Vintage rifle scopes: What do you prefer?

[6string]

As so many modern rifle scopes are treated as a dispoable commodity, what do you prefer in vintage scopes?
My brother had for a long time an old Weaver fixed 12x scope that was pretty nice on his single shot 7.62mm target rifle. Eventually the scope would get hazy (sometimes).
He switched to something else, but we always felt that scope could've been repaired.
We were just too young to know what to do.

But, are the older scopes fairly serviceable?

[firefly1957]

Do you want to repair the scope or have it done?
I have seen links in the past here on castboolits on where to send old scopes for work .

A few years ago I had success taking a cheap pistol scope apart cleaning it and purging it with Argon from my welder . It is fog proof again and works well .
The problem was my fault I installed the scope on a muzzle loader and wrapped it in plastic wrap when I cleaned the gun with boiling water enough heat transferred to the scope to pop the lens seals!

[pertnear]

When it comes to classic scopes, this means either a Redfield 3x-9x or a Weaver K4 (at least IMHO). I found that the old Redfields can usually be found at gun shows for cheap. This is because they usually have brown haze when you look through them or have an unpopular reticle. I found two Redfields at a gun show a couple of years back. One was a 3x-9x & the other 2x-7x. Both had very nice exteriors & nicely functioning power rings. I got both for $50. I sent them off to Ironsite for refurbish requesting to have duplexes installed in each. They charged $95 per scope & they both came back fantastic! My only complaint is that Ironsite's repair time turn-around is 8 months.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Maybe old scopes look 'COOL' on older rifles, BUT scope technology has come a LONG, LONG way from the 60's. I have Weaver K3's and K4's I bought new, plus Leupold's, V2,II. Modern lenses, coatings and construction is mechanically and optically superior to the 'classic' scopes. If you shoot 10 rounds a year at the range with the 'good, ol boys' great, but if you run 50-100 plus rounds a week/month in .308 class cartridges, you will be wasting ammo as you try to figure why your rifle has lost zero. The cost of ammo is too much to fool with 'classic' scopes. The 'modern' inexpensive scopes are superior to the old classics. I like the Burris Fullfield ii but there are lots of others (Bushnell, Vortec, even Simmons) in that class that are better than fooling with 'classic' scopes. Depends whether you like shooting your rifles or JUST looking at them.

[marlinman93]

I personally go for much older scopes, and my favorite are the old JW Fecker scopes. They are as god as anything made today, and give great results. They are all fairly long compared to most mentioned so far, so not the best choice if you're using them for hunting rifles. But for accurate target shooting they're tough to beat.

[beemer]

I like the old Weavers and have a dozen or so but I do realize their limitations. Most are on something that is just range a toy and look right on an old rifle. They seem to have increased in price right out of my interest. One I do miss is a Weaver T6, that thing was amazing.

I agree a $250 modern scope is better than a Weaver ever was.

[M-Tecs]

Vintage scopes that were low-quality low-end scopes back in the day are still low-quality low-end scopes today. Due to manufacturing methods like glued laminated lens they tend to get cloudy with age.

The high-end scopes of yesteryear are still very usable today. My Unertl's, R.A. Litschert's, Lyman SuperTarget Spot's and my single JW Fecker don't give up much optically to today's scopes for full light usage. Todays scopes do have a significant improvement in light gather abilities, ruggedness and size.

I've never treated scopes as a disposable commodity unless they were low end ones acquired as part of a trade or rifle purchase. I purchased my first Leupold Vari-X III 3.5x10 40mm in 1973 and I still use it today.

My older Weaver T-6's and T-10's are still great scopes. My guess is they didn't use laminated lens like the standard Weaver's since I haven't ever seen one get cloudy like a lot of the older Weaver hunting scopes.

[mrbill2]

Looking for scopes
https://forum.accurateshooter.com/forums/scopes-optics-sights-rings-bases.19/

[TNsailorman]

I am particularly fond of the old Redfields and Bausch&Lomb scopes. I found them to be excellent value for the money. james

[Green Frog]

When I first started shooting single shot rifle (mainly low- and high walls) the scopes that worked well and could be had reasonably were Lyman TargetSpot Jrs and Super TargetSpots. Eventually I lucked into a Unertl BV-20 that ended up on my Schuetzen bench gun, but I still love me some Lyman’s!
Froggie

[marlinman93]

When I first started shooting single shot rifle (mainly low- and high walls) the scopes that worked well and could be had reasonably were Lyman TargetSpot Jrs and Super TargetSpots. Eventually I lucked into a Unertl BV-20 that ended up on my Schuetzen bench gun, but I still love me some Lyman’s!
Froggie

I have a B&L Balvar sitting in one of my gun safes, and still waiting for the right rifle to install it on. It's a wonderful scope, and I stumbled onto it at a gun show cheap when the seller told me the retention screw knobs were stripped. A simple job to D&T them to the next size larger fixed it.
I've tried it on a couple of my old single shots, but it just looks out of place. So maybe I'll stumble on a bolt action target .22LR to put it on sometime?

[pworley1]

I like K4's for my old rifles.

[Green Frog]

I have a B&L Balvar sitting in one of my gun safes, and still waiting for the right rifle to install it on. It's a wonderful scope, and I stumbled onto it at a gun show cheap when the seller told me the retention screw knobs were stripped. A simple job to D&T them to the next size larger fixed it.
I've tried it on a couple of my old single shots, but it just looks out of place. So maybe I'll stumble on a bolt action target .22LR to put it on sometime?

