malcolm scope

don3

Member
Hi all...I have a Lyman ideal/Chippa little sharps in 22 hornet. It's a very nice rifle and with Lyman tang sight I do very well at 50 yards but at 75 my eyes are not what they used to be. I want to put a Malcolm short 6X power scope on it. I was woundering if any one here has used this scope or any other Malcolm scope. Where is a good place to get one, Midway, Cimarron arms, etc. What ever you know/ have heard about them would be great, They don't give these thing away so trying to find out what I can good or bad before I get one

Thanks
Don
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I don't remember much about them except for how they are adjusted.
unfortunately they are something I'd have all bent and dinged up and out of adjustment every time I tried to use it, so that's about as far as I got.
 

david s

Well-Known Member
You might look at Buffalo Arms out of Idaho. I've dealt with the company but no Malcom scope experience.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
I have had two on different single shots, both worked as advertised. The M73 2.5X was the better scope, but is internal adjustments. The other was the "short tube" that was then made in 4X. Lens was clear and cross hair solid, but eye relief was very short. It was not useable on a 38/55 due to recoil. Adjustments work well as long as you remove the scope from the blocks while transporting the rifle, it will not take a lot of bumping around. Just unscrew from the blocks and put it in a box for the truck rides. I bought both of these on sale from OpticsPlanet about 10 years ago, but they went away as I have been selling off rifles.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
I have had 3 Malcolm Leatherwood externally adjustable scopes. I have kept the two 3X and resold the 6X. The 3X scopes have been used with .22 single shots out to 200 yards foe BPCR silhouette. The 6X had a very tight eye relief window. Clear lenses, crappy adjusters, but, once sighted in and locked into place they really work well on hunting single shots. I have one on a rebarrelled Winder Musket, and the other on a .25-20 Low-Wall. I would not be afraid of one. However, if I order another externally adjustable scope it will be a MVA copy of the Winchester #5.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
The original Unertls', Winchesters, Feckers' and Lymans' are usually so beat up and bent, they are only good for parts until rebuilt.
I have had much better luck than that. I have a 6X, 8X, and 20X in the Fecker brand, I had two Super Target Spots, both were/are good, one went cheap to the neighbor kid, I had two or three Unertls and let myself get talked out of all of them. All were good, clear, repeatable and a ton of fun. I do have a 1913 Vintage Winchester B-4 with the "grasshopper" mount that came on a Winchester Special Sporter rifle in .22 short that I believe was a "gallery" rifle. The B-4 would need a good cleaning and tune up but I don't know where to send it. I had the Hi-Wall rebuilt by Wyoming Armory when I still had my part time job for fun money. When I shoot it scoped it carries the 6X Fecker.
I cannot fathom how many rounds that old Winchester must have fired. The original barrel was marked .22 short in 1913. It had a brazed in barrel liner still in .22 short, and that liner was shot almost smooth. Even taking into consideration the priming compound of that era, that must amount to 10's of thousands of rounds.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
L Ross, I didn't mean you "can't" find them, but you better be looking close! I have kept two Fecker's and three Unertl's that I know are good, but I went thru about a dozen to find those good ones.
 

L Ross

Well-Known Member
L Ross, I didn't mean you "can't" find them, but you better be looking close! I have kept two Fecker's and three Unertl's that I know are good, but I went thru about a dozen to find those good ones.
I love those old externally adjustable scopes despite their small tubes and limitations. I'm all inspired now, I may drag out the Hi-Wall and 6X Fecker and shoot some prairie dogs and 4" diamonds tomorrow. I have an 80 yard rail in the yard and those 20 targets. Used a 513-T this morning and got the 20 targets with 25 shots off hand. Even better is I had a run of 14 knock downs in a row, by far a new record for me.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
My favorite is a Fecker "small game" of about 2.5 X on a 25/20 Savage Model 23. Lyman 87 grain bullet and 9.0 grains of old MP5744 is a sub-MOA at a 100 if you shoot slow. Fire your shot at a grey digger or sage rat and wait a bit. Pull scope back and work the bolt slowly, and good for another <150 yard shot. Varminting 100 years ago and great fun.
 

Outpost75

Active Member
I have two Unertl small game scopes in 4x and 6x which I had refurbed, but the German-trained gunsmith went back to his home country. Sold my 8x and 10X Vultures with the sniper rifles they came on.