I very much so like vintage guns and hardware but I am trying to figure out the draw to detachable scope mounts. Things like the Paul Jaeger or Griffin &Howe pieces.
I understand the appeal of removing a damaged site for irons or even for close quarters. I also realize there could have been a spare or multiple range scopes available.
All that said the real root of my question is why are there so many rifles with detachable scopes yet no provision for a rear iron or Peepsight?

Scopes fail all the time. So, you would want to have two (at least). Both zeroed and ready to go. But truthfully, the vast majority of guns I see with detachable mounts are equipped for receiver and/or barrel sights.

Marks21,
If you drop a scope in it's case, it is not likely to be damaged. If you drop a scope with 8 pounds of rifle on top of it, it can very well be ruined. I used to hunt with an old German hunter that carried his gun to and from the stand without the scope attached, out of habit from years before when a lot of hunters did that.
Mike

There's also the thought that when traveling a lot of guns got poorly handled like baggage, so owners would remove the scopes and carry them personally to avoid damage. So no reason to also have iron sights if you're simply setting your rifle up so you can easily R&R the scope to protect it.

If your going on a ten day trip into the wilderness you are taking a big chance that nothing will go wrong with your scope such as a fall or as happened to myself I actually had water sloshing around in the vintage scopeI had on my equally vintage Mauser after three days into my trip and was so glad it had those expensive German take down scope mounts and a full set of iron sights.

Well- to be clear I certainly understand the concept but my question is that more often than not there is NOT a true back up unless someone was carrying a spare scope. I have had 1/2 a dozen old rifles with removable scopes and not one had functional irons or a peep. I am aware things get changed or lost over the years.
I had a Winchester 54 Super grade with G&H mount and the rear site had been replaced with a blank ( likely for the scope bell to clear ) Etc etc.
DEr Ami and Vail. Thanks I hadn’t considered the removal purely for safe travel or a rough hike- certainly valid.
BrentD - two scopes surely an option but I haven’t seen any “sets” I recall being sold that way, though I did put one together myself with nice matching B&L scopes one 1.75-6 close range and the other 4-12 long range.

I've not seen as many, or even any vintage rifles with detach scopes and no irons. I guess I've been lucky that way. I agree it seems darn odd.

For what it is worth, I have about 6 rifles with detachable mounts, Jaeger, G&H, Noske and Echo, all but one rifle has back up iron sights.

Marks 21,
Your mention of B&L reminded me: One of the old selling points of B&L scope mounts was the mounts had the adjustments in the mounts themselves, allowing one scope to be used for more than one rifle without loss of zero. Changing scope from one rifle to the other was quick, easy and foolproof.
Mike

Do any of you use external adjustable scopes. They are easily moved from rifle to rifle without any problem and recorded zeros are repeatable.

This is a Unertl Small Game scope that I tend to prefer for this job.

I personally use nothing but external adjustment scopes like Unertl, Fecker, Lyman, Stevens, or Winchester. I don't swap them from rifle to rifle as I don't care to readjust every time I switch to another old rifle. But it certainly is an option if a guy wanted to make use of one on many rifles with bases that it fits.

I have a baggo rifles for all purposes, but if I were going on a long term wilderness hunt, I would take my FN Mauser 30-06 with quick release German claw mounts, a Lyman 48, and a row of express sights, just in case. As for keeping my Unertls sighted in and keeping written records of the dial settings, see me in my next life.

I use G&H and Jaeger QD side mounts on a couple bolt guns, with Lyman 48's as backups. (But often the scope is a backup for the Lyman 48's. I've been known to carry the scopes in a nifty German leather tube slung over my shoulder, and mounted on the gun if I take a stand and sit for a while.)

My primary hunting rifle anymore though is a Ruger 1A 6.5x55 with a Leupold 1.5-5 in offset Leupold rings on it, but the barrel sights were regulated for my standard load before the scope went on. If I mess up the scope somehow I can get it off the gun with my Swiss Army knife.

I had a Savage 99RS with a Kollmorgan 1.75 in a GH Side Mount, a Lyman receiver sight with the slide under the buttplate, and a folding blade rear barrel sight, everything sighted in.

Heavy gun, sold it...

Don't think I've ever had a detachable scope without iron back ups.

wow ! that is a beauty, Brent !

I use them often with rifles that double for varmints and predators. 1.5-6 for calling predators, coyote, fox, bobcats and 6.5x20 for varmints PDs.

I do have a B&L Balvar 8 on a 22-250 but it is in Leupold windage adjustable base and I shim for elevation, I did it for an Egg shoot to blow the minds of the younger gen. that are into turrets and parallax adjustments knob. The slick tube baffles them. I didn't win but made it to the final round.

It works fine for calling coyotes also.


Howa mini in 6.5G with Weaver 4-16 with target dot for long range small targets in Boyds thumb hole.


Same 6.5G shortened factory stock Meopta 1.5-6 for called coyotes.


I have a couple others set up this way but no pics. and even this is starting to go down the road with scope having 6, 8 and even 10x power change. I have a couple 2-12 scope that eliminate the need for a different scope.

My drillings have claw mount and I've been known to pop the scope off and hunt birds on the way back to the truck.

Back in the day when detachable and swing away mounts were popular scopes weren't near as reliable as they are now. I used Pachmayer and Weavers, still have a box of different Weaver swing away bases and rings, some new from when I closed my shop.

I have a .404 Jeffery Mauser 98 and a .375 H&H Model 70 Safari Classic with detachable scope mounts. Essential on a DG rifle. Both, of course, have iron sights.