After restoring my grandpa's Smith Corona 1903A3 to its non-sporterized version (previous thread), I discovered S&K Mounts that would not require drilling/taping of the VERY hard receiver. I received the mount/rings today, and they seem very well made.

However, the rings it comes with are 1"; I can only find vintage-type scopes that are 7/8" or 3/4". It doesn't 100% have to be a vintage style, but I figured a modern style would look a bit odd. Hi-Lux had some great ones, but all the wrong size. I don't need to spend a butt load of money and it doesn't even need to be brand new; this will be primarily for fun at the range.

I recall that spacers may exist, but I know nothing about them.

Any ideas?

Weaver K4. Vintage and should look the part.

Nice!

When I googled your suggestion, I found: https://www.vintagegunscopes.com/

Some of these Weaver scopes say “non-centered reticle”. What does that mean? I figured all reticles are supposed to be centered in the field of view.

Wow that place is expensive!

I'm not sure what they are referring to as a "non-centered reticle". All the K4's I've owned or seen had a standard crosshair or post reticle, but I've not seen them all.

You should be able to get a decent used K4 for well under $150.

Thanks! I’ll check around on eBay. That website gives me many more options as well.

I’m starting to eyeball the Weaver V7.

a lot of older scopes were made in a way that the reticle did not center itself like the modern stuff does,

so if you have an offset mount (like on older Winchester 94's), when you zero it in, the crosshair may be off to one side or the other, or up or down from center,
can be a bit disconcerting at first, but it is the way they were done,

Lyman also made 1" tubes that are vintage correct , as well as Unertl (hawk is one name for Unertl's)

ebay and gunbroker are good places to start looking,

I'll second the recommendation of any of the older steel tube El Paso Weavers, either a K2.5, K3 or K4. I have bought about 5 or 6 of them over the years at gun shows and have never paid more than $50 for any of them. I use them on my Ruger 10/22s and have K3s on both my original and clone 03A4 and they work pretty well.

I have a small collection of Weavers, maybe eighteen or twenty, mostly K4 and few K6 and one 3-9 zoomer that's on my K31, fixed on x4 so's I can shoot it in the military 'sniper' comps we have here in UK.

Not one of them cost me more than $25, except the zoom, which was just $45. All are genuine El Paso-made, steel-tubes and with brilliant, if basic, optics. One of my K4. with a German post reticle, is on my 1937 Mauser ES250B, and it not only looks the part, but does the biz admirably.

All were bought during our sojourns in Oregon, in one junk store or another, or, in one case, four together for just $100 in a place off Highway 101 down in the south of the state.

They look the part and perform very well, bearing in mind their age. There is a website that lists these lovely old scopes for sale as full refurbs, and trust me, the prices are HORRENDOUS.

Do what I do - haunt the junk stores, even if they are called 'antique and collectible' stores - you just do not know what you'll find there for not a lot of money.

prices of Weaver's vary by vintage, style, type etc,

some are still relatively inexpensive, and some are at triple or more of what has been posted,


ebay is the best source, and you can find a few websites that have them listed as well,


I have had several repaired by Ironsight, and they do a fantastic job,