Tom Leoni
AH fanatic
I have just purchased a Westley Richards sliding block rifle manufactured in the early years of the 20th century. Chambering is .500 NE, which means that I can also use the versatile Nitro for Black loads in it (Ross Seyfried calls the .500 NfB "the .300 Win Mag of the Edwardian age").
The rifle's metal has been refinished and, although the barrel bears the trademark Westley Richards triangle right in front of the action, it has no manufacturer's name and address on top as so many vintage British rifles do. This--and its as-new bore--leads me to speculate that the barrel may have been replaced at some point during the rifle's lifetime. The rifle also bears the standard 1-standing, 2-folding leaf express sights.
As all rifles that I buy, I buy them to use. I'm no fan of safe queens. I got a great deal on this rifle too, which makes me want to use it even more and not worry all that much about resale value.
With my aging eyes, open sights are a challenge to use. I also think that so many other factors nudge me towards using scoped rifles--like for instance being able to pick a clear path for the bullet, not shooting through brush, etc. So here's my question to you gents of experience and good taste:
I'm thinking of having someone like NECG add a discrete way to scope the rifle--perhaps with a scout style telescopic sight in front of the receiver. But as I envision someone (no matter how good) taking a drill or soldering material to my vintage rifle, I can't help imagining the girthy, voluminous shadow of Bubba creeping into the picture.
Dilemma: scope and use/make memories with it, or leave as is and treat as a nice-to-have collector's piece? Is scoping such a rifle--in order to use it--a sort of Bubba-lite proposition? Am I overthinking this?
The rifle's metal has been refinished and, although the barrel bears the trademark Westley Richards triangle right in front of the action, it has no manufacturer's name and address on top as so many vintage British rifles do. This--and its as-new bore--leads me to speculate that the barrel may have been replaced at some point during the rifle's lifetime. The rifle also bears the standard 1-standing, 2-folding leaf express sights.
As all rifles that I buy, I buy them to use. I'm no fan of safe queens. I got a great deal on this rifle too, which makes me want to use it even more and not worry all that much about resale value.
With my aging eyes, open sights are a challenge to use. I also think that so many other factors nudge me towards using scoped rifles--like for instance being able to pick a clear path for the bullet, not shooting through brush, etc. So here's my question to you gents of experience and good taste:
I'm thinking of having someone like NECG add a discrete way to scope the rifle--perhaps with a scout style telescopic sight in front of the receiver. But as I envision someone (no matter how good) taking a drill or soldering material to my vintage rifle, I can't help imagining the girthy, voluminous shadow of Bubba creeping into the picture.
Dilemma: scope and use/make memories with it, or leave as is and treat as a nice-to-have collector's piece? Is scoping such a rifle--in order to use it--a sort of Bubba-lite proposition? Am I overthinking this?