Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Unusual Model 71

Some years ago I purchased a Model 71 sight unseen based on very reasonable price and an included Lyman Alaskan scope.

What I did not anticipate-and have never seen since-is the best scope mounting system for lever actions. I tend to appreciate the G&H sidemount
on M-70s in Alaskan fog conditions-and have a few including a SG in 300 H&H.

BUT-this rig on this M-71 is very different. If anyone has heard of it-I am really curious. Its called the WEATHERMATIC made in Detroit. Very fine, all-steel construction. It mounts the Lyman Alaskan above the bolt on attached mts-then has a unique steel control rod that attaches to the lever. After firing, the cycled action ejects fired shell, while moving the scope to the side. It ALSO is positioned so iron sights are visible under the scope. Nice for older eyes. Any knowledge?? (I know-no pics)

Never heard of or seen one. Yep, need pictures

Nick Stroebel's book "Old Rifle Scopes" has a VERY brief note on the Weathermatic. He states "In 1954, the Weather- Matic was offered. The mount swings aside as the lever is opened on top-ejecting lever action rifles." He lists a price for the mount of $25-45 at the time of publication (2000). It's got a poor pic of the mount and, by the time I copied it and reprinted it here, it would be pretty unusable.
yooper

I had for awhile a win. 94 in 25-35 that had the same scope mount seem to work fine, and seemed to hold zero, but the scope on mine was a old weaver K3, i sold it for a Savage 99! it was the only one that i have ever seen!

Here's the pic from Stroebel's book. Sure is an ugly thing! With the bar from under the lever link pulling near the rear to pivot the scope, I'd question how long it would return to zero with much usage. Maybe that's why it was only sold for one year.
yooper

Rube Goldberg would have been proud of that one.

That was an early period for scope users and most were not comfortable with scopes and their durability as well as FOV. There were all sorts of compromise mounts and a few hunters that bought Marlins because of the side ejection rather than top ejecting Winchester lever guns.

mine is slightly different from the one pictured in Strebel's Sight book. The control rod is attached to the very front of the lever. It is a Goldberg unit. Smithing this must have been a bit of a chore.
Never has lost zero-and that may be to the quality of the steel and workmanship.

I probably would have kept the 71s as issued-but it is
the best I have seen for a mt that allows viewing the rear iron sight picture.Would not attempt this mt on one of my 348 Ackleys or a 450 Alaskan. Too much recoil.
Thanks for the picture and help.

The manufacturer must have had to re-engineer the mount for each model of lever action due to the marked differences in them. An interesting mount, definitely, and one that I'll watch for in the future, likely without results.
Does your mount have the big steel plate on the side of the action like the 1894 shown, or was that portion different too?
yooper

I have the definitive answers about the Weathermatic Scope Mount. It was designed and manufactured by my late father, Max Hare. He was a gunsmith and ran a small sporting goods store in Highland Park, Michigan (a city within the city of Detroit).

There were actually two basic models; the one that fit on top-ejection lever action rifles, and a different one for bolt action and side ejection rifles which had spring loaded ratchets holding it in position, but would allow the hunter to swing the scope to the side manually and use the iron sights.

His answer to the issue of repeatable positioning came in the setup. There is (at least on the Model 94) a pin that must be closed by the lever before the gun can be fired. The installation was such that the lever must be squeezed shut, forcing the moveable part against a fixed stop to assure accuracy. It was manufactured from steel, and he claimed that it would hold accuracy better than the aluminum mounts of Pachmyer.

He manufactured the mounts in the early 1950’s in the workshop in the basement of the store. As a young teenager, I ran the lathe, mills, shaper and drill press to help in production. He got Stoegers to list it in their catalog and the orders poured in, including an order for 50 from the Tongass Trading Post in Ketchikan Alaska. Our production capacity was no where near able to respond to this demand (especially to provide them well before hunting season) and the orders were subsequently cancelled.

The business was in decline, with population moving to the suburbs and customers preferring mass merchandisers and discount stores to the small “boutique” stores. My career took me elsewhere and he closed the “Log Cabin Sport Shop” in 1970 and moved up north.

Rich

Wow that's cool...thanks and welcom

Rich113-

Thanks for stopping in. Great story.

I have a 71 Deluxe converted by Tom Burgess into a .450 Alaskan on which he modified a Weaver base which fits into the rear sight dovetail, accommodating an extended eye relief Leupold. Bought it for a song from a Cabelas store...