To scope or not to scope the Quigley?

[hightime]

Everytime I see an old style brass tube scope in the movies I get interested in having one. I do some nice shooting at 600 yds with the peep. It might be less challenging with a scope or at least seem as though it takes less ability. I just can't bring myself to do it.
Maybe I should just get another gun just for a scoped long range. That smaller Rem rolling block might look cool with a long tube brasss tube handle on it. Does anyone have pics. of those scopes?

Owen

[madman4570]

Be a real man
NO SCOPE---------------(they are for Pirates)

[Streetstar]

Get a companion Billy Dixon pattern rifle and scope that one!

[bdhold]

Does anyone have pics. of those scopes?

dixie gun works has the only brass scope I've seen in merchandise, but haven't seen a photo with it mounted.

note that there's an original on ebay, and it's blued brass
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Brass-8 ... 0646022243

some great photos on this page
http://winchestersutler.com/BCA_Scope.html

[stretch]

Yer askin' on THIS forum!?!

Seriously, it wouldn't look that bad with one of those old
long-tubed jobs on it. If you're doing good work with
irons on it, why the change?!

And, of course, leaving the Quigley alone gives you an
excuse to buy another rifle!

-Stretch

[JohndeFresno]

...eaving the Quigley alone gives you an
excuse to buy another rifle!

-Stretch

+1

[Blaine]

I vote no.....but, it's yours and you should do what you want. It's only money

[Rusty]

I kind of like the scopes.

I'd go for it.

[pdawg.shooter]

It is your rifle, do whatever trips your trigger!

[JReed]

I like the look of those long tubes. It will ad a good chunk of weight to the rifle though.

[FWiedner]

Scoping anything called a 'Quigley' just seems... wrong.

[rjohns94]

Buy another and scope it

[Griff]

Oh... they don't even have to be brass! American Rifleman, Old School Glass: Malcolm Scopes, 8/6/10.

[1894c]

no... :)

[marlinman93]

Nothing wrong with a good scope as long as it looks correct for the period and works well. With my old eyes I can still shoot open sights, but I've got numerous old singleshot rifles with scopes and they do make it easier to shoot accurately.
This is my restored Re. Hepburn with a Tasco full length scope. I had a friend who repairs scopes change the optics, install new fine crosshairs, and then antique it so it wouldn't have that polished brass finish. Also mounted it in Winchester mounts.:


This is my Stevens 47 with original Stevens scope:


My #6 Zettler Ballard with Stevens scope and HM Pope rings:

[hightime]

They look great together. Nice..........

Owen

[Old Savage]

A friend of mine did it and I think he found it too delicate but ....

[marlinman93]

How the scope is mounted and scope quality determine if it will hold up to recoil. I prefer mounts that allow the scope to slide under recoil to protect the crosshairs. It requires me to slide it back after each shot, but it is just part of the process after each shot.
The Hepburn above is in .45-70 and I've fired a lot of rounds downrange and not had a problem. Crosshairs are holding up great.
The other two are small calibers, so recoil isn't an issue. The Stevens is .25-21 Stevens, and the Ballard is .22 short.

[hightime]

Now that's good information.
My Quigley is a 47-110.

Owen

[marlinman93]

Haven't seen a ".47-110" I don't believe? I've seen .45-110 and .50-110, not a .47 cal.

[Ray Newman]

Colleagues: due to poor eye sight, I have been shooting ‘scoped Black Powder Cartridge Rifles for almost 20 years. Currently I have two Parsons Optical ‘Scopes and a MVA. The Parsons Optical ‘scopes are a copy of the old Lyman Target Spot scopes.

I had an Oates ‘scope, but sold it as it was not a return battery scope like the MVA, Parsons Optical, Lyman, Unertl, etc. As another posted stated, if the ‘scope does not move under recoil, the vibrations will eventually loosen the lenses and reticle. Since my rifle are heavy recoiling, I sold it when the Parsons became available.

I have been told that the since Gil Parsons passed away, Parsons Optical no longer builds ‘scopes. However, I have not confirmed this. Parsons repairs and services many “vintage” ‘scopes.

What I have learned form this campaign:

-- These ‘scopes and OEM or after market mounts are not inexpensive.

-- Most mounts of these types of scopes are not very good. The aftermarket mounts made by MVA and others will give repeatable and accurate corrections. The “hash” marks on the OEM mounts are pretty much useless when corrections are needed. On most mounts they are hard to see as well. They are also not the quickest mounts to make adjustments for wind or elevation

-- Because diameter of the tube on these scopes is three-quarter (¾”) inch, the scope does not transmit much light. They work the best in open and bright light. Not conducive for shooting in the woods or heavy timber, or when the light is failing. From what the late Gil Parsons told me, most are only 6X as that is about the optimum power for a three-quarter inch tube. I have also been told by ‘scope BPCR hunters that these scopes are not fog proof and a few are water resistant.

The Black Powder Cartridge News, issue #47 had an interesting article on these type of scope '' old Style Scopes for Old Style Rifles."
http://www.blackpowderspg.com/mag.html
http://parsonsscopeservice.com/home.html
http://www.montanavintagearms.com/index.html

MarlinMan: nice looking Hepburn. What calibre?

[hightime]

I guess scoping a 45-110 is not a good idea. Thank for your input.

Owen

[bdhold]

Absolutely gorgeous - thanks for sharing this photo.