I am looking for a manufacturer that makes scope bases for this gun. I would like to put some nice optics on this and so far I have only found Weavers that will fit. Any ideas? Great Grandfather's gun... Thanks.

That's safely a "pre-64" alright!

Weavers are really good scope mounts, strong, stable, recoil proof. Several makers have nice rings for them.

Have you looked at Talleys?

A number of makers manufactured mounts which would fit. Among them in addition to
Weaver were Redfield, Stith, Noske, Buehler, and others.

Redfield in particular manufactured a slew of them, mainly of two base types...the Redfeld Jr. (1 piece base) and the Redfield Sr. (2-piece base). Redfields also came with 3/4", 7/8", 1", or 26 m/m rings. As another complexity, Redfields had different hole spacings for different serial number ranges of magnums, as did the rifles themselves. So, with a bit of looking around one can fit almost any of the period or modern scopes to any of the rifles.

It is a lot easier to find the right combo if you put your rifle's serial number in your wallet (or memorize it) before you go shopping for Redfield bases. The older Redfields came with the serial number range they would fit printed on the end flap of the boxes.

My own personal preference is the Stith Master Mount, which is what I have on my pre-war Model 70s (a '37, '38, and '39).

Edited to add that Redfield made correct Jr.-style bases for the early Model 70s which had only 3 holes drilled for a scope mount...two in the front ring and one in the rear ring. You don't need to drill another hole at all, just get the right base. Gary Feller can often supply them if you can't find any elsewhere.

In the meantime I will go look for a Stith Master Mount website to refer you to, if there is one.

First, that's a really early M70 - make sure you're not messing with a valuable collector's piece like the fist M70 in 7mm that might be worth $10K if it's untouched.

Second, if it's not already tapped with four holes (2 each front and rear), you might consider having it PROFESSIONALLY done. Then have a PROFESSIONAL buy the gunmaker's blank bases from Talley and fit them. DO NOT let someone talk you into thinning or scalloping the bolt handle to help the clearance - build the bases the needed height.

You're dealing with a nice rifle. You owe it to the rifle and your grandfather to do it right. There are a few guys who post here who are qualified to do the job and there are a bunch who are not. I fall into the latter category but at least I won't tell you to let me give it a go.

Edit: Alberta Canuck has some good advice for you if you want to stay with a vintage combination.

A griffin & howe sidemount goes very well with that rifle

I didn't find a Stith sight mount site for you yet.
Did find this rather recent article on scope history which you might find pleasant to read:

http://findarticles.com/p/arti...s_9_51/ai_n14816198/

Now I will go look to see what I can find regards Buehlers, as they are still relatively easy to come across (and usually cheap, as the rings are a PITA to assemble), are very strong, and work very well.

In the meantime, if you could give me the approximate serial number range of your rifle, I will look in my parts drawers to see if I have a spare Redfield base for that SN range. Oh, and mention please whether your rifle is a magnum or not.

Thanks guys - I have been posting and asking and from past experience, didn't expect this type of response.

Unfortunately over the years the gun has been modified and it's value is more sentimental at this point (great post on this forum about grandfather's guns). I would like to put a nice scope on the gun and possibly take it to Africa or NZ someday...

The serial # is 13970. I would post pix but the wife just left for Anch and has the download cord.

Thanks again...

The old Bausch and Lomb Adjustable mounts will fit as they use the factory holes in the left side of the receiver bridge and the two factory holes in the receiver ring for attachment of the bases and there are various rings. They are not as "pretty" ,as some others, but, are cheap and easy to find.

It's a 30-06

Not much out there in internet-land on Buehler mounts, either. Maynard P. Buehler was a close personal friend of Roy Weatherby and for many years his mounts were supplied as standards by the Weatherby firm for all of its rifles, if scope mounts were ordered along with rifles.
Then, in the mid 1990s Weatherby's bought the Buehler sight mount company.

In late 1999, Weatherby decided to close down the Buehler operation. They are still easy to find out there, and offered pretty much the same options as Redfield had for the older Model 70s. Again, the serial numbers of the Model 70 magnums they fit were printed on the end flaps of the Buehler base's boxes.

One more question...how many factory-drilled top-mount holes are there in your rifle? (Three? Or four?)

