Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Old rifle scopes still tickin' on hunting rifles.

The only scope I ever had internally fog on me was a nearly new Sightron. My 30 - 40 year old scopes ? Never, and they've been used in inclement weather as bad as it gets.

I have several old Redfield’s that are still very good

Leupold 3/4” Pioneer 4x on a custom Mauser my cousin built back in the 50’s iirc.

My wife has an old weaver blued scope on her slug gun. I was at the range one day and the young guy came over and looked at the gun. And said the scope looks like it’s blued. I said that’s because it is.

Unertl 4X and 3 B&L Balvar 2.5-8..

I use more steel tube Weavers and PermaCenter Lyman's than anything else . I do have some Stiths , Redfield's , couple of Swifts , a Unertl 12x and 20x Lyman . Only new scope is the Nikon straight tube with the hog reticule on my 77 mkII Ruger 6.5 Swede carbine. It's actually a shotgun scope but looks right on the carbine and is perfect for the short distance I hunt at around here. Would love to have a Balvar but I don't have the patience to hunt down a mount setup for one and only have one rifle I can think of that they likely made a mount for anyway. I have an Alaskan but the lens separated 25 years ago and I haven't had it fixed.

Weaver 4X bought in 64. Was on a 700BDL. Now sits on my grandson’s 10-22.

Lyman "All-American" 4x32mm

Id rather talk about this

I have two El Paso Weavers on AR's. Still rockin'

Don't look like "old scopes", and they used a lot of silicone to position the lenses.

Several El Paso weavers and Redfield PCH reticle fixed powers are still doing good work for me Bob. My newest scopes are Colorado Burris Fullfield and one Signature. One duplex, all the rest are PCH. That single duplex wouldn’t be except Burris ran out of PCH reticles 20 years ago. I got the last one they had put into the Signature 1.5x6 scope.
Raised on iron sights rifle and pistol, the PCH is just a post front sight to me.
Best regards Sir,
F01

My first scope was a early 80's luepold 4x. It went on my Remington 541. It's been on and off many rifles. Showing a little ring wear but is still ticking on a 45/70 single shot.

It appears my 30 year old Nikon Buckmasters are hardly worth mentioning.

kwg

Like a lot of new scopes. A lot of plastic parts, made in China...

1930's Zeiss was a very good scope. More modern is a Hakko mounted on my Sako 221 Fireball since I picked it up new back in the 80's at an outdoor show. I sighted it in with my hunting load and haven't even had to adjust it one time since then. Have killed lots of coyotes with it and been many miles on a 4 wheeler. Tough scope and great reticle.







The different color windows change the reticle color as you spin the ring. I leave it on white with the orange light gathering bubble. No batteries. Works great on a moonlit night, especially if there's snow on the ground.

My father gave me his M1917 that had an old Weaver scope on it, I assume the scope was put on it sometime in the early 50's.

On my first hunt with it I was hunting elk in the Willmore Wilderness Area southwest of Grand Prairie AB, on this particular hunt we rode in on Horseback about an 8-hour ride in.

Anyway, it was snowing while we rode to our spot and the scope got a little wet while I was riding through trees and the snow fell onto the scabbard which was attached to my saddle.

So I finally get a shot at a nice 6x6, I brought the scope up to aim and shoot and all I could see through the scope was a little pinhole of light surrounded by white fog, it was so bad I could not see the elk and so obviously I didn't take the shot. I have never been soooooo pissed while hunting!

I replaced the Weaver as soon as I got back to town with a Bausch + Lomb Elite 4200, with Rainguard.

NEVER AGAIN with the old scopes!!!!

I have a 1983 Redfield Lowpro and it still works but it is foggy... I have not used it in 10 yrs. neither. My dad bought a 300 Savage in 1956 with a weaver scope 4 power and still works, but it was hardly every used. The cross hairs are off center... Has anyone else seen that , was it a bad scope or did they do that on purpose for some reason?

have a older 4X Redfield on a Win. 69A 22 rimfire.....looks like new and glass bright and clear. Perfect for a 22, only weighs 9.2 ozs. Have a 2x7 Redfield on a CZ 22 hornet, a couple 2x7 Leupolds on a 243 and 308 rifles, 2 retired Redfields Widefields in 3x9 that perform like new....one is the Illuminator that was sent to Iron Sight for work....need to sell these will probably never use them again. About every thing now is matte finish, weighs a pound or more, and does not look right on blued guns....just me, but I am old school thru and thru.