Help Scoping a Vintage Marlin

[bruss01]

Ok, guys, this might be a question for some of the more "experienced" among us...

The rifle in question is a vintage Marlin 57M (.22 Magnum) which were manufactured in the late 50's early 60's I believe. I've acquired a scope and I am looking at mounting it. I managed to acquire via Gunbroker an old NIB "adapter base" for the Marlin 57. The rifle is already factory-tapped as you can see, and the holes match those on the adapter base.

Now, here's the part that is confusing to me. I'm not sure what kind of rings go on this, or if there is an actual scope base that mounts to the "adapter". I've included some photos of another rifle I own, a Marlin 62 very similar to the 57M (except it's chambered in .30 Carbine and mag fed instead of tube fed). The way the scope base mounts on the receiver is different. I apologize for the blur in some of the photos, but I'm including them all anyway in case it helps someone figure out just a wee bit more in some way.

I want to stay roughly "period appropriate" aka stick with the vintage rifle look as much as possible. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on properly mounting a scope to this sweet old gun? Thanks in advance for any advice. Even getting a name for what I am looking for will help, because then I can google-search until my eyes bleed, but right now I don't even know what to look for... lil' help?

The Redfield adapter base:

[bruss01]

The Marlin 57M receiver :






The Marlin 62 with scope mounted:

[olhunter]

You're right, your pictures are pretty crappy....lol.

I think you got the wrong adapter. The 57 and 57M were different and I'm pretty sure the 57 had a rounded receiver, not flat on top like yours.

The base you have is rounded on the part that meets the receiver. The top is a regular weaver base. Or so I gather from the pics.

I could be wrong. It's happened once before.

[vega]

This shoud help....

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=37727

[covingtonhouse]

Nice rifle!!! I love the old lever guns. I have a JC higgins 44dl which is the same as a Marlin 57. It was my dads' rifle, and the one I learned to shoot a "real" gun with. It has a Weaver quick detach rail on it. I don't know how period correct it is, but it works. You can check the Weaver website for the correct part # ( I forgot which it is). I like the fact that I can remove the scope to shoot iron sights as the rail is below the level of the rear blade, and then put the scope back on with negligible loss of zero. With a gloss black scope, it looks pretty cool. The base you have looks to be a standard 3/8" dovetail for rimfire or air rifle. You can find rings at just about any shooting supply or even Big 5 etc. Some of the air rifle places have high quality adjustable rimfire rings also. Just my $.02

[bruss01]

Nice rifle!!! I love the old lever guns. I have a JC higgins 44dl which is the same as a Marlin 57. It was my dads' rifle, and the one I learned to shoot a "real" gun with. It has a Weaver quick detach rail on it. I don't know how period correct it is, but it works. You can check the Weaver website for the correct part # ( I forgot which it is). I like the fact that I can remove the scope to shoot iron sights as the rail is below the level of the rear blade, and then put the scope back on with negligible loss of zero. With a gloss black scope, it looks pretty cool. The base you have looks to be a standard 3/8" dovetail for rimfire or air rifle. You can find rings at just about any shooting supply or even Big 5 etc. Some of the air rifle places have high quality adjustable rimfire rings also. Just my $.02

Super. Now all I need is a pair of screws to mount the base, and I'm all set.

Thanks for the advice and again, sorry about the crappy photos - I was in a hurry and got a little lazy, usually I can take decent ones if I give the task it's due.

[covingtonhouse]

You can check the gun shows or e-bay for some vintage 3/8" rings also. They would have that cool old high quality "true" blue look to them. Or gloss black was pretty standard back in the day too. Most of the period rings I've seen use slotted screws to actually clamp the scope. Most of the newer ones use a phillips or allen head screw. The base mounting screws are going to be harder to find, as the local hardware stores usually dont carry #6-40 screws. A gunsmith would be the best bet, unless you know what size and thread pitch, and length to order. Hate to bugger those threads, or scratch the bolt top with the wrong screw!!!

[jpscoot_21]

I picked up some old Weaver 3/8 "tip-off" rings for a 1" scope that are hinged and noticed that I need to lap/file the inside of the rings because the area where the bolts clamp down will ding into the scope. Those old rings don't look like very high quality. Leupold makes some nice .22 rings that are a little pricier, but look very good. I think you could make that base work even if it is rounded on the bottom, if the holes line up. Maybe a little rubber cement to fill in the area, or get busy with a belt sander?

[OpticsPlanet]

According to the Weaver reference, your Marlin 57M requires a one-piece #58 base.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/weaver-top-mount-aluminum-bases.html

Product Code: WR-MT-DDAEED-48058

These are inexpensive and should be the correct base for your rifle.

George P.