Malcolm Scopes?

[The Goose]

I have a CPA Stevens 44 ½ in .40/70SS. It already has scopemounting blocks on it and I want to put a short 18” = 20” Malcolm style scopeon it. I have read everything on the net that I could find on the differentbrands and models including reviews. I do not intend to compete or even huntwith this rifle. I just like to shoot it occasionally and my old eyes aregetting worse. My club’s range goes out to 200 yards. So my research has found thatthe inexpensive 6X Leatherwood is a decent scope with crappy mounts. However,many seem to feel that the mounts are good enough for hunting or plinking whenset for a specific range when repeatable changes are not really needed. A fewfolks say they are just ****, won’t hold zero and have a multitude of problems.The MVA 5X is about twice the price and the 8X DZ is better than 3 times theprice, but both are very highly thought of. I see no point in buying aLeatherwood scope and getting MVA or DZ mounts, if that were the case why notjust spring for the better system as a whole. I also do not want to scoutaround for some incredible mythical deal on now defunct mounts or scopes. So Iam seeking opinions from anyone with direct experience. Can I get away with theLeatherwood for general plinking or should I just suck it up and go for thebetter glass? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[marlinman93]

With the parameters you mentioned, I think the Leatherwood scope will be just fine. Of course it wont compete with an MVA or DZ Arms scope, but as you mentioned it's much cheaper. The issue with the mounts comes into play for those competing, as they need repeatability when changing sight settings for various distances. Those shouldn't be an issue for casual plinking, or even hunting.

[country gent]

The leather woods rear mount is a diffrent set up and may require some machine work for your CPA. The MVAs and DV use a basic unertal posi block screwed to the barrel for thier mounts. Makes life easier and if you want to swap between diffrent rifles it much easier. I have several of the MVA scopes and thier long range mounts and they get used on my 5 BPCR rifles. They repeat nicely. I loosen mounts on the scope slide off and onto the next rifle, tighten screws making sure dog points are alighned in the detant holes and snug securly. Look in the sight book and put the zeros on it for that rifle and normally get a close hit out of the box. The other plus to the unertal style mounts is if you ever want a High power unertal or lyman scope can be used interchangably. The leatherwood will probably do what you want and Mounts can be purchased from MVA or DZ to convert it to the unertal blocks also.

[The Goose]

Good info

[Good Cheer]

I started to buy one of the scopes last month and was put off by the complaints about the mounts.
From what is said above, the mounts are really only a problem if you're changing settings back and forth for different distances... not a problem for me. My idea of a match is when you light the mesquite.

[marlinman93]

The Leather wood mounts will slide right on an Unertl, Lyman, Stevens, or small Winchester base. Yes, they aren't the Unertl posi block that Unertl uses, but if you have posi block bases, you can either turn them 180 degrees and use a dremel to make the indent for the Leatherwood set screw, or replace the Unertl bases with one for the Leatherwood that has the same spacing.

[Don McDowell]

Still the same answer here as I gave you on the bpcr.net. The problem is still going lie in the spacing on the blocks currently on your rifle. If they are 7.5 the Leatherwood will work (altho you're not going to be super impressed with those mounts). If they are spaced further than the 7.5 you're going to have to go with a longer scope. Not only for adjustments on the mount , but the ability to get the proper eye relief. Remember these aren't like today's modern scopes, they offer a very small sight picture, and getting the proper eye relief is critical to consistent shooting.

[The Goose]

So after seeking advice on this and a few other forums I ordered the MVA B 5X scope with #2 mounts. I have a couple of MVA Soule sights and the quality and MVA's customer service is outstanding. Looking back over my shooting life the only regrets I have ever had were in buying sub par equipment to save a dime. My CPA Stevens is a truly beautiful rifle with gorgeous wood, it deserves a quality scope. A year or two down the road I won't miss the extra money, but I sure will regret it if the scope or mounts do not function well. The Leatherwood may have been fine, but I am certain that the MVA will be. Thanks to all for the advice and tips.

[JSnover]

I liked my Malcolm but ended up selling it to another member who put it to better use. As above, it's all about the mounts.

[Nobade]

So after seeking advice on this and a few other forums I ordered the MVA B 5X scope with #2 mounts. I have a couple of MVA Soule sights and the quality and MVA's customer service is outstanding. Looking back over my shooting life the only regrets I have ever had were in buying sub par equipment to save a dime. My CPA Stevens is a truly beautiful rifle with gorgeous wood, it deserves a quality scope. A year or two down the road I won't miss the extra money, but I sure will regret it if the scope or mounts do not function well. The Leatherwood may have been fine, but I am certain that the MVA will be. Thanks to all for the advice and tips.


Wise choice. I wish I had gone that way initially, would have saved a lot of money and time. You will enjoy the good equipment.

-Nobade

[country gent]

I have 3 of the MVA malcomb scopes currently ( 5 rifles so they get moved around some) 2 34" and one 28" with the long rnage mounts. 2 are standard cross gairs and 1 is the 4 min circle reticle. Im more than happt with them. They repeat accuratly ( if you read the vernieer scale correctly) are clear and simply work well. Several nice features are the ease of changing mounts, the ease of moving to another rifle, and the ease of swapping reticles if you so desire. Im not sure but think like the unertals and lyman target scopes that power can be changed by the eye piece used on them.

[bgmkithaca]

I use the Leather-Wood scopes on 3 of my rifles and will say the optics are not bad for the money. The rear ring is junk in my opinion but there is a economic solution if you have a lathe. You will need to chase the threads for the sockets for the adjustment screws then make new screws to fit snuggly instead of the sloppy fit of the factory screws. It still won't be as good as MVA hardware but the improvement will be quite noticeable. I got the tap and die from Victor Machinery Exchange. Off the top of my head I don't recall the size so you will have to measure the old screws-they will most likely be undersized resulting in the sloppy fit.