I plan to scope my Miroku built model 1895 Winchester lever action in .270 Winch. and use it as a 'general purpose' hunting rifle. I decided on a side mount but can't decide which one to use: Williams or Weaver. My Ferlach trained gunsmith will do the instalation. So which one would you prefer to use for this application and why? Thanks for any input.
With kind regards,
Jani

Neither one. An off center side mounted scope is an ugly & difficult to use set up.

If I wanted to scope a top ejecting lever action I would seriously consider some type of custom quarter rib that is attached to both the bbl & receiver ring and mounts a scout type long eye relief scope ahead of the receiver & on the centerline.

I saw a Winchester 71 .348 WCF set up this way & it looked & handled very well & it had the advantage of quick detachable scope mounts so you could easily go to the iron sights.

Jani,
I would use the Williams, because of personal preference only, Weaver is also solid. I would not use Scout concept if early morning/late afternoon hunt is possible. Under these conditions, excluding "side light" is necessary for best results, and this is not possible with a "Scout Scope".
Mike

I put a Williams side mount on a 1970's era Winchester model 94 about 20 years ago, I was able to get 1-2 inch groups at 100 yards.

I did it for a friend, as it ended up he didn't like it so we removed it. Still around here somewhere.

I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but to me, the best solution would be to sell it and buy a Marlin 1895. Or, alternatively, a Savage 99 if you must have pointy bullets.

Brittany Man, I once taped a pistol scope to the barrel of a lever rifle to simulate a scout mount but did not like the small, distant picture at all. That's why I decided to go the side mount route.

Mike, I'm leaning towards Williams, too. And yes, much of my shooting is early morning, and late before night.

Recoil Rob, I never handled a side mounted scope so maybe I will not like it either, but I will never know if I don't try it...

BrentD, I do have a Marlin 1895, scoped. Unfortunately much of my hunting is small deer at long distance so .45-70 is not my idea of a 'general purpose' hunting rifle (but it's dandy for pigs). I feel .270 is my best choice for roe deer to chamois to wild boar. I also had a Savage 99 in .308 but did not like the hammerless action. Then I bought a Browning BLR .308 but the trigger is much too heavy even after gunsmith's intervention (and I get missfires from time to time). My .270 M'95 however has a very sweet trigger and is my favourite lever gun among many.

With kind regards,
Jani

A side mount doesn't mean an offset scope. There are side mount scope bases that still put the scope directly over the barrel.

Jani:

I’m sure you know this, but mounting a scope over the action will interfere with ejection. If you mount the scope off to the side, you can lace a pad onto the butt stock that will allow a firm cheek weld. Something similar to the pads used on M-1 Garand rifles when they were scoped will work.

I’ve done the side mounted scope arrangement on a Winchester Model 94 and it was difficult to shoot well without the cheek being able to firmly contact the stock.

Just a thought.

Rem

I'm a left-handed shooter and it seems I have an advantage in this case. I tried aiming trough a couple of my scoped rifles (all centraly mounted), leaning my head to the left, as if the scope was side mounted to the left. The result was a firm weld (cheeck to stock), feeling much better than with a centrally mounted scope. I can only hope that the end result will be similar.

With kind regards,
Jani

What fun, left handed scope for a left handed shooter, what joy!

Seems backwards to me, but what do I know ??

Please report progress
Mike

Jani,

I suspected as much. I too am a southpaw and have a batch of lever rifles in the stable. I also collect classic sporters, hence my being on this forum. I find the extra cheek pressure exerted using an offset scope on one of my "classic" types is distracting but not too bad. I have a long neck so leaning over the comb isn't a hindrance. With the 270, recoil shouldn't be bad enough to be uncomfortable, especially for shots at game. Realize the stock will be rising into your face. I've used both Weaver and Williams and it is a toss up as far as I am concerned.

I have an old Ballard with a Lyman scope and offset mounts. It allows use of the iron sights and scope without removing the scope. I have no problem keeping cheek contact on it, but it does have a small cheekpiece on it.

Thaine,
Good to hear from a fellow lefty; and from all the others, of course. I'm looking forward to see this project materialize soon.
Cheers,
Jani

I made this pad out of deer skin for a friend that had to go to a scope on his 94' Winchester. It helps get a little better cheek weld with a side mounted scope. Shoe store did the stitching.

Bob, Great idea, functional

and

Vall, what scope is that??

Mike

It's an old Lyman 368 Mike.

Some images for Jani noting the recent completion of his project:












Cheers,

Raimey
rse

How about that, shooting it from the left side.

Yep, Southpaw Jani......


Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Jani,

That set up looks like it works out much better for a left handed shooter than it does for most right handed shooters.

Do you have a right or left master eye?

I'm a right handed shooter w/a right master eye & I gave serious thought to scoping an 1895 in .405 W with either an offset mount or a scout type scope ahead of the receiver as I live in a state where only straight walled cartridges >.35 caliber are permitted for deer hunting.

What I settled on was a Ruger #1 in .405 W but the 1895 in .405 still is appealing & in the future I may do one with the scout type scope mounting which I realize doesn't work for everyone.

Raimey, thanks for posting the photos; also thanks to friend Rok for taking them using his artistic eye

I collected the newly scoped rifle from my gunsmith last Sunday, eager to try it out. It was snowing on Monday but the next day the weather was fair enough to hit the shooting range. To shorten the story, the shooting proved that this scope arangement is quite suitable for a left handed shooter.

Brittany Man, I was shooting the scoped M1895 with ease but even Rok, the photographer, who is a right handed shooter, did not complain. I'm left handed with left master eye.

Cheers,
Jani, the Southpaw