Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Balvar 8

I picked up two of these very reasonable and they are very nice scopes.

Has anyone mounted these in a Windage adjustable mount and shimmed them for elevation? I'd like to put them on a couple of old coyote guns.

erich,

There used to be specific mounts for scopes with no internal adjustment.

The windage and elevation adjustments are both in the mounts. The mounts I have were made by Kuharsky (sp)? You might see them on G/broker or Ebay.

My Uncle had a Balvar 8 on his Model 70 Featherweight .243 and I always thought it was "so neat".

I had one on a Springfield '06 sporter many years ago. The scope was very good and I never had much trouble with the mounts. I think they were Bausch and Lomb mounts and once adjusted they tended to stay put.

e, I have one on my old .30-06.. It has the Kuharsky mount.. They are tough to get sighted in, but once there they stay.. When I bought this in the 60's they were the top of the line.. It is still a great glass.

A couple of decades ago, I bought a Savage 99F in 243 that had a B&L BalFor-A, the second style of 4x scope that B&L without internal windage and elevation adjustments. The scope was installed in a Redfield turn-in base with windage adjustments in the base and elevation adjusted with shims. I don't know if it worked, as I pulled the scope and mounts and sold the rifle.

B&L, in Rocheter, NY, contracted with Kuharsky Brothers in Erie, PA, to produce the bases for their "Bal-xx" line of externally adjusted hunting scopes. IIRC, there were 10 different "Bal-xxx" series hunting scopes made; 2.5x Baltur and Baltur-A, 4x Balfor and Balfor-A, 6x Balsix, 8x Baleight, 2.5 or 4x Balvar, 2.5-5x Balvar5, 2.5-8x Balvar8 and Balvar8-A.

There are several different styles of rings, but they fall into two basic categories, the earlier "plunger-style" and later "spring-style".

In the late 1940's and 1950's Leupold made externally adjustable mounts, the "Adjusto-Mount", and Stith made their "Master Mount".

A couple of decades ago, I was very "into" the B&L Bal-xxx scopes and mounts, eventually accumulating a couple dozen scopes and at least 100 base and ring sets, most of which are in tote boxes in my storage unit.

What make/model of rifle do you need bases for? I'm going there this week to look for some B&L bases for other guys who have asked about them.

For years, Fred Warren from Cleveland, OH, was THE EXPERT on the B&L Balvar scopes, rings, and bases. Fred contracted for some styles of bases and rings to be made by a job shop in either OH or PA. Some of the rings were a style that Fred created and were different from any cataloged by B&L and made by Kuharsky Bros. The bases and rings that Fred had made up were in boxes marked "Pimm".

PS - Fred Warren has passed away and his death was a sad day for B&L and S&W fan, as Fred had a large collection of B&L optics and S&W revolvers. He was a great guy to talk with, very knowledgeable, very willing to help anyone who asked. He was active in OGCA, Ohio Gun Collectors Association, and regularly had tables at the major OGCA shows.

Thanks you for all the info and that someone has done this in the past.

I'm looking to put it on a Rem 722 and a Rem 600. I'm going to try the windage adjustable rings and a one piece Weaver style base as I can shim the base quite a bit without stressing the scope tube. I got these to play with so don't want to put a lot of money into the project. Years ago I had a Pachmayer Swing Away mount on a Sav. 99 that had windage and elevation built into it but was really tricky to get sighted in as it was basically an eccentric on either end of the mount.

A 2-piece set of B&L bases for the Remington 700 series would be pretty common. The bases, together with a set of "spring-style" set of rings, could probably be found for under $75.

Remington 600/660 bases are much less common and harder to find.

I mounted one of them on the 600 6x45 with a Weaver base and Millet rings that I had lying around. It bore sighted very close.

It is surprising how clear and sharp these old sçopes are, as good as my new 4200 2.5-10 and better than my vortex viper.

I did score a Stith Master Mount for the 722/721.

Looking to shoot it sometime this week.

Do you think this Stith will hold up to the recoil of my 721 in 35 Whelen,what a classic outfit that would make.

I think that a Stith Master Mount would handle the recoil of a 35 Whelen fine.