The 3-9x40 and 3.5-10x40 are much easier to mount up on a pre 64 model 70. For those, I use leupold DD's. Those look great and are still fairly reasonable in price. There are nicer, but they generally cost a lot more. Those would be the S&K and Conetrols. They are beautiful, but not worth the extra expense over the good ol DD's, for my needs and uses. In the past, there have been some guys state they use the Leupold 2.5-8x36 on their pre 64's without the use of an extended type ring. Those don't work for me: The first reason being you get no adjustment fore to aft in those rings. Guys claim they work just fine. No bueno for me though, as I like to have perfect sight picture as soon as I throw the rifle up. A 2.5-8x35 has a long eye relief, so I'd have to use an extended ring in the rear to push the scope forward enough to work. BTDT. If you can stand swaying away from Leupold and try a different scope, try the Burris FFII 3-9x40 in a set of Leupold DD's. I like the look and the functionality. That combo works perfectly for me:
Like I say, there have been a few guys say the 2.5-8x36 works in DD's, but I've measured the ring spacing and you don't get any adjustment. Those guys should post pics of their set-ups. Now lets look at another pre 64 application: On an H&H action, I prefer weaver style mounts:
The reason for that is because they do not stick out in to the ejection port. A big pet peeve of mine.
For the weaver mounts, I prefer Burris Zee-rings. They are clean looking and hold the scope very well. Along the same line as the weaver mounts, you can also opt for the Leupold QWR. Both mounts and rings are great. However the QWR ring is much more bulky than the burris Zee ring. Here is the QWR base though:
Again, they do not hang into the ejection port. Not even on this H&H receiver^^^^^
In a thread like this, I would hope others would post pics of what works for them. This not only helps the OP, but also lets others see what works well... As for Talley lightweights, you can use them, but they look like crap on a nice classic rifle such as the pre 64 model 70:
Here's the same rifle and scope, but with DD's:
^^^^^YMMV.. You'd also still have to possibly use an extended ring Talley. That would be on the front, where you turn it around and it lines up with the edge of the rear of the front bridge. This allows for a shorter ring spacing like the 2.5-8x36 requires. Keeping in mind the ring spacing on that scope is 5.1 inches..