Scope Mounts for Rook Rifles. Pictures please for ideas

Hi DB,
Both extremely beautiful rifles! What calibre are they?
K
The first one is .297/.250 & the second one has been tubed back from a .410” & chambered in .25-20W. Both get an annual outing to Bisley for a historic competition but alas it’s beyond the comprehension of the FLD to understand that they are suitable for shooting vermin & hares 🤦
 
The first one is .297/.250 & the second one has been tubed back from a .410” & chambered in .25-20W. Both get an annual outing to Bisley for a historic competition but alas it’s beyond the comprehension of the FLD to understand that they are suitable for shooting vermin & hares 🤦
25-20W looks like a really useful little cartridge. How easy is it to feed in the UK - I presume reload only, but getting suitable bullets and brass will be fun.
 
The first one is .297/.250 & the second one has been tubed back from a .410” & chambered in .25-20W. Both get an annual outing to Bisley for a historic competition but alas it’s beyond the comprehension of the FLD to understand that they are suitable for shooting vermin & hares 🤦

Shakes head. The 25-20 Win is the quintessential vermin/varmint cartridge.
 
Shakes head. The 25-20 Win is the quintessential vermin/varmint cartridge.
It is a great little cartridge . It's not as popular as the 32-20 around here though . Both cartridges were chambered in Winchester 1892s , which are pretty common in a lot of places out west , so ammo is readily available here . I'm debating whether to chamber my previously mentioned Martini in either of these cartridges , or perhaps a 38 Special . First world problems.
AB
 
25-20W looks like a really useful little cartridge. How easy is it to feed in the UK - I presume reload only, but getting suitable bullets and brass will be fun.
When I first bought it you could still buy factory ammunition, & in .32-20W which was handy as I have another rook that Derek Fearn tubed & chambered for that cartridge.

Alas now you can’t buy factory ammo for either in the UK as far as I can ascertain ☹️

I reload for mine but once the current supply of cast lead bullets runs out I’ll need to find a new supplier as I believe I’m right in saying that the guy who used to cast them & sell them has passed away. I have the mould to do the .25-20 but I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole…

I have plenty of .32-20 brass but not so many .25-20 cases - these suffer from split necks even after annealing so each time I reload I’ve lost a few. If anyone has any I’d be happy to hear from them 👍
 
Shakes head. The 25-20 Win is the quintessential vermin/varmint cartridge.
Tell me about it…

The FLD have a table in the home office guidance that shows typical cartridges that can be used for what purpose. If the cartridge you have isn’t in the list it confuses the heck out of them!! It was hard enough trying to get them to understand that a .380 Rook wasn’t a dangerous game cartridge with enormous muzzle energy that was too powerful to use on a range 🤦
 
Have thought about them. Indeed have a set in my parts box. The bases need to be cut down, but still are quite chunky / high off the barrel.

Don't discount high rings on that rifle. Agree, definitely not chunky ones though.
I lived by the mantra of scope as low as possible until I came across a little Cadet with very high mounts as used by metallic silhouette shooters. Better clearance for loading and and once I had gotten used to having my head up, I wouldn't go back on that little rifle. A revelation.
 
What a great thread. Slightly off topic but I’ve fancied doing this for quite a while. Is you barrel half round or still octagonal the full length?
 
Really a choice of View attachment 453735

A little straight 3/4” tubed 3x Pecar with a cross hair
Yes
Or a slightly bigger 1” straight tubed Nickel - Marburg 1-4x18 with a German no 1 reticle. Better optically than the above, but reticle a bit chunky for Hares and rabbits
Nah
Or a 3-9x36 Swaro - a much nicer scope but aesthetically too big and modern for a Rook rifle.
Definite nah
And no I am not adding a picatinny rail so I can mount digital optics.
There are certain lines that cannot be crossed
I am thinking simple dovetails easiest to make, but a H&H style detachable mount would be so cool, but a lot of work.
 
