Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Bausch & Lomb Balvar 8A

Thinking about getting one to put on a Savage 170 I just bought. How do the optics compare to current scopes?

I'd say better than the other scopes of that era, but not up to the better, more expensive scopes of today. That would be for a Balvar 8 w/o internal adjustments.
I gave up on them because they are a real pain to adjust the adjustable mounts they require. But, other than that, they are a very tough, very practical scope. First focal plane reticle, BTW. E

The TCH reticle is hard to see in low light and a BalVar 8A would be an externally adjusted scope, so you'd need to find a base. I have a bunch of B&L Balvar scopes, bases, and rings in boxes, but no longer have any of them mounted.

Jeff

Found one at a good price with the proper base in pretty good shape. This isn't going to be a primary hunting gun but I plan to use it once or twice. I hate to say it but I found myself without a .30-30 and always wanted to try one of these and I don't want to put a lot of money in it. I would think one of the Balvars would be hell for rugged too.

Actually, the reticle in the Balvar 8, since it's a FFP design, is easier to see at the higher magnifications than it is at the lower ones, especially 2.5X.
A lot of people, including myself, have been fooled when using scopes during low light conditions by the brighter image one finds at the lower magnifications. Since the image is brighter, they assume they can see more or better. Actually, even with a dimmer image, more magnification will allow you to see not only more detail, but further as well. E

Yes, I'm aware that the reticle almost disappears at 2.5x under low light condition. The problem being that, even if you can see the reticle at 8x, there isn't enough FOV (for me) when the target is a running deer at close range in tight cover.

According to my inventory records, I have 30 externally adjusted B&L scopes in 2.5x, 4x, 6x, 8x, 2.5-4x, 2.5-5x, and 2.5-8x boxed up and on shelves.

Jeff

I have almost nothing but the Balvars on my guns as always condsiderd it top of the line. Todays scopes with more/better lens coatings though, do seem to define targets, etc., more clearly at times. I love the TCH reticle and wish todays scope makers would make one as absolutely do NOT like the duplex, never have. I find the adjustable bases great, because once adjusted, can (and have) switched scopes from one rifle to the other. I'm going to Africa in a month or so, and the 375 has a 2 1/2 power B&L on it, but will throw another one in the gun case, in the Balvar 8, and if need to can swap it out, and KNOW it's right on. Have done this a few times, to check it out. Have also, in a snow storm a few years back, taken the scope off the rifle, since it;s just a push and pop up thing to do, and put it under the edge of my jacket where it's stay cool, but keep the snow off the lens. 260Remguy, you a collector?

I hope that you have the spring-style rings, rather than the plunger-style rings on your 375. I saw a guy with a Browning FN Mauser in 375 have a B&L scope equipped with plunger-style rings bounce off the rifle when he fire it.

I dislike the TCH reticle, too fine for my eyes.

I used to be into the B&L series of scopes and mounts, got to talk to the late Fred Warren about them, and accumulated quite a pile of them over the years. Not a collector, per se, more of an accumulator, but I got a bunch of it, some NIB, and some of the near little auxillary peep sights.

The only externally adjusted non-target style scope that I currently have mounted is a 1" Unertl 10x Vulture(?) in B&L bases & rings on a Remington 722 in 222.

Jeff

lookin for a scope for my 788 - 222

concidering a B&L if i can find the right one -

eBay?

Jeff

There is some guy that sells Khurasky (spelling?) and B&L mounts

Fred Warren sold B&L scopes, rings, and bases, plus the Kuharsky Brothers, Erie, PA, rings and bases.

Now that Fred has passed away, the only source of the old B&L stuff (with any volume) that I'm aware of is H.E. Gibbs in NY. www.hegibbs.com I never had much satisfaction in my limited dealings with Mr. Gibbs, seeking the occasional odd/unusual base, but you may have better success than I.

Jeff

Jeff,
Have dealt with Harry a couple times.Last time was for a mount for a 99 Savage.Always prompt in shipping the items out. Plan to call him tomorrow to trade out a Remington 30S base for a 96 Mauser.
The Balvar 8`s are fine scopes and I guess viewing the full page ad for them every month inside the front cover of The American Rifleman must have had an effect. I have nine of them at the moment.Three are on custom Mausers and two on 99 Savages.Have also run the table with mounts.Leupold Adjusto mount on a 99,Beuhler micro on a mauser,Stith on a 99 and B&L and Kuharsky on the rest.
A note when purchasing..Though these scopes were sealed very well and are not prone to fog I have noticed on several that they get spots on the erector lens that is visible at the higher power setting.The cause for this I believe, is the atomization of the grease used to lubricate the variable power tube.They are fairly simple to disassemble and clean should you have this problem.I remove most of the grease to prevent it from recurring. I do fill with nitrogen when reassembled.
If you are interested in paring down your "accumalation" I`m looking for a Balvar 4.

Joe

Because they were compact in size, I used to keep a Balvar4 as my spare/back-up B&L scope. Shoot me a PM with your contact information and I'll see what I can find, the EXCEL file show that I have 3 of them and I know that there is 1 in a sock in my range box that has been there for at least 15, maybe even 20, years.

I found the late Fred Warren a great guy to work with, not so Mr. Gibbs, but I bought a fair amount of stuff from Fred and only a couple of sets of bases from Mr. Gibbs.

Jeff

Well I bought the Balvar 8A with the correct mounts for the Savage now I will need to figure out the adjustments when it gets here. I have never seen one up close so I hope it is easy to figure out

They are easy to figure out. But not easy to get just right. If it's the classic B&L style mount, be careful about inspecting it if it gets dropped on the scope's objective. That can bend the tongue or the spring loaded piece that keeps the scope in place. E

Picked up the scope yetserday and got it mounted up. Pretty straight forward.