Prewar Base??

03 August 2002, 15:24

<prewar>

Prewar Base??

Just received a set of Warne Maxima bases(Brownells) for my prewar M70 .300 H&H and the rear wont fit. According to brownells the #852 are for prewars below #60,000. These are apparently for non-H&H's. Now looking at the Warne website there is a different rear base for these H&H's. It points out .440" spacing but mine appears to be .500". Didnt these rifles have just the front base holes from the factory? If thats the case gunsmiths could have drilled the rears to any spec. or was .440 the unwritten law? The existing rear weaver base is a #48 if that helps.

05 August 2002, 11:46

Bigdaddytacp

quote:
Originally posted by MR331:
Just received a set of Warne Maxima bases(Brownells) for my prewar M70 .300 H&H and the rear wont fit. According to brownells the #852 are for prewars below #60,000. These are apparently for non-H&H's. Now looking at the Warne website there is a different rear base for these H&H's. It points out .440" spacing but mine appears to be .500". Didnt these rifles have just the front base holes from the factory? If thats the case gunsmiths could have drilled the rears to any spec. or was .440 the unwritten law? The existing rear weaver base is a #48 if that helps.

My 300H/H is a later 1953 model and from my reading most? prewars didn't have the rear holes and are worth a lot more without them but many/most have been drilled/tapped later in their lives and for many years there wasn't a standard....Warne are good people and good rings and bases and I bet they will custom drill a set or at least get you a undrilled base and let you custom fit the base to your gun ....check with them and see which they will do.....it will be WORTH the trouble to shoot that fine old gun and cartridge combo....good luck and good shooting!!!

05 August 2002, 12:26

Atkinson

I have delt with this problem many times and almost 95% of the time you can get a Redfield or Buehler one piece base that has only one hole for the rear and it will fit...plug screw the other and your in business...You will have to forfiet the quick detachable feature, but who needs that in a 300 H&H...just use the scope. However it is pretty easy to convert these old rings and basis to quick detachable and they work as well as any...

Jim Brockman or Jack Belk can make you a set of fitted bases for Talley and/or Warne. hand fitting these bases is a big step towards a rifle returning to zero accurately...