Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics vintage optics in use

I am and since I have no kids of my own I intend to give the rifle to one of my brothers kid when the time comes. I need to write the history down about the rife so maybe thay will pass it down the line. Thanks for the input I apreciate it.

Definitely a "Vintage" rig.. not to mention the incedible sentimental value.

I prefer to use the terms car collectors use. Anything 20 years or older is a "Classic" and anything 45 years or older is considered an "Antique".

Firearms designs have a longer lifespan than cars, but the terms still apply to guns pretty well.

Do write down that history. The kids will appreciate it! That top rifle I posted the pic of earlier. Well those old redfield mounts are stamped on one side(as they used to do in the old days) with the name of the brother of my old adopted grandad! Grandpa Marvin's brother was an ol' time smith here for years. And his name on that rifle means a lot to me! So write down that story!

Kaywoodie

Like you, I also have my father's Smith-Corona 03-A3 sporter he built in 1959, the year I was born. The scope is a Kollmorgen 4x Bearcub with post/crosshair reticle in Buehler rings, which are still mounted on the rifle today. Like yours, it's a cherished possesion I'll hand down to my boys. I will try to post pictures soon.

My 99EG in 300 Savage wears a Weaver V4.5W with pivot mounts. Took the buck below last year. Gun is 1952.
My 99A Saddle gun wears the same setup. It is a 1971 gun and is in 250-3000 and will hunt this year.

i wonder if anyone would consider my model 43 winchester in .218 bee mounted with a weaver j2.5 3/4 inch scope an antique.... shoots just fine well over 200 yards out, as many ground squirrels have discovered to their dismay.... old weavers are still pretty good scopes.... i have several....

I love the old setups. That 43 Win in .218 with a J2.5 is super cool. I have a J2.5 that Mr. Weaver gave my grandpa. It sets on a low wall winder musket in .22 short. reflex264

I have a couple sets of pivot mounts for a 99. I have been thinking about setting one and sticking a K6 on it. reflex264

I am a vintage Weaver junkie as well. Probably have 6 or so mounted on hunting rifles at present and a couple waiting in the wings. They seem to go best with a vintage 336 Marlin. I never understood laying out the price of a Volkswagan for a scope that doesn't shoot any better or kill'em deader. Here's a couple I use regularly:
Savage 99E .243 Weaver K4. More accurate than I am.

Thompson Contender with a .17 HM2 Bbl and a K10 AO - Bragging rights accurate.

What the heck - one more: Savage 99A in .250 Weaver K4. A cutie and a shooter.

You folks calling that stuff "vintage" really makes me feel old.

Paul

I've got one in that vein, a 99F in .308 from 1957 with a Lyman All-American 4x with a post and cross hair reticle. I used it two or three years ago to take a little buck. I was undecided about the rifle till I saw the reticle, then I was hooked.

Not long ago I bought a Savage 99 30-30 of 1932 vintage. It had a Weaver 330 scope on it with more spherical aberration than I have ever seen. The center of the crosshairs was clear and straight. It shoots MOA if you can do it.

My 29S was the slightly less expensive version of the 330 (jim62--jump in here and educate us). It is honestly as clear as a bell, edge-to-edge. Its low power and field of view is less than desirable. Optics are uncoated too. Makes low light shooting a challenge.

I did see one of the 330 reproductions at Charlotte this weekend. This scope had significant aberrations. Don't know if this is typical for this scope or not.

I used a B&L 8A with B&L mounts on this 2006 hunt. 7 RM, 300 yds exactly, buck took no steps. My other B&L is on a like 270.

You are correct about the 29s having msot of the feaures of the 330 scopes. Since all of Weaver's pre war scopes were 3/4" tubed scopes with straight objectives, it is hard at first glance to tell them all apart.

The 330/440 scopes were te best they made until 1945. They were rated for any centerfire rifle had the longest eye relief of any of the scopes they made-3.5" and the best lense system.

The 29s was what Weaver considered a lower priced "dual purpose" centerfire /rimfire scope. It had 3.25" eye relief and anchromatic lenses as well as click adjustable turrets.

Bill Weaver had sort of a fetish for small 3/4" tubed centerfire rated scopes and kept them in his line until the late 1960s. After WWII the 29S was replaced by the "J" series 2.5 and 4x scopes scopes which were made until 1965 and then an "A" series was made around 1967 for only 1 or 2 years.

Here is another one of mine. This is a 10X Unertl on a 700BDL .264 Win Mag. This is a tack driver. reflex264

I enjoy hearing old Weaver stories. Bill and my grandfather were best friends. One of my prize possetions is a J2.5 that Bill gave grandpa. It is a preproduction scope. There aint enough money in the world to buy that one. reflex264

a few of my old Weavers......

Here is a j2.5 post reticle in super nice condition


Here is a JC Higgins K2.5 made by Weaver. This was a brand new scope never mounted.


Here is one of the earliest production K4s. Early 1946 before they started putting the other adjustment screws on them.


Here is a C9 from the 60s.

I've never seen a Unertl receiver mounted 10x, internal adjustment scope before.
That is hugely cool.
Have had several Unertl's in the past, and one now; all external adjustment Target scopes.
Great pix of period rifles and scopes you posted.
Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Great thread! A lot more pictures would make it even better.

Reflex264, I love your awesome Marlin rifles, especially that A from '52. Is it a 30-30 or 35? And what brand are those tip-up mount bases? I have never seen ring placement that far forward except on my own hand-made custom bases. I would love to get another SC one day, a pre-microgroove 35. I had a few back in the day but sold them to guys on the old Marlintalk forum. You probably know them as well.

I have an old Weaver V9 with AO (IIRC). It works fine. I'm trying to find a use for it.

This one's almost a little too vintage--although I'm grateful I have it. Factory-scoped 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer with the original Oigee 4x in Springer-type mounts. Left the factory in 1928, and optics were definitely different back then! My 10-year-old son compares this scope to a funhouse mirror, and he's not far off the mark--coke-bottle lenses with odd distortion around the perimeter, gigantic picket-type reticle that makes any kind of target precision out of the question but does show up pretty well in heavy timber.