics. They do it all, and impeccably.

 

[Twilight]

Nothing like old Euro glass, built like tanks, finicky as hell, and still clearer than half the new junk on shelves today. Kahles and early S&Bs are hard to beat, quirks and all.

 

[NeoBlackdog]

Weaver K4 for me. Loved that scope on my Model 70 right up until the objective lens popped out and got lost!

 

[orygun]

View attachment 2150501
A Weaver KV5 serves admirably on a 1950 manufactured Remington Model 721 in .270 Winchester. This scope is an early variable, or more accurately "Optional". the hunter's choices were 2.5x OR 5x. This required removing the little cap on the power dial, turning it up, then replacing the cap. How many of those caps were lost in the field? In defense, most variable big game scopes are set for that day's/terrain's hunt, and never adjusted unless time allows. This one was restored by Vintage Gun Scopes in Corvallis, Montana: an extremely valuable resource for those interested in older optics. They do it all, and impeccably.

I had one of these Weaver variable scopes on a Pre 64 Winchester I used to have. Very unique.

 

[SAR1846]

Older leupolds, then weavers... I am a fan of fixed power scopes for most of my adventures, and haven't been disappointed.

 

[Spitpatch]

Not sure if considered "Vintage", because they still operate at the level of state of the art.

Were I to pick a favorite telescopic sight of all time, it would be a Leupold 3x-9x Compact (later called the Ultralight). The best hunting scope Leupold ever made, and its absence from their product line speaks volumes about the current corporate attitude of that firm.

Top to bottom:
Remington Model 600 Mohawk .222 Reminton
Remington Model 700 Classic .250-3000 Savage (with AO)
Remington Model 700 Classic 7mm-08 Remington
Ruger Model 77/357 Re-barreled to .256 Winchester Magnum.
Interarms MKX Mini Mauser, Re-barreled to .25 PPC (with AO)

 

[Rayc4570]

Redfield wide view 2x7

 

[Spitpatch]

Redfield wide view 2x7

My very first "serious" scope that I bought was a Widefield 3x-9x with a Crosshair Peep reticle (center of the crosshairs is a circle). It went on my first Savage 99 in .250 Savage: a gun/scope combination that literally taught me how to shoot highpowered rifles.

I became so familiar with that scope, that I could use the circle aiming point as a reliable holdover reference for long range on big game. That gun (and scope) were stolen when I was in the service.

I come across Widefields at the gunshows every now and then, and ask to look through every single one I see. A decent one with a Crosshair Peep is yet to be found.

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

I'm really digging the Redfield Wideview 2 3/4 I just picked up for my Browning T Bolt
The rifle isn't D&T and the scope turret spacing is unique so ring placement is non-traditional, but it works great

 

[Spitpatch]

Redfield wide view 2x7

I'm really digging the Redfield Wideview 2 3/4 I just picked up for my Browning T Bolt
The rifle isn't D&T and the scope turret spacing is unique so ring placement is non-traditional, but it works great

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As someone who cringes every time the "clips vs. magazines" police rear their ugly heads, I offer here a correction that perhaps only I believe is necessary:

Redfield Widefield

Weaver Wide View

 

[VinnieBoomBah]

As someone who cringes every time the "clips vs. magazines" police rear their ugly heads, I offer here a correction that perhaps only I believe is necessary:

Redfield Widefield

Weaver Wide View

For me it's 'Begs the question' so i feel your pain!

 

[orygun]

As someone who cringes every time the "clips vs. magazines" police rear their ugly heads, I offer here a correction that perhaps only I believe is necessary:

Especially the people that would live or die on that hill... I understand that many have military training, but we are not in the military out here.
I'm old enough to have read books and magazines from the "olden" days.
When Phil Sharpe describes them like Marlin does below, anything past that point in the discussion is a moot point.
(Although anytime the "media" uses an incorrect term it raises my hackles. Imagine that?!?)

 

[orygun]

I did put a Weaver K4-1 on my Roberts made in '42.
I have also since then changed to the proper Redfield rings.

 

[Bobbygun]

Widefield 3x-9x with a Crosshair Peep reticle

I recall seeing one of those, but it was a long time ago.

My dad had a 3X9 Widefield with the standard reticle. It was effectively a fixed 7-power. He lost the adjustment knob. He carried his rifle with the scope like that for many years. At some point I just took it upon myself to send Redfield a letter asking where I could purchase a replacement. They sent me a couple for free in an envelope. Dad has been gone for 15 years, but I still have that scope. I probably have an envelope with another replacement knob rattling around in my gun bench somewhere.