Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Norman Ford "Texan" Riflescopes. anyone here ever heard of them?

Or know if they are any good? There is one for sale at a pretty reasonable price, but I have never heard of that scope company or brand or model.

anyone here ever had one or know something about them?

They were made in the 1950's in Tyler, Texas, and were very good scopes for the day. The deal on the Campfire Classfieds is a pretty good one.

hat I just missed on! Offered ammo or loading supplies but a member with cash got it. Sigh....

I had a 6x, the only Texan scope I've ever seen. I'm far from an expert, but it was probably comparable to Weaver "K" scopes of that era.

Nick Stroebel included the Norman Ford Texan in his Old Scopes book, see pages 153 and 154.

Just curious, but for other than nostalgic reasons, why would you want to burn ammo using a 50+ year old scope with optically quality that you'd likely have nothing but contempt for if this was a current production scope?

Maybe for the same reason I don't trash can my first edition Weaver variable, a 2.5-5X. It has a third turret to change power. Glass is still usable but they were never dust or water proof. One even removed the turrets to install some rings. Maybe it is nostalgia, but I think it is neat. I may put it on a .22 from the same era. Jack

I have dozens of good quality pre-1960 scopes from both obscure and well known manufacturers in plastic tote boxes, including at least one Norman Ford Texan and a couple of Weaver KVs, one with a post, but no cross-hair like the later Weaver K series had, and one with a plain cross-hair. The most unusual, if I remember correctly, is a early Stith 4x scope that was made by Weaver in El Paso and looks like an early K2.5. Bought it from Stroebel a few years ago when he was doing one of his periodic house cleaning.

1) because I like to match older rifles with period correct scopes when I can, so long as the scope works well.

2) getting harder and harder to find scopes with a gloss finish, and this one had a gloss finish

3) also hard to find the post and crosshair reticle, and this scope had THAT feature as well.

Would have been pretty cool on a Savage 250/3000 or 358 or 1950's era 336 for example.

Just another example of the old saying about variety making the World go 'round.

I do the same sort of thing all the time. Today mounted a Noske 2-1/2x with a post reticle on a Husqvarna Model 46 9.3x57. Have killed a pile of animals with such old scopes as well--including a whitetail at 225 yards with the Noske when it was on a pre-WWII Savage 99 in .300 Savage.

I have a couple Norman Ford scopes myself. they are very solid scopes and great for matching up with a vintage rifle.. i must admit i am a vintage scopaholic.. Just like messin' with the old things I guess..

I have a few new/modern optics, but probably 80% of what I own and use is 1970's or older..

dave

I have an old Husqvarna 648, built on a small ring commercial (no thumb slot in the left side of the receiver) pre-1898 style Mauser action, in 8x57 JS that has a rugged side-mount with an early (friction windage/elevation adjustments)Weaver K2.5 installed on it. I'm sure that it would be functional for casual hunting, but I've never carried it afield in the eleven years that I've owned it and it has only been to the range a couple of times.

I just have too much stuff, firearms that never get fired, scopes that never get mounted, mounts that are over fifty years old and are still NIB.

Yeah, I know you have "too much stuff"!

Once in a great while I end up with a scope that never gets mounted or a rifle that never gets fired, but rarely. But if the scopes stay unmounted or the rifles stay unfired for a year or two, they're moved down the road.

I get to hunt enough that my older rifles normally end up taking game, and I like to hunt both with old iron sights and scopes, in order to have an appreciation both for what the "handicaps" were back then. I have cartridge rifles going back almost 150 years, and while I don't have any original muzzleloaders, all of mine are original-style flinters or percussion rifles, often close replicas of old models.

I usually try to take at least one big game animal each year with "iron" sights, and do most years, but if not I do some varmint or small game hunting with irons. The same applies to old scopes, though as I grow older myself it's interesting to see what people consider "classic" or "vintage" scopes. Have seen several on the Campfire Classifieds that I bought new and thought were cutting-edge 30-40 years ago.

I also hunt with completely modern rifles, with state of the art synthetic stocks, scopes, barrels, etc. It's great to be able to make a first-shot, cold-bore shot at extended ranges, but it's also great to be able to use an old gun to put some great meat in the freezer. I enjoy both, but am tending toward the old guns these days.

This '57 336SC Marlin .30-30 has a vintage Lyman 3X that matches the rifle and era quite nicely. And it still works well, too.
Bob

What reticle?

Heavy post and crosshairs. I have another unused older 4X Lyman in mint condition with that reticle, too. It'll go on a nice '53 .270 Winchester 70 I have.
Bob

I really like a post on those older low-power scopes myself. Had a 2.5x Lyman with the post-and-crosshair that I used to kill a couple of deer, then sold it. Can't remember why!

John, isn't it amazing we got anything with iron sights or old Weavers and Lymans.

Who in their right mind would use a sporterized-at Springfield 03-A3 in the ancient 30-06 round, topped with a P&CH Weaver K-2.5?

The 6X7 mulie I got in 1960 with a 99 EG 300 Svg and open sights must have blundered into the bullet's path.

I was 1 year old in 1960...

In 1960, the Weaver K series were common middle of the road scopes. When I was growing up in New Hampshire, Weaver K2.5s and K3s with the Post-Crosshair (PCH) reticles were very common. The more "well to do" hunter who I knew, or knew of, generally used B&Ls, Redfields, and (occasionally) Unertls.

The first two scopes that I owned were a K3 (PCH) on a Ruger 44 International and a V7 (Duplex) on a Remington 660 in 6mm. Still have the rifles and the scopes, but the scopes are in tote boxes and the rifles are mounted with Leupolds, a Vari-X III 1.5-5x20 on the Ruger and a Vari-X IIc 2-7x28 of the 660.

I think that the oldest scope that I still have mounted on a hunting rifle is a Lyman Alaskan on a Savage 1920 that once belonged to Larry Koller.