I have a highwall 1885 in 30/30 that came with a Unertl 12X. Has the 28” octagon barrel. If it can be done I’d rather have one of my favorite hunting scopes mounted, Leupold VX-III 2.5-8X.
Depends on the end use. Were it mine I would leave the 12x Unertl on it, but then again in my possession it would expend 99.99% of its shots on paper. If the rifle is d/t'ed also for "modern" mounts why not have the best of both worlds? The Unertl for making tiny groups at the range and then swap the favorite hunting scope onto it when time comes to take it afield.
