Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Stith mounts worth anything?

Well I know they are pretty well sought after for certain guns. A friend has a set for his Rem 760 and was thinking about putting them on a gun he's trading. I saw them and told him to hang onto them until I could look into them a little. They worth anything?

I guess not. Are they worth keeping?

Maybe most of us just don't know. Heck, some might not even know what Stith mounts ARE.

My time in a gun shop is a decade past, but even then, Stith mounts were regarded as the eight-track of scope mounts. That is, they were an early attempt that has long since been passed over by much more effective systems.

Unless you wanted to authentically restore an old rifle like a Rem Model 30 to period authenticity, such mounts would have little value. To that one guy who is doing such a project, they'd be worth their weight in belly buttons...if you could find that guy.

Thanks.

Post this in the Savage forum. They'll be able to tell you more about them.

It depends on which Stith mount it is.

The Stith "Install-It-Yourself" mounts that use the rear sight dovetail in the barrel as the foundation for the front ring are fairly well thought of by collectors and people who have a rifle that that wasn't factory d&t with the "standard" Redfield/Weaver hole specs.

The Stith "Master" mounts, with windage and elevation in the mount, like the B&L BalVar mounts, aren't as well loved.

I think that, with few exceptions, like the Savage 1899/99, they are more of a curiosity than a practical mount in 2011.

JEff

They used to be the "go to" mount, years ago before rifles were commonly factory prepped (D/T'd) for scope mount bases, for the working fella who either couldn't afford a gunsmith or lived too far from one - OR the person who just plain didn't want to permanently alter the factory condition of their rifle.

They would still be desireable today, to a knowledgeable shooter with an older rifle in need of scoping - especially if the Stith's advantages referred to above were used to create value for the sale.

Check the gun auction sites like gunbroker and auctionarms, as IIRC they seem to trade for around $150.00 - maybe worth nothing to some, but plenty enough IMO.

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Any Stith no drill for a bolt gun requires the receiver sight cut to be made in the stock. Something you don't want to do with your Super Grade 7x57 model 70.

The nodrills are scope/tube diameter/tube length specific. As there were few "short actions" then, a 99 7/8" mount will work for a Lyman Alaskan but not for a Leupold 2.5x Alaskan. The ones for Weaver Ks have a size specific front objective lens housing.
As K4s and K6s came with two different objective lens sizes over the years you need to be sure which you have,

The "master mounts" are no things of beauty but are far more solid than a B&L (ugly), Buehler Microdial (handsome) or Leupold Adjusto Mounts (handsome and quite solid). The master mounts are quite "overbuilt". Once set and locked they are there to stay.

As 260 points out, the "no drills" are the holy grail for undrilled 99 owners and the Ebay price for a minty 7/8" or weaver model can easily hit $200.00 or more.
They also have windage adjustment in the rear base which is nice with scopes before the era of "perma center".

Got a few on classic rifles with classic scopes and they work just fine.
A fine period scope (like a BalVar 8) will stand up optically today with many scopes costing a great deal more. (In its day, the BalVar 8 was considered quite expensive).

Remington 721 AC 300 H&H with BalVar 5 in Leupold Adjusto Mounts.
Never loses zero and always shoots 1".

Larry Root strikes again!

Go away, stop changing your handle, leopards can't change their spots and jerks like you are and always will be jerks, regardless of how many times you change your handle and try to hide from your past.

JEff

Jeff, was what I said incorrect ? what anything I said demeaning to you ? was anything I said "unhelpful" to the OP ? So..... why should I go away ? To satisfy you ?
I'm all done fighting with you few.

Jeff, was what I said incorrect ? what anything I said demeaning to you ? was anything I said "unhelpful" to the OP ? So..... why should I go away ? To satisfy you ?

I'm all done fighting. Have you read my posts ?

nsaqam and I had a frank, adult PM conversation. We agreed to "move on".
Be happy to have the same PM talk with you if you wish.

Thanks.

I just wanted to point out that Larry and I are not buddies but since the advent of Swampy I have gotten to be more tolerant of Larry.
Primarily because Larry has real firearms experience and he provides some very good info and insight at times.

Swampy merely trolls.

I'm fine with Larry as long as he continues to provide good info and doesn't descend into threats of LE retaliation for perceived slights or some of the other behaviors he's exhibited in the past.

Good info on the mounts Larry. What do you know about the specific mounts that the OP is referring to? Those for the Remington 760.

Larry,

You have knowledge to share, but refuse to accept that which doesn't sync with your opinion or knowledge base. What I object to is your gross disrespect for Rick Bin and this site, since you keep getting banned and insist on coming back with a different handle. I doubt your sincerity. If you don't like it, complain to Rick.

JEff

Jeff, I expressed an interest in moving on. If you don't wish to that is up to you. Thanks

Nsaqam. I'm guessing they are the Master Mounts (top mounts).

There was a whole pantload of them for sale in this auction:

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=8541287

They would mount on top OR could be the style where the rear base used the receiver sight holes (don't know if 760s were D&T on left side).

Most also had a built in "peep" sight, so backup sighting was but a few moments work.

The adjustment system was somewhat like B&L but more positive and the hold down feature was far better than the B&L plunger system. They also came in 3/4, 7/8, 1" and 26mm. The latter being a biggie to those of us who still love Kolmorgen, Stith/Kollmorgens and early Kollmorgen Redfields.
A green 6X Kollmorgen with the "standing man" reticle is a treasure.

You could also swap scopes among rifles with less loss of zero than the B&L, (especially once the B&L plunger has some wear).

Would not hesitate to use a set if I had a fine scope with no internal adjustments.
Period correct for a classic rifle and sure to start a "what is that" conversation at the range.

Both the Leupold Adjusto Mount and Buehler Microdial are far better looking, but if I were gonna throw a 2.75 Koli 26mm with a big post on a c. 1950 375 H&H M 70 and whup it around in a saddle scabbard to get up to the black timber, I go with these.
(Kolis don't fog, they built periscopes for the USN)

While optics have progressed, a top quality 50s-60s scope gives little away in real world hunting situations. Kinda the "the 30-06 is obsolete debate".

Hope this helps a bit.