Vall, I don’t know whether you ever had the opportunity to meet and chat with the late Charlie Dell. I was fortunate enough to live close enough to spend time “sitting at his feet” and learning from him, as well as taking several trips with him up to Etna Green for ASSRA Nationals. For a while when we first met he had a Balvar scope on his Peregrine OH rifle. IIRC his vision deteriorated to the point where he had to change it out for one whose crosshairs he could pick up better. I always thought it was a way cool old scope. :mrgreen:

Froggie

[marlinman93]

Vall, I don’t know whether you ever had the opportunity to meet and chat with the late Charlie Dell. I was fortunate enough to live close enough to spend time “sitting at his feet” and learning from him, as well as taking several trips with him up to Etna Green for ASSRA Nationals. For a while when we first met he had a Balvar scope on his Peregrine OH rifle. IIRC his vision deteriorated to the point where he had to change it out for one whose crosshairs he could pick up better. I always thought it was a way cool old scope. :mrgreen:

Froggie

No, I never met Charlie Dell since we lived opposite ends of the country. I've followed his writings for a very long time and have anything he wrote in the form of book or articles also. He was always a good read, and did a lot of testing, instead of just writing articles without substantiated footwork.
I've put the Balvar on a few guns, but it looks too weird on my old single shots. I wanted to put it on my Remington 700VSF varmint rifle, but it sits too far back, and can't figure out a solid method of mounting it that puts it out far enough to use. That's always been an issue with the Balvar, in that it doesn't have enough back and forward adjustment in the mounts.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I have a 4x Leupold compact that I got 20 or more years ago. It was used when I got it. Still marching on. Never an issue. I like Leupold.

[schutzen-jager]

Lyman American 2 1/2 X with European tapered post reticule is a favorite of mine for several applications -

[T.R.]

Redfield 2-7X is still a keeper! - TR

[jonp]

I've got an old Redfield with the yardage stick in the bottom. You increase magnification until a deers front is bracketed between two reticle lines then read the distance for holdover.

Came off a pre 64 Win 300 H&H I bought for $300 off a guy in Quebec. Still kicking myself for selling that rifle. Well used with wood dents and dings from putting deer, bear and caribou on the table but the bore was pristine. He used it to feed his family and it showed in how he treated it. Only shot maybe a box through it, not reloading at that time, but it would destroy a silver dollar at 100yrds.

[old turtle]

I am with marlinman93. I a have one of each Unertl, Litscert and a Fecker. I have used them on most of my single shot rifles The Fecker is bright and super clear. I got it about 30 years ago for about 50 bucks. it was a bargain. I don't get many bargain's

[gc45]

Have used Lyman target scopes for years and on several benchrest 22's and a few pre64 winchesters. I began collecting them years ago and really love them plus the boxes they came in. Also a big fan of leupold streight power and their Vari-XIII models, nothing newer having quite a few, to many really but all my scopes are hard to part with, they are like guns to me. My Sons will have to sell them one day along with my guns...

[Winger Ed.]

As so many modern rifle scopes are treated as a dispoable commodity,

That reminds me-
We live in a disposable society.
We throw away everything---- even each other.

I had a clean Weaver K4 that came to me, but like old cars and new ones-
When people say, "Ohhh. They don't make 'em like they used to".
I think, 'No, and I'm glad they don't. The new stuff is head & shoulders above the old ones'.

Awhile back, my neighbor inherited a 50s era Winchester .30-30, that nobody will never shoot again.
We put it on his .30-30 just because it looks cool and is from the same era.

My older scopes I actually use only go back to the 80s. They were real good, and sort of expensive back then.
A Redfield 5 Star, and a Simmons Presidential that was crazy expensive back then.
I'd line 'em up with a new production scope of the type I use.
They might not be quite as capable, but I doubt I could tell the difference.

[marlinman93]

I was at one of our monthly OAC collector gun shows back in June, and after the show I was wheeling my cart out the door when I looked over at the "donation table" where guys leave stuff for the club to sell. The setup is you see something you want, you drop money in a donation box that helps the club.
So sitting on the table was what looked like a brand new scope! I picked it up, and saw it was a 3x-9x, and had a knob with markings for adjusting an electronic crosshair. The side of the scope read, "Leapers", which I'd never heard of? I looked through it, and turned the light adjustment, but nothing changed. No center to the crosshairs, and I figured that's why someone left it there.
What the heck, I might see if I could fix it, so dropped a donation in the box and took it home. When I got home I set it on my desk, but before setting it down I turned the knob to zero. The next day I picked it up, and turned the knob to a low number and the crosshairs lit up! I turned it up and they got brighter! Appeared that someone left it turned on, and the battery ran down. I looked through our drawer of various batteries we keep around, and found one for our alarm sensors that is the exact same battery. Put in a new battery and the scope is perfect!
I looked online for Leapers scopes, and found their website. It's actually a pretty expensive scope when it was new, and seems to be very high quality! Lucky me!

[cheggie]

I have a JW Fecker 10x on a Winchester 1885 Hiwall in .22 Lovell. It has screw on caps that seem to seal it pretty well when stored. The glass is still clear and bright, and I have been able to hit a target with it. I noticed the scope creeps forward in the mounts - since it floats free in the external mounts. I think I've seen a spring on some of these to keep the scope against the stop. Anyone know where to find one?

[Good Cheer]

The Unertl 3/4" tube small game is just the cat's meow.

[Green Frog]

For hunting, an old Weaver K-4 or -6 fits the bill. My Schuetzen rifles have Lyman Super TargetSpots and TS Jrs. On my full benchrest singleshot, I’ve got a Unertl BV-20.
Froggie