Scope for Winchester 1885 High Wall in .325 WSM

Hi All,

I just bought a single shot Winchester 1885 High Wall in .325 WSM to be used for elk hunting in the mountains of Colorado. I got the gun on sale at Gander Mountain, and they knocked a few more bucks off the price because it was the floor model with a few minor dings in the wood. Good deal for me since it will be a hunting gun and I will probably pick up some minor wood dings on the first trip, anyway. I now need to buy a scope for this new shoot'n iron.

My scope budget is about $1000 (but it would great if I could find what I want for less, of course). I am looking for some high quality optics that are in proportion to the slim lines of the 1885 rifle, and that has good eye relief so I can mount the scope as far forward as practical. An objective size of about 40mm should be good with a maximum power of about 9x if a variable power scope. I could probably be happy with a fixed 6x scope if it is small enough to justify the lack of variable power.

I am thinking of using the Talley lightweight one-piece mounts (I have them on my Kimber Montana, and am very happy with them), but am open to suggestions, here, too.

Any suggestions?

TIA.

Leupold 2-7x28 VX-II Ultralight Riflescope
http://www.swfa.com/pc-8573-135-leupold-2-7x28-vx-ii-ultralight-riflescope.aspx
light, slim and in keeping with your Highwall.
Under $400 too.
325 is, I think, a 300 yard cartridge so 7X on an Elk is plenty.
Good hunting!

That is a nice rifle with graceful lines. The Kahles 3-9x42 would be an outstanding choice. The glass is excellent and Kahles are very well built and durable in my experience.
http://www.swfa.com/pc-13252-1219-kahles-3-9x42-helia-kx-riflescope.aspx

Here is an 1885 in .300 WSM with a Leupold 3.5-10x40 for reference. I think it looks well proportioned. This type of scope will give you very good low light performance in the timber and allow the long shots where cover may be in the way.



Edited by tahqua - January/06/2009 at 21:02

That looks sweeeeeet! Tahqua is that your's  if yes thumbs up!....

I wish it was, it's on Gun Broker.
The 1885 is a very well made and fine looking gun. I've been looking at adding to my single shot collection and the Winchester is a beauty.

yes they are I am going for the Uberti .they are pretty well made and handle nice.thinking maybe on the 38-55.....45-90   I have a sharps replica in 45-70 I like the old calibers. fun.

     I recently purchased a Winchester 1885 High Wall with 28" octagonal barrel. After reading a lot of posts, I settled on a set of S&K mounts and rings. I mounted them and the scope yesterday. Really happy I went with S&K. The mounts are a perfect fit and the  high rings the perfect height for my 1 inch main tube 3x9x50mm Bushnell Elite Firefly scope. The scope clears the barrel by about 1 mm. I left on the factory sights in the event of a scope failure in the field. They don't interfere with the scope view. After mounting the scope I bore sighted it and found that at that point it needed no adjustment (at about 20 yards). Tomorrow, weather permitting, I will take it to the range and sight it in. S&K recommends using Permatex Aviation gasket on the inside of the rings if it is a heavy recoil rifle, so I went to NAPA and bought some. It leaked out a bit even though I applied it sparingly, but cleaned up easy with acetone. Hope this helps someone. 

Swampgto - looking forward to a shooting report.

On my 1885 Low Wall (the same only different) I put a glossy Leupy 2.5-8 X 36. To my eye, it's just about right. 

tahqua wrote: That is a nice rifle with graceful lines. The Kahles 3-9x42 would be an outstanding choice. The glass is excellent and Kahles are very well built and durable in my experience. http://www.swfa.com/pc-13252-1219-kahles-3-9x42-helia-kx-riflescope.aspx

Kahles products have just disappeared from SWFA site.
Might be worth a thread topic...

     I would have liked to gone with a glossy scope, but Leupold does not make one in a Firedot. After swapping emails, they said that they may offer it in the future or as a customer  factory modification. I guess I save a few bucks by using the Bushnell Firefly I had. It still looks great with the gloss base and rings with the matte Bushnell. Can't wait to get to the range. 

Took the 1885 high wall to the range today. No problems. I had the scope zero'd in at 50 yards in four shots. The scope shot out the x at 100 yards with no corrections needed other than 1 click to the left. I was surprised that this rifle did not have that much felt recoil (to me). It's a 375 H&H and feels like it kicks about as much as my 308 Norma Mag. Looking forward to a bear hunt in Georgia this year. I think this will do the trick.