Practicality of “Vintage” rifle/scope combo?

[Slowshot]

It was the external windage and elevation adjustment rings, rather than the optics I was referring to in my reply. Actually, Unertl worked for Fecker before setting out on his own and his rings are essentially identical to Fecker rings. I don't actually know when the design was developed. I was being conservative in saying 60 years. That is the approximate age of my scope.

One advantage of this system is there are fewer moving parts in the scope itself and less to go wrong. Because you move the entire scope for windage and elevation the crosshairs can be fixed and the scope will hold zero as long as the adjustment screws on the rings are holding. If the moving parts on the rings were easily available, it would be easy to fix one of these scopes if it began to wander. They aren't and that is the only issue I have with them.

 

[greg]

Check out these...

It was the external windage and elevation adjustment rings, rather than the optics I was referring to in my reply. Actually, Unertl worked for Fecker before setting out on his own and his rings are essentially identical to Fecker rings. I don't actually know when the design was developed. I was being conservative in saying 60 years. That is the approximate age of my scope.

One advantage of this system is there are fewer moving parts in the scope itself and less to go wrong. Because you move the entire scope for windage and elevation the crosshairs can be fixed and the scope will hold zero as long as the adjustment screws on the rings are holding. If the moving parts on the rings were easily available, it would be easy to fix one of these scopes if it began to wander. They aren't and that is the only issue I have with them.

looks as if the rear mount captures the scope like a conventional ring then adjusts for wind and elev. Looks as if the front one is spring loaded but not sure. I believe they are 3/4" and may take a Unertl 3/4" or Lyman. Not sure if dovetail is Unertl or Anschutz.

http://www.montanavintagearms.com/mva_malcolm.html

 

[Slowshot]

The rear ring has points that touch the barrel of the scope in three places, creating a triangle of force. On the top is the elevation adjustment with numbered click stops. On the right is the windage adjustment, also with numbered click stops. On the lower left, is a non adjustable spring loaded pressure point. A stabilizing rail on the top of the scope barrel runs through the front ring. There is a lock stop that controls how far back the scope can move in the front ring. There is a spring that allows for adjustments in the fore aft tension of the scope in the rings. Some shooters completely loosen that spring to allow the scope to free float forward and back in the mounts. If you use the scope this way, you need to pull the scope back into battery against the lock stop after each shot.

For more details and history of these scopes and mounts, I suggest you look up Dewey Griener's Classic Unertl website:
http://unertl.alexweb.net/index.htm

 

[El Paso Mark]

Thanx all. Great information exchange going on here for anyone interested in those old scopes.

Cheers,

Mark