Tell me about it…

The FLD have a table in the home office guidance that shows typical cartridges that can be used for what purpose. If the cartridge you have isn’t in the list it confuses the heck out of them!! It was hard enough trying to get them to understand that a .380 Rook wasn’t a dangerous game cartridge with enormous muzzle energy that was too powerful to use on a range 🤦

I had a few .380’s and never had any problems with my FLD, they always were very understanding.

In the photo the Snider and the Dickson (bottom one) were in .380.

Never did keep photos of all my Rooks, much to my annoyance.

IMG_0605.jpeg
 
Keeping more to the thread l have a set of (very difficult to find) Parker Hale high mounts, they have see through apertures enabling the use of the original fixed sights. The relevant information is on the swing tags.

Again without the base mounts they would fit a Mauser that has the appropriate dovetail grooves of 11mm on the top of the receiver. A mate struggled to find a pair to mount a scope on his Mauser single shot but eventually found some and they were expensive.

IMG_1912.webp
 
Thanks for all the replies gentlemen, and no apologies, and indeed thanks for those who have taken things a little off topic. Rook rifles are fascinating topic.

Coming back to the mounts - Parker hale type dovetails. Have these been fitted as is, or have they been tapered to offset the taper of the octagonal barrel. Or do you just use them with ready built in taper of ling range shooting and adjust accordingly?
 
I’m not quite sure of what you are referring to but l think you are talking about the Parker Hale base blocks and fitting them, forgive me if I’m not correct.

Over the years I’ve had quite a number of Parker Hale scope rings and base blocks as part of my collection but l must be honest and say that examination of the base blocks has been slightly lacking, l suppose I’ve just taken it for granted that the contour of the underside of the blocks have relatively been the same.

If I’m correct and it’s the base blocks that you are referring to it did make me examine the remaining few l have.
The high see through rings above the base blocks on those have flats on the underside at the point of contact with the barrel whereas the first block and drawing l posted, the underside of that particular block the contour terminates sharply.

Looking at what l have they definitely can be slightly different, another anomaly can show itself in the differing widths of the base blocks.

If the base blocks you have fit within the width of your barrel top flat l can’t see any reason not to use them, presuming that they are in the original configuration and condition.

The top barrel flat is parallel with the bore therefore when the blocks are fitted any need for elevation and windage should be provided by the scope or adjustable scope rings.

Forgive my ramblings, I’m probably incorrect with my assumptions here but l wasn’t quite sure of my interpretation of your question.

If unsure about anything consult your friendly Gunsmith.
 
I’m not quite sure of what you are referring to but l think you are talking about the Parker Hale base blocks and fitting them, forgive me if I’m not correct.

Over the years I’ve had quite a number of Parker Hale scope rings and base blocks as part of my collection but l must be honest and say that examination of the base blocks has been slightly lacking, l suppose I’ve just taken it for granted that the contour of the underside of the blocks have relatively been the same.

If I’m correct and it’s the base blocks that you are referring to it did make me examine the remaining few l have.
The high see through rings above the base blocks on those have flats on the underside at the point of contact with the barrel whereas the first block and drawing l posted, the underside of that particular block the contour terminates sharply.

Looking at what l have they definitely can be slightly different, another anomaly can show itself in the differing widths of the base blocks.

If the base blocks you have fit within the width of your barrel top flat l can’t see any reason not to use them, presuming that they are in the original configuration and condition.

The top barrel flat is parallel with the bore therefore when the blocks are fitted any need for elevation and windage should be provided by the scope or adjustable scope rings.

Forgive my ramblings, I’m probably incorrect with my assumptions here but l wasn’t quite sure of my interpretation of your question.

If unsure about anything consult your friendly Gunsmith.
I am the friendly gunsmith on this project! The top rib on mine is not parrellel with the bore or line of sight with open sights, hence the question on making the underside of the bases taper.
 
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