I have a pre war model 70 Winchester and I would like to mount a scope on it without drilling holes in the rear bridge. What kind of scope and mounts should Ibe looking for.
Thanks for your help.
Wayne

BTT

Wayne,

There are two basic types. The first is the B&L type, with a rear base that attaches via the reciever sight screw holes in the side of the receiver and the front base that attaches to the drilled and tapped front receiver. A B&L ring set then fits into the bases. The ring sets come in two basic types, either the "plunger" type or the "star" type. Either will work. They also come in 7/8", 1", 26mm, etc. so be sure what you are getting. You can find them on eBay, but be sure you are getting the prewar mounts, not just the pre 64 mounts. As for scopes, the kind with no external adjustments are best, due to the way the rings are situated close together on the mount. It is sometimes possible to find other scopes where the adjustment turrets are located far enough forward that you can mount the rings behind the turrets and still have enough room to move the scope back far enough to get proper eye relief. Good scopes are the older B&Ls, Lymans, Stiths, Kollmorgans, etc.(all without external adjustments).

The other kind is the Stith mount, or one of its clones. This mount has a rear ring that attaches directly to the side of the receiver and a front ring/tube that attaches to the rear site dovetail on the barrel. These also come in various tube sizes and generally must be used with a straight tube scope with no objective bell. In fact, on some, the rear ring is not split and you have to take the eyepiece off to slip thge scope in. Older scopes that work well are the old Alaskans, Texans, Weavers, Stiths, Noskes, etc.

I have a B&L setup with a 6x Kollmorgan on my 1939 Model 70 300H&H and it works great!

Jim