Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ask John Barsness Questions About "SCOPE HEIGHT."

Hi Folks:

John Barsness's latest exclusive Campfire column, "SCOPE HEIGHT," is on its way to all email newsletter subscribers. If you haven't received this or previous versions, please PM me your email addy, and you'll be on board for future monthly columns.

This is the place to ask John questions about his column. So let 'er rip.

Don't forget to check out John's (and Eileen's ) other great stuff at http://www.riflesandrecipes.com.

Many thanks, as usual, John!

I've PMed rick asking to get on his email list with no response (I used to be on the list). Still no link to the article. Any chance someone could post a link?

Same here. I also PM'd Rick to get back on the list I thought I was on, but no response. Where can I link to the article?

My guess is that Rick is on spring break from the California school system. I sent him another column a few days ago and haven't heard anything, and he usually responds right away.

Try this:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/newsletters/February_2011.html

Thanks!

Good article, thanks.

I had often wondered scope height-low mounting and why it was important to a lot of riflemen. For my style of hunting, (close quarters dense woods) a scope that comes up on target without a lot of head bobbin, movement, stock crawling, and weaving is more important than being concerned only with a low mount. My features seem to require at least a medium mount on most rifles to achieve this.

I agree with everything in the article except for the opening line about Redfield making the first "practical" variable scopes in the 1960s.

According to the Shooters Bibles I have from the early 1960s ,Redfield did not even have ANY variables on the market as of 1962.The only thing Redfield listed were the Bearcub Fixed power scopes in 2.75, 4 and 6x.

Both Leupold and Bushnell had 3-9x scopes out by 1962 that look pretty much like any 3-9 variable sold today. The Leupolds were the very first "Vari-X" models. They were listed as being continuous variables with fog proofing and have internal adjustments. Unless they did not have centered reticles (unlikely by 1962), they would have been as practical as any other hunting scope of that era.

The first Leupold variable (which did come out in 1962) did NOT have constantly centered reticles, and didn't for two years. Redfield introduced their 3-9x in 1963--with a constantly centered reticle.

Well, there you go...That explains your viewpoint.

I am agreed that a constantly centered reticle makes all the difference in terms of a practical variable. I wonder when the Bushnell scopes had centered reticles?

A bit late I discovered the same thing -- for almost all of my rifles, medium rings give me a better instant sight picture.

Not sure whether it pre-dated the Redfield or not, but there were a lot of Bausch and Lomb 2.5 to 8x's around here back in the early 60's. Nice scope with good optics and a finely tapered reticle, but the external mounts were a pain the ass to adjust. The main selling point was that you could easily switch the scope from one rifle to another and back again if you had the B&L mounts on each gun.

Yeah, the B&L was made in the 1950's, so predated the Redfields, as did the first Weaver variables. Zeiss and Kahles were making variables long before that.

But ALL of those scopes were first-focal-plane, which meant the reticle looked too thick at higher magnifications, especially for American shooters. B&L got around that withe the tapered reticle, while Weaver used a reticle with 3 parallel crosshairs, both horizontal and vertical. At low magnification the crosshairs tended to blend together, while at higher magnifications the center crosshairs were used for aiming.

Redfield was the first company to mass-produce a second-focal-plane variable with a constantly centered reticle and internal adjustments--exactly the sort of scope that shooters mostly use today.

Exactly how & where do I measure my rifles to get their scope height?

On low mounted scopes some riflemen have the tendancy to roll their head over the stock to align scope with eye. The opposite happens with a higher mounted scope. The rifleman lines up with the stock and sight picture without tilting the head to find the site picture.

Measure from the center of the bore to the center of the scope. Usually the top of the stock is right at the center of the bore.

Might find what you're looking for here:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/newsletters/

I'd bookmark it.

I just picked up an Anschutz .22 with a Weaver V-8 (2-8X) scope with the triple wires as John mentions and external adjustments. Any comments on the scope as per value,collector interest, and years of manufacture, etc. I will be taking it off the rifle shortly as it is a little large and likely will sell it at some point.

I bought one off of eBay for $90.00 last year. I'm trying to get everything "period correct" on my Dad's pre-64 model 70 that I inherited.

I purchased the same model scope about fifteen years ago, as kind of a lark. Thought it might be fun to kill a deer with an antique scope.

By the time opening day was over, that scope had cost me four legal deer.

I finally figured out, that every time I pulled the rifle out of my saddle scabbard, I was laying my right thumb on top of the scope and moving it in the externally adjustable mount.

I put my trusty old 2.5-7x32 El Paso Weaver back on the rifle and killed a nice buck and a cow elk the next Saturday.

I am still looking for some person I dislike enough to give that old V8 to.