Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors 50's vintage scope recommendations

When I first received my grandpa's 1949 vintage 99EG in 300 Savage, it was sporting his nice vintage Weaver fixed 6 power scope on Weaver bases. My problem was that when I had a good cheek weld on the stock, I was looking at the scope mounts, and the old 6 power scope seemed dim compared to modern scopes. Accuracy was poor, so I took off the scope, plugged the holes, and put a Redfield 70LH sight on it, and it works great.

Now that I have added several other nice, unmodified 99 and 1899 Savages to my collection, none of which have scopes or are D&T'd, I am thinking about putting grandpa's rifle back the way it was and finding another home for the Redfield tang sight. However, the scope mounts will still be too high, and the scope will still be dim, but I want to keep using the rifle.

Question 1: Do the Weaver style mounts come in different heights, where I might be able to lower the scope a little without drilling any more holes, etc and keep the rifle's look somewhat like it originally was?
Question 2: The original Weaver K6 scope had a glossy blue finish and was fairly plain on the outside. 6 power is too much magnification IMO for a 200 yd gun. I am thinking about a fixed 2 or 4 power scope, or maybe a variable power like my Leupold 2-7X scope, which has great optics, etc but has a matte finish and more angular shapes. Are there any reproduction type scopes which would keep a vintage appearance with better optics, or is there a 50's vintage scope that can be found with better optics than the old Weaver? I have not had an opportunity to inspect many vintage scopes, but am wondering if a K4 Weaver (which would look most like the K6), or even a K2.5 or Lyman Alaskan style scope would compare more favorably to my modern Leupolds for low light, clarity, etc.

Thanks for the input, and hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

i would go with a lyman scope and the low weaver tip-off rings they get a scope about as low as you can go on a mod. 99.

Ed

Lyman Alaskan is by far the priciest option, plus then you have to find low 7/8" rings. I do love them though.

The Weaver K4 was a very common favorite on 1950's 99's, and is cheap and easy to find rings for. While the 4x might be higher than preferred for very heavily timbered country, it's a very good fit for Wyoming/Nebraska.

Nothing wrong with a vintage Leupold 4x either, can find them on eBay usually. Or even a modern 4x power Leupold (or other preferred brand).

The lowest mounts I ever came across are the Stith "No Gunsmithing" mounts. They put the scope lower to the bore than Weavers. But another solution might be for you to put on a leather lace up comb riser. You can find them on eBay and one will solve your problem if you decide to remount the old K6. They also look "period correct" if that is important. I also think that the older Lyman and Leupold scopes were a cut above the contemporary Weavers in quality - though none will come close to what modern optics have to offer. With modern scopes I would try to find something that looked like the older scopes - I think the fixed power Redfields that were offered by Leupold will do that. I'm not sure if Leupold still sells the Redfield line - maybe someone here can address that question.

how low you go is dictated by size of the lens bell.

I put redfield wideviews on most of mine, should be able to find one in 2x7 or 3x9 easily,

I don’t know when they started making them, but I have low weaver pivot mounts and a 4x fixed Leupold that are totally period correct to a ‘66 DL I bought. I was skeptical of the pivot mounts as I previously had no experience with them, but they hold/come back to zero perfectly so far. The scope is nice and low, the old glass is still really perfect. Maybe it doesn’t collect as much light in really low light situations as my current production leupolds do, but it’s FAR from being problematic or disappointing. 100% functional and totally period correct. I wouldn’t even think about trying to upgrade into current production stuff on that rifle unless I broke something. And i’d regret having to do so.

A modern straight tube Leupold 1 to 4 variable would do you fine. A Buehler one piece mount puts the scope very low. I have this setup on a 99 T.