Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics If it were your rifle what scope would you run???

Find a good quality peep sight for it. Or perhaps an old gloss Leupold 3x. I'd think either would look right on it.

Different locals, tastes....

I have never, once seen an old hunting rifle around here with a peep.
(Not counting some milsurp gun with original sights. Which was rare
in my time)

Outside of paper shooters, nobody uses them, older gu s who had
military experience don't even use them.

I read stuff that would lead one to believe most iron sighted guns
use peeps. Must be different somewhere else?

Alright, since you said, "if it were my rifle":

A 1956. Probably similar to what you have. Sans the scope and mounts:


That's how I roll. That set up is good for 500 yards. No problemo. Want to see a 1961 fwt 30-06. A little different than yours, since it is in a Mcmillan:

Looks fine, shoots fine. Tested out to 400 yards. Good enough for killing anything at that range.

How about another 30-06 fwt? One I sold to a member here. Made in 1958. Red pachmayr replaced the worn out vented recoil pad that someone installed:


Another fwt 30-06 in Mcmillan:


I've used this set up enough to know that it absolutely works. Doesn't look half bad either. I also personally think the Leupolds look good on a pre 64 model 70. Doesn't have to be a gloss Leupold either:


However, what I can't deal with is how wonky most Leupold rifle scopes act when you dial the turrets. YMMV, but I have not had very good luck with them. They look great, but work like schidt. I'd rather use a scope with a great ballistic plex reticle that I can use without concern, than f around with a damn Leupold.

Some of you mention the steel tube Weaver K4.

Great scope, but the vintage glass is not as good as even a lower tier modern scope has. The Burris rifle scopes shown above are good examples of that. They may also fog up on you where a more modern scope will not.

Now, going back to Leupold: Some guys don't care that their Leupolds won't track. They are more or less "set and forget", but are they really? It makes me wonder how many guys actually shoot their rifles...

Well DAMN I may be unloading the one piece base and go with a set of two piece bases I do like that look Bsa1917hunter ThAnks for the pics Now are dual dove tail Leupold s available base wise ?

Leupold always seems to have sleek and classic lines. Not sure what budget you Have. Vx 6 2-12
Tract or meopta
Would also be up there

When I gave my pre-64 to my son some years ago, it had LW Talleys and a matte Leupy 3-9 on it, and looked good, but the DDs are a great idea, as are regular Talleys, fixed or removable if the rifle has sights.

My current K4 is on a “fun” gun more or less, and the glass is plenty good enough for hunting. An older M8 4x like I put on a full custom FN is similar, but also typically “Leupold vague” while sighting in. Didn’t shoot it enough to determine how well it will hold zero, and now it’s promised to a family member. Many here regard those as solid once dialed in.

Matte looks better on the M70s and if that shiny one is clean, you should have no trouble selling it to one of the raccoons here.🦝

Well Went snooping around local gun shop this morning for different scope/mount options..... BIG COSTLY MISTAKE lol Found a near MINT Remington 700 mountain rifle in 30-06 it’s an early one with the smooth bolt handle it’s got a gloss vari ii c 3-9 and it’s had a decelerator (black) added on Gun fits me like a glove Needless to say it came home with me Will mess with the featherweight later After today it looks ok lol

Ha ha. Sounds like a great find. Nothing wrong with that. I almost bought a really clean 721 last Saturday. Only because I don't have a 270 and that is a cool combo. The shop only wants $425 for it..

That 721 would be a nice rifle I have one in 30-06

Swaro Z3 3-9×36.

Installing a period correct scope would not even be a consideration for me. Improvements made since 1955 are too important to overlook.

As far as what looks right, there have probably been more Leupold scopes mounted on pre-'64 Model 70's than any other brand. So they look right to me. And I have had excellent experience with all the Leupold scopes I've owned and with the company.

A 3-9x40 seems ubiquitous and quite a good compromise on a .30-06. But there is a good case to be made for a smaller scope, either fixed magnification, or a lower range variable. The lower the magnification--the smaller can be the objective lens while maintaining brightness. And a smaller scope could possibly improve the physical and visual balance, while reducing all-up weight.

3.5x10 gloss Leupold, Talley bases and split rings

I’d say a Leupold 2.5-8 x36 would look appropriate & function well for a nice model 70. I like the S&B suggestion for $1250 quite a bit too.

Maybe a slightly newer, matte Leupold?

Doesn't sound like it's to be a really serious hunting rifle, but even if it is, a Leupold Vari-X III or a VX-III would be perfect..............that vintage of Leupold was pretty trouble free other than a few with stiff power adjustment rings.

MM

Custom Pre-74 M-70 with Leupold 2.5x8

Right. That's a great scope.

I'll have to look at it.........how's that for a set it and forget it scope? Here's what I know, it's dead on at 200 yards, at 300 I hold 8" high, at 400 24" high and whatever is in the way - goes in the freezer.

Agree with these recommendations. A Leupold 2-7x would also work well. That was my go to scope before I switched to 2.5-8x scopes in this class of rifle.

I’ve read a lot of the “Leupold is terrible” chatter. In the last 45+ years of using Leupold, mostly older fixed power and variables, I’ve sent one back. That one was on a 35 Whelen and had been stiff since I mounted it, because the power selector ring was hard to turn. They fixed it, quickly. The rifles I have them mounted on are 222-358 Magnums and have not had any of these scopes fail in use.

More recently, in the last 15 years, I’ve had Leupolds mounted on 375s, 416s, 404s - they’re still there. Guess my Leupold are the exception or I just got lucky.

BTW I dropped a Win 257AI FTW out of a tree stand with a Leupold 2-7x28, climbed out and retrieved. Took it to the range and it hadn’t lost zero. Guess I was lucky again. Anyway I’m glad I got the only good ones made so I’ll keep them.

Lyman 48...

I was going to suggest an older model of the same scope which still can be found used and come in gloss. The Z3's are all matte, I think. I just got a z3 3-10x42. I already had a 3-10x42 habicht. I also have an old gloss habicht nova in 3-9x36. Glass isn't nearly as good as the z3 or the habicht but can be had for a few hundred bucks used. A 3-9x36 habicht in gloss would look perfect on that rifle.