Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors Single low-power scope for M70

So what kind of "Scout" type scope with quick release rings can I put on my old 30-06 shooter? I've just about given up trying to find a peep sight setup.

Why scout set-up? How you going to mount a scout scope on it? I'd just throw an old lyman 2.5 Alaskan or old steel tube Weaver K4 on it..

You must be looking in the wrong places as there is no shortage of vintage Lyman 48WJS or 57WJS receiver sights. Another option is to scope the gun with a vintage Leupold M8 4X and period correct mounts which can be had for under $150.00....

Can't find a peep? Williams Gunsight offers three different ones to fit. Lyman still offers their 57 that fits the M70 as does XS. Not sure what your goal is, peep as the primary sight or backup? If it were me I'd mount a set of Warne steel Weaver style bases and a scope in Warne, Weaver or Leupold quick release rings and keep an XS or NECG backup peep in my kit. My opinion, keep that scout setup off your classic M70 "shooter"! A steel tube Weaver K4 like BSA mentioned would go great on that rifle.

In a pre-64 M70 Featherweight with nice wood I have a 4X Redfield Bear Cub in Buehler two piece mounts.

I don't understand, nor do I want to, the desire to take a great rifle and stick outdated by today's standard glass on it. Period correct on a user is asking for problems.

Different strokes......... I have a 2.5 Alaskan coming that'll be replacing more modern glass on one of mine.

I'll acknowledge the different folks if they throttle it all the way back and use period correct primers, brass, bullets and powders. Have yet to see any who think it is a great idea.

Then let's get the copper out with Hoppe's instead of the good stuff available today.

Was supposed to arrive today, so just looked out on the front porch and this piece of period correct was there for a pre64 FWT .30-06. I won't throttle it with glass, that if a company today made the equivalent of what was available 50 years ago people would think they have gone over the edge.

If those boys of yesteryear had today's optics available, good chance they would be rushing to use them. They also may look at us as odd for wanting not to.

Nice stock. Looks exactly like the one on my 270 fwt. To be honest, I don't see a problem with using old scopes. I've actually been pretty happy by switching back to the steel tube Weaver k4:

I said I don't understand, but can accept the desire to go back to a different time. Just doesn't make sense to use an old scope on a user that may fog bringing it in and out of the house. That was fairly common back in the day, they just lived with it and as said if they had a choice it is unlikely they would. Had it happen with both old Weavers and Redfields.

Now if the rifle is only a looker and one thinks that is how it should look, nothing will ever be lost.

Battue has it right, the old Weaver steel tubes are OK if you want period correct and just plan to look at the gun or only hunt it in fair weather. Lost two days of deer hunting here in PA many years ago when two different old Weaver's fogged up in the snow and rain (I didn't know any better and they were all I could really afford at the time). Will never again use a scope that is not nitrogen filled and sealed when chasing Whitetail bucks in Dec.

If you are looking for a period correct scope, I have a Weaver K4 El Paso made scope I would sell. It has a thin crosshair with a dot.

Dang, I have an old steel tubed Weaver on a 300 H&H and have had them all fog on the outside lenses due to humidity/temp change, are you saying yours fogged on the "inside" of the scope?

Yep, that's exactly what happened....

Damn Jack, I may need to forget nostalgia in this case and go ahead and install a good 3.5-10 Leupold on that old 300, there would be no way to stop the suck if a man missed an opportunity at a good buck or bull.

Example of the times: Was given an old pair of Leica binos. Can't remember the model, but they had a rubberized green coating. Top shelf at one time and the glass was still very good. Your head had to be just right to get a good view, but they worked. Then one day they fogged and it was on the inside. Called Leica and they said they no longer carried the seals to fix it.

Sprung for a Zwarovski. Those old Leica binos going down was a blessing in disguise. On their best day they didn't compare to what is now available. Binos to scopes isn't exactly apples to oranges.

The rifles that I hunt with are all equipped with Leupold optics, the only scope that has never given me problems of any kind. The other rifles that only go to the range wear vintage scopes which have been trouble free though cannot be relied on not to fog under adverse conditions.

+1 on the Leupolds....

I spent some time to find and install original iron sights. First one I found was the front sight, later I found the rear folding. Then I took some more time to find an original front hood. Then I spent some more time/$ and found an original, perfect Lyman 48WJS. Mounted up perfect but at the range - adjusted all the way down, I needed it even lower, which got me back to replacing the front sight again. I guess it's all about the journey, right ? So I sold the 48WJS (had already sold the old Leupold that came with the gun) and have just been playing around with the iron sights at the range. And the peeps I've seen all seem like makeshift/compromise setups - maybe I need to take a harder look. Right now I'm just thinking about some kind of new, simple and high quality scope (probably Leupold).