Scope Mounting on 1903 Sporter

[AethelstanAegen]

I recently bought a sporterized Rock Island 1903 rifle that has been rechambered in 375 H&H Magnum. The rifle currently as a Williams peep sight on the rear but the receiver has also been drilled and tapped for scope mounts in the past. I'm a big fan of the rear peep sight but I've also been considering scoping the rifle. I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for a way I could mount a scope to the rifle but also retain the peep sight (I would mount the scope using a quick detach mechanism, so that I could use irons instead when preferred). As far as I can tell, it's probably a non-starter as the Williams peep covers the rear scope mount holes, but I wanted to ask on her to see if anyone more knowledgeable had a good idea. I've also attached two pictures to show the rifle in it's current configuration.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I have a sporterized Springfield that has a Lyman 48 rear aperture sight on it and concurrently has a G&H detachable scope mount with a Lyman Alaskan scope on it. Of course, the Lyman 48 must be detached before I can install a scope.

Your rifle may be drilled and tapped already for a Redfield Jr. scope base.

 

[CaptHank]

I ran into the same problem, thought it would be a simple mount. This was not the case. I wanted to use a one piece mount. Found out the base of the receiver wasn't level with the front. The gunsmith had to TIG weld a shim for the rear. Took my changes and went to the range, it's a keeper.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Thanks for the input, gents. That's about what I was expecting and I'll have to look into the options more thoroughly once the rifle arrives. That's a beautiful stock on your rifle, CaptHank. Where did you acquire it?

 

[CaptHank]

The stock came with the rifle. My BIL gave it to me. He said there was a problem with the bolt and safety. When you released the safety lever, the bolt would close. A BIG NO NO! I ordered a manual and found the problem. Had to take the bolt apart to fix the safety. It was not aligning with the notch. As said in the previous post, thought a one piece base would do the job. It has a great trigger, about 2lbs.

 

[Jim Watson]

Replace the Williams peep with a Lyman.
Lymans have (Had?) a half nut and spring plunger so you can quickly remove the staff, leaving only the side base to make room for a scope. They have a stop screw so they will return to zero. Then you will need QD scope rings, I like Leupold QDW.

 

[4v50 Gary]

BTW, if you look at Bruce Campbell's book on the Springfield, The Smokeless Era, he has a drawing of an idealized sporterized Springfield. Mine looks just like that.

 

[Mike C2]

I prefer the one piece style mount on a Springfield as well. I would start by removing the peep so you can precisely measure the screw holes in the back. Measure the screw holes in the front, and the distance between the two. Use this information to find what mount used to be on the rifle so no additional holes will need to be drilled.

I would guess that was for a Redfield or Buehler mount, but who knows for sure. Once you have your data maybe you can get some dimensions. If you PM me, I have both a Buehler and a Redfield I can measure if need be.