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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Mystery Mount


tinkerfive

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post-66-1172103811_thumb.jpg

 

Can anyone tell me about this mount?

It has "25" stamped all over it.

When I saw the "25" on the ring assy. I assumed that it meant 25MM for 1".

There is a "25" on the base assembly too. Unless there would be a different

base assembly for a 30MM.

 

I get the sense that this is an old classic, maybe from the 50's or 60's.

 

The rear has a cross sliding dovetail which I believe is adjustable for windage.

 

I just can't see anything that identifies a maker.

It seems very well made.

 

Thanks in advance!!

I know that someone here will know everything about this mount.

 

Tinker

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Tinker,

 

Were it not for the little handle on the side, I would have thought of the old Weaver side mount, but no Weaver, Williams, or Redfield side mount that I've ever seen had a QD feature like the mount in this picture. Therefore, I'd say that what you have is a variation of the Griffith and Howe side mount. These have been around for a while and there are still a couple custom gunmakers that offer them. From what I understand about them, they're kind of a pain to install because there's a fair amount of fitting that goes into installing one. And because they require some fitting, they usually cost a fair amount of money.

 

Or such is my take.

 

Jason

 

 

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Oldest side mount I've seen was on a WWI Gew98 with the front ring mounted on action front ring and the rear ring attached to a right angle arm attached to the side of the action with a release lever. A lot of military sniper rifles used QD lever arm scopes: Gew98, M98, K98, K43, Swede M41, M1 Garand, Jap 99, ect. This was done to store scope while in transport, to remove damaged scope quickly, and to be able to use iron sights in rain/fog/snow where iron sights are better. Scopes were not as strong or reliable then as today.

 

Griffin&Howe worked up to a two lever mount in 1932 and Akah (Germany's Brownell) had them available at the same time. Don't know who copied who but the German mount is simpler and all steel. Paul Jaeger developed a single lever QD side mount which was very light and maintained zero well but wasn't as strong (or heavy) as the others. Echo came up with a much simplefied QD about the time of WWII, one just sold on Ebay. The one pictured appears to be of a German type combining the Jaeger mount and EAW U clamp rings. NECs German parts supplier listed them in their catalog until a few years ago.

 

As I mentioned in another post recently, no predrilled base plate will ever match a drilled action, unless the two parts were originally mated togather. These things are as different as snowflakes. I sent Z four different G&H base plates to have the holes welded shut as none was a match for any rifle I owned which used them. Z did a wonderful job of filling and grinding on those plates. Now I clamp the side plate to the receiver sidewall, drill thru the existing holes in the sidewall into the mounting plate then countersink the outside of the sideplate for the screw heads.

 

These mounts are great for removing a scope for transport, if damaged, or in bad weather. They leave the top of the receiver uncluttered with scope bases which require higher iron sights which will stick up above the scope bases. They return to zero much more reliabily than the standard American mounts with the two big screws in the rear base which always have to be checked for windage zero when a scope is remounted in them. Also, side mounts are generally mounted slightly higher which gives more finger room when stuffing rounds in the magazine, a real problem with one piece bases and low mounted rings. In fact these side mounts can be raised high enough when being mated to the receiver to sight beneath them, enabling you to use your low iron sights without removing the scope. It's called a "shoot under/over" mounting.

 

While side mounts are expensive, used mounts are available but makers such as G&H used at least 4 subcontractors to crank these things out. Thus, side plates vary in thickness enough that flat sided plates generally don't have enough metal to mill a convex curve to fit a round receiver without cutting into the screw head recesses and ruining them. Also, the two grooves in the side plate which hold the mount in place are not always uniform in diameter or location. Even the dovetail rail onto which the scope mount slides is sometime different. But, putting one togather is a great challange especially when the cost of buying a new one and having it mounted is $450, a new undrilled side plate is $125. Just remember to measure mating surfaces on your parts and ask for measurments on parts you may need to complete a set and you'll be OK. And if you sell the rifle, remove the whole unit, parting out the side plate and mount separately, they will likely bring more than you get for the rifle. Bill

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