Don't read any further if you don't like older stuff.
In the 1980's, I bought a Remington 742 rifle that came with a Redfield Widefield scope. The objective end bell was oblong shaped to accommodate the "wide view" effect. Some people have referred to this view effect as "TV Screen." Whatever the opinion of it, I liked the scope a lot.
As with so many guns that have come and gone my way, the 742 went away and with it the Redfield Widefield scope. One thing I've learned, it's often not wise to let a scope go with a rifle. Especially if you have even a stinkling that you might get another rifle in the future that needs a scope. I've never done a study on this, but it's my impression that a seller often does not get the value of the scope out of a package sale.
Anyway, these days, I've been buying a few used, lower-end rifles and shotguns just to fool around with. I've decided that you don't have to tie up mass amounts of money in guns to have fun with them. In that connection, one of the guns I got lately was a kind of rubbishy Rossi single shot. It was a combination thing, having a .243 Win. rifle barrel and a 20 ga. shotgun bbl. The rifle bbl. came from the factory with open sights. It had also been recklessly fitted with a scope. When I bought this rig, I knew I was gonna have to do something about that scope. The existing mounts for the scope were way too high; you couldn't get a cheek weld and view through the scope. The previous owner had tried to retain use of the fixed sights by using a cheap set of those "look through" rings.
The problem with the existing rings I solved by substituting a cheap set (slotted screws, even) leftover from another cheap project, and they were just the right height, considering the rise on the goofy Rossi stock.
Okay, on to the scope. Which at first glance, I thought was trash. It's a 3-9 variable, but the magnification ring would spin free. It was permanently set on 3x. I put it on the shelf, and next time I went to my friendly local pawnshop, I spotted a cheap, Chinese scope, used, marked $30. Well, just my price range for these projects. It didn't work out. When I got it mounted, the very center of the reticle was in focus, the outer edge of the view was quite fuzzy. I hadn't looked at it well enough when I bought it, but when I took it back, they refunded my $30.
Still needing a scope for the Rossi, I decided to take another look at the scope that came on the rifle. It's marked, "Western Field, Zoom Wide Angle, 3-9 x 32, 60-12061." I think Western Field was a Montgomery-Ward brand. Like they had their own house brand for hand tools, Powr Kraft, made by major tool companies but marked for M-W.
In looking at my Western Field scope, I could see that the reason the magnification ring wouldn't turn was because a little set screw was missing. I have coffee cans full of screws (never throw them away), including those with Japanese threads. I found one with the correct thread and head, a bit too long so carefully ground it to the correct length. You can see the silvery head in the second picture.
All right, to the point of this story. This Western Field scope has the same TV Screen view as the Redfield Widefield, it just lacks the oblong objective bell that the Redfield has. This has turned out to be a very nice scope. I have no idea what optical company made this for M-W. It says made in Japan. I don't think my Redfield had the crappy, plastic turret caps. But they work.
I've had the rifle out lately and now it has a "hot zero" on it. That is, I've got it dialed in to a good zero with a warm barrel. I'll wait and see how my cold shots do with it. Potentially an issue with top-break single shots.
I mentioned that this rifle barrel has fixed sights on it. But I can't call them "iron sights" because on this Rossi, they are plastic!
Functionally, this cheap rifle works fine. What you'd expect from a single shot, I guess. One thing I've discovered, it won't tolerate a reloaded cartridge that is even a hair over spec in case length. The barrel lock is tuned to the extractor. If the extractor senses even a tiny amount of cartridge over-length (yet which will easily lock into battery), you cannot cock the hammer.
See those fancy rings.
In the 1980's, I bought a Remington 742 rifle that came with a Redfield Widefield scope. The objective end bell was oblong shaped to accommodate the "wide view" effect. Some people have referred to this view effect as "TV Screen." Whatever the opinion of it, I liked the scope a lot.
As with so many guns that have come and gone my way, the 742 went away and with it the Redfield Widefield scope. One thing I've learned, it's often not wise to let a scope go with a rifle. Especially if you have even a stinkling that you might get another rifle in the future that needs a scope. I've never done a study on this, but it's my impression that a seller often does not get the value of the scope out of a package sale.
Anyway, these days, I've been buying a few used, lower-end rifles and shotguns just to fool around with. I've decided that you don't have to tie up mass amounts of money in guns to have fun with them. In that connection, one of the guns I got lately was a kind of rubbishy Rossi single shot. It was a combination thing, having a .243 Win. rifle barrel and a 20 ga. shotgun bbl. The rifle bbl. came from the factory with open sights. It had also been recklessly fitted with a scope. When I bought this rig, I knew I was gonna have to do something about that scope. The existing mounts for the scope were way too high; you couldn't get a cheek weld and view through the scope. The previous owner had tried to retain use of the fixed sights by using a cheap set of those "look through" rings.
The problem with the existing rings I solved by substituting a cheap set (slotted screws, even) leftover from another cheap project, and they were just the right height, considering the rise on the goofy Rossi stock.
Okay, on to the scope. Which at first glance, I thought was trash. It's a 3-9 variable, but the magnification ring would spin free. It was permanently set on 3x. I put it on the shelf, and next time I went to my friendly local pawnshop, I spotted a cheap, Chinese scope, used, marked $30. Well, just my price range for these projects. It didn't work out. When I got it mounted, the very center of the reticle was in focus, the outer edge of the view was quite fuzzy. I hadn't looked at it well enough when I bought it, but when I took it back, they refunded my $30.
Still needing a scope for the Rossi, I decided to take another look at the scope that came on the rifle. It's marked, "Western Field, Zoom Wide Angle, 3-9 x 32, 60-12061." I think Western Field was a Montgomery-Ward brand. Like they had their own house brand for hand tools, Powr Kraft, made by major tool companies but marked for M-W.
In looking at my Western Field scope, I could see that the reason the magnification ring wouldn't turn was because a little set screw was missing. I have coffee cans full of screws (never throw them away), including those with Japanese threads. I found one with the correct thread and head, a bit too long so carefully ground it to the correct length. You can see the silvery head in the second picture.
All right, to the point of this story. This Western Field scope has the same TV Screen view as the Redfield Widefield, it just lacks the oblong objective bell that the Redfield has. This has turned out to be a very nice scope. I have no idea what optical company made this for M-W. It says made in Japan. I don't think my Redfield had the crappy, plastic turret caps. But they work.
I've had the rifle out lately and now it has a "hot zero" on it. That is, I've got it dialed in to a good zero with a warm barrel. I'll wait and see how my cold shots do with it. Potentially an issue with top-break single shots.
I mentioned that this rifle barrel has fixed sights on it. But I can't call them "iron sights" because on this Rossi, they are plastic!
Functionally, this cheap rifle works fine. What you'd expect from a single shot, I guess. One thing I've discovered, it won't tolerate a reloaded cartridge that is even a hair over spec in case length. The barrel lock is tuned to the extractor. If the extractor senses even a tiny amount of cartridge over-length (yet which will easily lock into battery), you cannot cock the hammer.
See those fancy rings.