The rear bridge on these were not drilled originally. The hole spacing on the rear bridge may not be standard.

The older 70's below 66,870 take a JR 70 or an SR 70 as far as Redfield. Those above that number are JR 70A and SR 70A. The hole spacings are .425" or .540" on the rear for the SR 70 base. I have a couple of sets if you can't find any elsewhere, Redfield SR 70 in both spacings.

Oddly enough then, mine must all be exceptions. All three of my "pre-wars" were drilled in the rear bridge as well as the front receiver ring. Perhaps I am not remembering Winchester's standard policy correctly, but if I DO remember it correctly, one could get a factory-drilled receiver simply by requesting that service when ordering the rifle. Back in those days, factories did try to accomodate customers....and the law allowed customers to order directly from Winchester, no dealer required.

My '06, which is numbered just under 20,000 had (and has) two holes in the rear bridge. My .300 Mag has one hole there. My 7x57 also has two holes in the rear bridge.

I suspect it may sometimes also have something to do with when they were actually assembled into complete rifles, which is often NOT the year stamped on the barrel, and NOT necessarily the year the action serial number might indicate either.

As late as 1972 Winchester shipped a PRE-WAR replacement receiver to Canada (to replace one which failed). That receiver was obviously new and had never been assembled into any factory completed rifle, but was still available as a "part" direct from Winchester and that was at least 30 years after it was made. It also had two holes in the rear receiver ring when it was shipped.

In the end, though, it does not really matter when or who did the drilling. The most important point is still "How many holes are there?" Even if they are gunsmith drilled, they are obviously drilled to fit some make of existing base(s). So, if one knows how many holes there are, he has a better chance of determining which base that may be.

kingsalmon:

I have a Redfield JR70 #511111 one piece base for Mod. 70 below SN 66,350 that is NIB. Has 3 holes; 2 front hole spacing is .860" and distance between the very front hole and the single rear hole is 5.075". This is the type base that has the windage adjustment screws on the rear end.

Also have a NIB Redfield SR70 #512202 two piece base for same SN range. Front hole spacing is same .860". Rear base has two holes, spaced .540".

Bought these for a pre-64 Mod. 70 Target rifle w/sn below 66000 and they did not fit. If you order bases somewhere, be sure to measure your hole spacing as there seems to be some ? re: the Redfield bases/SN. It may be that the Target mod. 70 had different hole spacing than the standard model 70's??

Any rate, if one of these sounds like something you can use, drop me a PM. I'd ship for $20 in US.

Also have several sets of Redfield 1" split rings to go with these bases (believe 1 set of low, med & high but will have to do some research. These have been mounted but doubt you could tell it except for marks on bluing where the dovetail has been inserted in a base. Would let these go for $20 set ppd in US.

Enjoy your grandfather's rifle. Gotta love the pre-64's.

Regards,
hm

3.80" center to center from rear hole of front ring to front hole of rear bridge or the only hole if only drilled for 3 holes for a standard with a JR 70. H&H Mags and Targets took the 70M below 66,870(some sources say 87,500) and 70 AH above. I don't have one handy to measure the one piece spacing. The 70m and 70AH are identical hole spacing; the difference is the shallow dovetail.

The mounts weren't standard in the 30's; that is part of the reason they weren't originally drilled on the rear bridge. I have both .540" and .425" pre war bases in SR 70 Redfield. They have different part numbers on the package,512202 and 512002, respectively but the bases are stamped 70 and the packages are marked identical except for the part number.

You need to measure your holes before shopping for bases.

Thanks guys for all of the info. I have been doing a ton of research based on the posts here - very helpful.

I am new to Accurate Reloading - this site is amazing. Thanks again for your help.

Like I said, I believe some of them were delivered drilled and tapped on the rear bridge from the maker.

One can call it a "special order" gun, or whatever they want, but as I recall it was a standard offer by Winchester to provide that service for a small aditional fee, when ordering a rifle. And, of course, one had to specify which mount he wanted the drilling & tapping done to fit.

Several other firms, such as Remington, would do the same thing, at least on some of their models of rifles.

Anyway, you do need to know what the hole spacing is, not just to get the right mount from a particular maker, but sometimes to even guess with any certainty at which make of mount the holes were intended for.....