Great old rifle scope!

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marlinman93
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Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

I rarely ever bid at online auctions, but I do peruse just to see what sells, and how much things sell for. Someone on another forum posted a link to this auction over the weekend, and it was online only today! My eye caught an old target scope, and the description stated "unknown maker scope". I immediately was shocked to see the familiar design of a 1920's F.H. Souther target scope! Souther worked at an optical company in Mass. and was asked by a friend if he could build him a scope? Souther's first scope was so amazing that he was soon buried with requests to build others a scope also!
Souther went on to build scopes one at a time, making all his own lenses and having a local machine shop turn out tubes for him. His business was always a side job to his daily work, and lasted just a short time. Most references don't even show an example, as they're that rare. I've seen one that a scope collector has in his collection, so I recognized the one at auction. I hoped nobody else would, and appears they didn't as I just won this Souther!
As a bonus the scope has a vintage leather scope case also, which is the cherry on top of a great find! No idea when it will ship, but here's a couple auction images.

Image

Image
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Walt
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Walt »

Do you already have something in mind to mount it on?
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

Walt wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:07 pm Do you already have something in mind to mount it on?
Not particularly Walt. But I do have a lot of old 1800's single shot rifles that are already setup for target scopes. I may remove a lesser quality target scopes off one of my Schoyen or Pope Ballard rifles, and put this one on.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
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Walt
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Walt »

Years ago, I used to shoot a Remington m700 Varmint in .308 that had one of those (I think) Lyman Supertarget scopes on it with the big return spring and the external, base-mounted adjustments. It was a 12x with very fine crosshairs. There was a place about 100 miles away where every weekend during the summer we shot prairie dogs using that rifle. We had flagging every 100 yards out to 500 yards and I used that setup for the long distance shots.
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

Walt wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:42 pm Years ago, I used to shoot a Remington m700 Varmint in .308 that had one of those (I think) Lyman Supertarget scopes on it with the big return spring and the external, base-mounted adjustments. It was a 12x with very fine crosshairs. There was a place about 100 miles away where every weekend during the summer we shot prairie dogs using that rifle. We had flagging every 100 yards out to 500 yards and I used that setup for the long distance shots.
I've owned several Rem 700's and for about 15+ years I've owned my current 700VSF (Varmint Synthetic Fluted) with the heavy 26" fluted barrel, and factory HS Precision Kevlar stock. Mine is in .22-250, my favorite varmint cartridge, and of my few modern rifles my favorite! I have a modern target scope in a 6x-24x on it, and it shoots better than I can. Taken lots of critters with it, including a lot of deer, since the .22-250 is legal here in Oregon for deer.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
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stretch
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by stretch »

THAT is very, very cool. 8) 8) 8)

Find something to hang it on - I am SO curious as to how well it works!

-Stretch
Walt
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Walt »

Speaking of that old scope with the big spring on the outside and the external adjustments, I went all the way back to 1950 in my Shooters Bibles and none of the Lyman target scopes had that spring feature. The only manufacturer that used that was Unertl so that's what it must have been. I still have an old 10x Unertl Vulture on a Mauser .22-250 that doesn't even have a self-centering reticle.
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

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Walt wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 5:41 pm Speaking of that old scope with the big spring on the outside and the external adjustments, I went all the way back to 1950 in my Shooters Bibles and none of the Lyman target scopes had that spring feature. The only manufacturer that used that was Unertl so that's what it must have been. I still have an old 10x Unertl Vulture on a Mauser .22-250 that doesn't even have a self-centering reticle.
Not sure why the springs don't show in the Shooters Bibles, but Lyman Targetspots did indeed have the return springs. I've had a lot of them with the springs. I also have had Litschert, Fecker, and others with return springs. I personally dislike return springs, so I pull them off most of my scopes, unless it's a .22LR with little recoil.
The problem with these springs and guns that recoil is they beat up crosshairs. So when a gun recoils, the spring returns it, and the scope hits the stop hard. Eventually they will result in broken crosshairs, so I remove, or move them back until they don't function. Instead I just reach up and pull the scope back into position after each shot.
My Fecker with a return spring:
Image
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
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Bill in Oregon
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Bill in Oregon »

Vall, I have said it before. You have the touch of Midas. 8)
Walt
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Walt »

Vall, every time someone on this forum (including me) tries to pop a new one on you, you yawn and stretch and put us to shame with your extraordinary knowledge and experience. Congratulations!
win40-82
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by win40-82 »

I've got 2 Unertl scopes, one a 20X and one a 10X that I use on a Winchester Model 52, a Model 75 and two Remington Model 513s. Both scopes have springs and are crystal clear. Wouldn't be without them.
there is no such thing as a miss if you still have ammo
Walt
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Walt »

You have some fine .22 rifles....and scopes. Very nice!
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

Bill in Oregon wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 7:34 pm Vall, I have said it before. You have the touch of Midas. 8)
Thanks Bill!
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

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Walt wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:42 pm Vall, every time someone on this forum (including me) tries to pop a new one on you, you yawn and stretch and put us to shame with your extraordinary knowledge and experience. Congratulations!
Thanks Walt! I'm still learning too, and my knowledge base isn't as broad as many gun enthusiasts. I try to dedicate what brain cells I have to my specific interests, so I can be a little better educated on these things.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

win40-82 wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 9:02 pm I've got 2 Unertl scopes, one a 20X and one a 10X that I use on a Winchester Model 52, a Model 75 and two Remington Model 513s. Both scopes have springs and are crystal clear. Wouldn't be without them.
My only Unertl scope is a very early 1st year Unertl that came on a old Ballard rifle I bought years ago. It is a 8x, and the seller knew the scope history well, and it was part of the reason I bought the particular gun, just for the scope.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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Griff
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by Griff »

Probably like most of us... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Super great is the fact that you can put these old accessories to use! Unlike most of us! :mrgreen:
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marlinman93
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Re: Great old rifle scope!

Post by marlinman93 »

Griff wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 3:58 pm Probably like most of us... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Super great is the fact that you can put these old accessories to use! Unlike most of us! :mrgreen:
I spoke with my friend who collects vintage scopes of all sorts, and he told me that Strobel's Old Rifle Scopes book is of course in error. Strobel said Souther's scopes were 6x or 8x, but my friend told me his is a 14x. And he said the Souther scopes with larger objective lenses will always be higher power, since they gather more light and can handle higher magnification. So hopefully this being a 1.5" objective is a high power scope also.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
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