Once again, thank you all for the remarks and kind input!
Popgun & Battue- I see all y'all's viewpoints- I may be in the minority of facial structure. Either that or I love old rifles that happen to have lots of drop at comb.
I'm using the old pre 64 Monte Carlo profile, which still has a significant amount of drop at the comb. I was playing with an older featherweight in Cabelas (1.5-6x 32 Leupold in medium rings) recently and I was surprised that I did still have some cheek weld, but very lightly so. I have always striven for a firm cheek weld and for my eyes to meet the sight when they arrive with my face on the comb
Perhaps dual dovetail lows might be the ticket for me. My gunsmith told me that if I wanted, they could tweak the bases to a custom height to suit me best. I think on a custom rifle like this it's worth the effort, if there's enough meat on the bases to mill away and still be secure.
bsa when that rifle was put together I was not sure about a scope but suspected it would get a fixed 6X. But of course not knowing I wanted a bit of flexibility in mounting so Gene installed the DD's with the extended rear base.
You don't want to mount a fixed 6X with the rings too far back or you can break the reticle tightening the rings,because of where it's positioned in the tube....so the extended DD provided some fudge factor.
My own view on hitting moving game is that it does have a lot in common with shotgunning. I have never shot sporting clays but have done a lot of grouse and other bird hunting. Like shotgunning if your face is leaving the stock as the shot breaks you're doing it wrong and it's the same with a rifle.Follow through is essential.Which for me includes maintaining cheek weld.
IMO such shots should be done with scopes of modest power and both eyes open,because excessive recoil can jar you off target,and in heavy cover (or in the open) staying with the animal after the shot is important.A small FOV is not a help. I have noticed that when it has gone smoothly for me I have seen the animal react to the shot, watched them collapse(usually down) through the scope,much the same as an upland hunter will see the grouse collapse in mid air....or a clays shooter will see the bird shatter. It's much the same.
Rookies lift their heads,lower the rifle, to admire the shot or see results. They likely blew it on follow through.
bsa when that rifle was put together I was not sure about a scope but suspected it would get a fixed 6X. But of course not knowing I wanted a bit of flexibility in mounting so Gene installed the DD's with the extended rear base.
You don't want to mount a fixed 6X with the rings too far back or you can break the reticle tightening the rings,because of where it's positioned in the tube....so the extended DD provided some fudge factor.
My own view on hitting moving game is that it does have a lot in common with shotgunning. I have never shot sporting clays but have done a lot of grouse and other bird hunting. Like shotgunning if your face is leaving the stock as the shot breaks you're doing it wrong and it's the same with a rifle.Follow through is essential.Which for me includes maintaining cheek weld.
IMO such shots should be done with scopes of modest power and both eyes open,because excessive recoil can jar you off target,and in heavy cover (or in the open) staying with the animal after the shot is important.A small FOV is not a help. I have noticed that when it has gone smoothly for me I have seen the animal react to the shot, watched them collapse(usually down) through the scope,much the same as an upland hunter will see the grouse collapse in mid air....or a clays shooter will see the bird shatter. It's much the same.
Rookies lift their heads,lower the rifle, to admire the shot or see results. They likely blew it on follow through.
Amen Bob. I love your style!!!! I couldn't have said it any better and agree completely..
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
The issue with Pre '64's is that the bolt handle often hits the eyepiece before the objective is even close to touching the barrel. I am a fanatic for low mounted scopes. A scope to consider is the Leupold 3-9X33 ULTRALIGHT. This has a smaller diameter eyepiece that will completely clear a Pre '64 bolt handle with very low mounts. This scope has 5.5 inches of "ring spacing" as Leupold defines it. This is a little tight, but better than the 2.5-8x36 at 5.1 inches. I do not know if it will work with two piece bases. I used a one piece base.
You can use the Leupold SUPER LOW rings. These are so low that you will probably have to mill or file a bit off the base between the rings (NOT UNDER THE RINGS!) for the turret ring on the scope tube to clear. Some just barely clear, and some just barely touch. Some other mounts, such as Weaver style, might get a bit lower. Some Weaver style bases are really thin.
I believe the scopes with the smaller diameter eyepieces will allow you to get as low as you are going to get a scope to mount on a Pre '64 M70.
Last edited by GunDoc7; 01/22/15.
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