'THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE'

Description:

As I have explained many times, riflescopes designed before 1956 were stronger than those sold today because they had less mass inside that could move under recoil and bumps. Some had nothing that could move and some had only a small reticle cell, one-tenth the weight of the articulated erector tube in some modern scopes.

One of the strongest types used a non-rotating Oldham coupling to hold the reticle. These will rarely be seen by the average shooter because they are often in highly collectable scopes like the US M84 and, presumably, the Zeiss Zielklein and Noske Type A.

I have found a couple of more-humble scopes with the offset turret knobs, however, and sacrificed one for our edification.

The second picture shows the two-piece coupling inside a late-1950s-early-’60s Japanese scope. Though the scope was in good working condition, its 6x32 specs made it inferior to a 4x32 I have from the same factory, so I cut it up.

This one lacks the M84’s elaborate abutments to guard against the initial pulse of recoil – but it is the real deal. The outer part is located by having the windage screwed INTO it, not just pushing against spring pressure as in modern scopes. The two flat springs seen here are just to eliminate slop, something not even the M84 could boast.

Inside the outer mortise, you can see the elevation tenon (or male dovetail) behind the reticle cell, in this case a thin washer.

Why are reticle-movement scopes still important when modern replacements are brighter and have many more features? It comes down to reliability, like cash in your wallet when the phones don’t work.

- Samuel B. Mann

'LIGHT AT THE START OF THE TUNNEL - Are rifle scopes off the rails?'
Still $20 plus postage, now $5. It still comes with 24 pages of extra information emailed (or printed and inserted - $35-45)