& finally, Mickey gets scoped up ...
If you will indulge me this morning, rather than post a range report of Friday’s trip to Bisley, there is another matter of not inconsiderable importance that I would like to draw to your attention. Ok, so it has taken a few months, hunting around in some of the darker recesses of internet & then the battle to get someone to do the work, but finally, yes finally, Micky has been ‘scoped up’
When I started this little voyage, the intention was always & has only ever been to create an ersatz sniper rifle as to buy in genuine WWII parts is way way beyond my humble means. However, what I wanted was something that ‘looked’ right & shot as well as could be expected for day to day range work. I certainly have no place for wall hangers – if its on my ticket, then expect the barrel to get hot in fairly short order.
Now just for the record, the scope is a copy of the Zeiss ZF41 & it is mounted on a repro Long Slide Rail (LSR) mount. To achieve this, a small amount of woodwork has had to be cut away from the left hand side of the receiver
& despite being a (& lets not mince our words here) a cheap knock off, the inital fit seems to be pretty good ... I wonder with use if it will stay that way
But, does it look the part? Well have to say, I think so
however, just for a moment, let’s recap on what we have here:
... a rifle that was built before WWII in Germany that was re-barrelled by the Vikings after the Hun’s didn’t seem to have any use for it any more
... the scope is a copy that was made in the Ukraine & has ended up in Blighty having been shipped from the States
... as for the mounts, they came from Russia.
Talk about the global arms trade!
The final & most important hurdle is still to come. Will Mickey hold zero & indeed, given that the LSR system has very limited windage adjustment, will it be possible to zero him at all? Alternatively, what with the scope being a copy, will its internals fall apart like a cheap suit within a hundred rounds?
Sadly, its a couple of weeks until I have any prospect of getting down to the range to see how he will shoot & yes, this final bit of waiting is by far the worst part.
Comments
Nicely done. A first rate job.
Posted by: Mike Stajduhar | November 19, 2007 3:45 AM
At least you can still use the iron sights, a lot of mounts mean you cant or remove the rear sight. I suspect that if not enough windage is available on the scop you could shim the mount front or rear. The Canadians did that with the Warner Swasey off sets on the Ross in WW1.
Any how who cares it looks the biz and may qualify for interim 7.62 target class as they wwew Norgie Home Gd issue!
Posted by: Tim C | November 19, 2007 9:36 AM
Tim speaketh da troof. "Shims" will be your best friend.
HOWEVER, I suspect that the smith aligned the mount with the bore, both laterally and vertically.
And my spies tell me that the repro Ukrainian scopes are made to Zeiss specs, because they want a piece of the lucrative U.S. collector/curio & relic market, and selling crap does not get you anywhere, in this market.
So unless you put a zillion rounds through Mickey, everything should be tickety-boo. And perhaps even then...
Posted by: Kim du Toit | November 19, 2007 3:00 PM
By the way... I covet Mickey, or at least his scoped incarnation.
Now I'll have to look at doing something the same for one of my K98s... I think Bertha, the "Russian capture", will be a good platform.
Of course, it's still in its original 8x57mm chambering, but I have a thousand-odd rounds thereof to sight it in with.
Shouldn't take me more than a couple hundred.
Posted by: Kim du Toit | November 19, 2007 3:25 PM
That looks swell! All's I did was put an Aimpoint on my Postal Meter Carbine, and it still jamms all the time...
Posted by: DirtCrashr | November 19, 2007 5:29 PM
Very nice! But aren't you going to need a lace-on cheek-piece to get your head up high enough to look through the optics?
Posted by: Kevin Baker | November 20, 2007 2:12 PM
Well I hope not because that would rather spoil things. At the moment it feels at little strange but as ever, the proof is in the shooting
Posted by: Mr Free Market | November 20, 2007 3:03 PM
Looks fine just the job for a few deer. As to scopes I was talking to the guys at Foxfirearms and they reckon that spring air rifles are much worse than medium bore rifles. Make of that what you will but I think the scope will hold up OK. I bought a S/H Doctor Optic but only because my RFd found me one
Posted by: Ghost Rifle | November 20, 2007 9:52 PM
The recoil from spring air rifles actualy causes more damage to a poor scope than a 7mm + centrefire. This is due to the way in which the energy is released by the spring and the forces are not all one way!
Posted by: Tim C | November 21, 2007 8:58 AM