Scope mount for a Finnish Lion small bore target rifle

[Calfed]

I've started shooting in a weekly small bore matches. These are shot off a bench. I've been using various rifles, including a Remington 40X, several Winchester 52's and a Martini.

I've got two Finnish Lion target rifles-an M55 and an M65. I would like to shoot these in these rimfire matches, but have not found any way to mount a scope.

Anyone know any scope mounts for these rifles?

 

[XgobudX]

Try this

 

[Fig]

That requires a Weaver rail, which those rifles do not have. They’re built for pin-dot, Lyman tang type sights.

It looks like people are tapping the barrels and adding rails. Won’t be 100% original anymore, but at least you would have a scope, and it’s about the least destructive mod you can make that not reversible.

 

[68hoyt]

Look up cm2 scope mounts , people would make mounts that attached to the receiver where the rear sight mounted ( rear left ) basically angle aluminum screwed to the receiver then scope bases mounted on top to attach the scope

 

[grauhanen]

The older Valmet rifles have no provision for scope mounting. They used a rear sight that attached to the side of the receiver and so had no dovetails. Some M70 rifles from the 1970s did come with dovetail grooves, with which any 11mm dovetail rings can be used for mounting a scope. Perhaps the only solution for mounting a scope on Valmet rifles without dovetail grooves is to have the receiver drilled and tapped for scope bases. Flat-bottomed weaver bases can be used as the top of the receivers are flat.

Below is a Model 70 I had. It had dovetail grooves. If I recall correctly it was made in about 1974.



Below is an older M45. I don't remember it's year of manufacture. I believe it was from the late 1940s or 1950s.

 

[ZG47A]

Grunig and Elmiger make sight bases with pin attachment at the back and several magnets forward, to keep those bases attached to Stgw 57, PE 57 and their bolt action rimfire/centrefire target rifles. I reckon that you could put together a similar setup.
Go to ‘Bloke on the Range’ on YouTube to see what I mean. In the last few weeks he has done a couple of videos with Robert, the lead gunsmith at Grunig and Elmiger, showing the match upgrade of a Stgw 57; the features of Robert’s special PE 57 and the improved shootability of the latter rifle.
There is also some useful info for current and potential owners of Stgw/PE 57 rifles.

 

[Calfed]

I finally broke down and had the barrel drilled for scope mounting blocks. I then used an EGW model 52 Winchester cantilever mount on the rear block position for a Bausch and Lomb 6-24 scope.

The barrel on the Finnish Lion is quite a bit heavier than the Winchester, so I had EGW re-radius the scope mount for the heavier profile.

I haven't shot it much, but did get it zeroed at 50 yards and shot a 5 round group with some Eley Tennex