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Weaver KV scope

brotus2
I have a absolutely pristine Winchester Model 70 from 1952 that has a Weaver KV 2 3/4 X 5 El Paso on it. The scope is as pristine as the rifle. Not a mark on it. I've owned the gun for 20 years and only shot it once. As the movie says, "it's dead on balls accurate."

My best bud spent Thanksgiving with us and I had the safe open to clean and caress my old Winchester levers. He grew up in Sheridan Wyoming - loved the rifle but was not impressed with the scope. It's the only firearm I own with a scope, so needless to say I don't know much about them.

My queston is this: Is this a decent scope or is it a cheepie? I remember when I shot it it seemed to do the job.
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • dfletcher
    It's a fine scope, period correct for your 1952 Model 70. If you're going to change the scope I'd say keep the same style, maybe bump up to a 6X fixed or a 3 to 9X variable - but stick with the older steel bodied Weavers. Check out the auction side here or other sites, you'll find lots.
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  • He Dog
    It was a very decent scope for the period, but optics have moved on since then with better glass and coatings which make a world of difference in the amount of light transmitted through the glass as opposed to reflected and refracted and bouncing around in the scope. If it were me I would probably leave it right there, as I have rifles from the time period with period correct scopes and mounts. If you decide to modernize, take a look at Burris Signature Select.
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  • blackpowdermax
    brotus2.....your KV us not a "normal" variable as you know them today, it is either 2-3/4 or 5, nothing in between. Turn the adjustment knob one way for the lower power, all the way the opposite direction for the higher power. It will normally be blurred in between. This is per design.

    max
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  • brotus2
    Thanks for the responses. I had no idea about the variable part. I would have probably put it in the middle and thought it was broken.

    I'm not going to upgrade. As I said, I've only shot the rifle once in the last 20 years or so. It's just too darn pretty to take to the range and I don't hunt. Just a shooter and gun lover. I do shoot the hell out of all my old levers, though. They draw a crowd at the range.

    Thanks again!
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  • the yooper
    Not trying to hijack the thread, but thanks blackpowdermax. I, too, have an early Weaver KV 2 3/4 - 5 scope. Mine's mounted in Stith mounts on a 1923 vintage Savage 300, complete with curved buttplate. I was going to offer the original poster my thoughts on keeping his beautiful M70 Winchester correct for its period. I did not know that the KV only had the two magnifications. I guess I'm going to have to take it to the range where it belongs and learn more about it. [8D]
    yooper
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  • Madman
    Brotus2;
    I too collect 1952 issue model 70's. All five of mine have period correct scopes. Weaver, Leupold, and Kolmorgan. My KV sits atop my 300 H&H. She will shoot the "X" out at 100 yrds.
    What caliber is your 70? Keep it period correct and enjoy.

    Paul
    Mountain Magic Gunsmithing
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  • brotus2
    Madman: My model 70 is in 270. It is the only model 70 I have as I concentrate on the 1800's levers. I bought it 20 plus years ago from an ad in the paper in FTL, paid $300.00 for it. The KV was on the gun when I got it. I didn't even know it was variable until a week ago but I always kinda of wondered what the three caps were for.

    Like I said, I've only shot it once but it was alot of fun and it was an accurate sob. Loud too! The one time I shot, my buddy and I were at the range and had a "closest" on a new target at 100 yards before we left, for a six pack. He shot first and got the 10 about 1/4 inch off center. I figured I had lost a six pack but damn if the 70 didn't break his hole an 1/8 inch closer. He was shooting a Remmington in 30-06.

    I not really into hunting rifles because I don't hunt but I was aware of the significance of the pre 64. Anyone who has seen it says it is, by far, the most pristine 70 they have ever seen in person. It is bonified 98%. The KV looks just as good. The only flaw I can see is a tiny bit of rust(?) on the aluminum(?) butt.
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  • Ambrose
    Two years ago, I bought a 1953 M70 from the local gunshop. It was there on consignment; had belonged to the guy who was the barber in town when I was a kid. It has a KV with a post on it in a Redfield mount with the old narrow rear ring. That post looks awful fat at 5X but it sure shows up in low light! And, as blackpowdermax says, the scope is not really a variable, it's more of a "convertable"--either 2 3/4X or 5X.

    My rifle is far from pristine. Like most hunting rifles of that era, it was carried a lot and fired very little. So far, I have fired 140 rounds with it and that's probably 10 times as much as the barber fired it.

    It likes 180 Sierra BT and 220 Sierra RN bullets: averages inch and an eighth for ten 5-shot groups @ 2710 fps with the 180's amd 2500 fps with the 220's. On range days, I take a half dozen or so rifles, I set up and begin shooting at 9:30AM, take an hour and a half lunch break, and shut down before 5PM. So maybe that's the "All Day Long" that so many guys here write about?
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