Will the Talley lightweight lows give adequate barrel clearance on a pre-64 M70 standard grade barrel with a Leupold Vari-x III 2 1/2-8 ? Thanks guys.

You'll probably need the extended rings..

Extendeds are always a good idea because it gives you about 3/8" of options.

The mounting length on the Leupy 2.5-8 is pretty short so the extended rings are always a big help for most guys. I actually like them to go the other way and have the extension on the rear ring so I can push the scope forward enough to get a full view. When I was thinking about running a 2.5-8x36 on my 30-06 fwt, I went with this set of Leupold DD's:




The leupolds long eye relief along with it's short tube can make it a PITA to mount..

rg, barrel clearance will be fine, but like bsa said, the tube length may be an issue. Talley makes a 1/4" and a 1/2" offset (extended) ring. I believe the 1/4" brings the ring base flush with the front of the ejection port and the 1/2" overhangs it by 1/4". Also, youmay be able to use the ex-lows with that 36mm obj if your preference is "low as you can go".
John

I don't think Talley makes extra low extended rings. I may be wrong, but I think I ran into that before. The problem with going to an extra low ring on the pre 64 is not in the objective bell clearance, but with bolt handle clearance.

I'd run a different scope before I'd resort to rings that overhang the action: I like to have a wide loading area. The 2.5-8 is a great scope but not one worth compromising for.

I'm in about the same boat O45. That's why I switched to the regular old Leupold DD's and used a different scope. I know a lot of guys love the 2.5-8 leupy, but sometimes a 3.5-10x40 or similar scope fits better with less headache...

Here is what it looks like on my featherweight , sorry for the poor photo , but I think they will work ?

Looks like they should work. Are those lows? Also, the front extended ring would be flush with the loading port. This would allow for a little more adjustment fore to aft if needed. Here is a newer short action model 70 with the extended front ring:



I didn't like the looks of this combo (short action rifle and long tube scope), just showing a picture of how the extended ring looks on the receiver.

Yes sir lows , the extended version does seem to be a better option , I had them around so I used what I had.

These are Talley like steel rings (Matt Williams) in Talley like steel bases (Michael Shirz) on a pre-64 M70 that, from a front to back perspective, should be quite close to Tally steel rings and, I suspect, the one piece LW's. The scope is a 1.75-6X Leupold. A fair bit of mounting tube length is still available fore and aft.

Ed. Those are beautiful mounts and rings and they work wonderfully with that scope. However, they are not steel talleys. Ask me how I know. Yours are great, in that they are positioned right up to the edge of the ejection port (both aft and forward ring). This simplifies mounting a scope with a short tube. Here is what regular ol steel talleys look like on pre 64 model 70's..: