Aldis Scope Elevation Range Dial - Bottom Half Help

[hatrick]

Roger... thanks for searching through your spares for that elevation dial bottom half. I guess that search will go on and hopefully something will turn up or a broken or beat up scope comes to light that can sacrifice the elevation dial.

Surpmil... I'll take better pictures of all of my Aldis scopes and do them individually so you can have a good account for your records. It may take a week or so since I am really backed up right now but I will get them done ASAP.

Appreciate all the help guys...

Thanks,
Eric

[hatrick]

Sorry it has taken me so long to take pictures of all my Aldis scopes... I hope they aren't too dark as I was using my iPad. Please let me know if I should re-take them with better lighting and camera.

This one looks to be a Holland & Holland that had H&H mounts

[hatrick]

I think this was a Purdey mount scope

[hatrick]

Not sure what mounts this one had

[hatrick]

I believe this one was post war assembled since it has no military markings or rifle number

[hatrick]

This one is just a commercial version but I figured I would add is so they all are documented

[Roger Payne]

Not sure what mounts this one had

Hi Hatrick. It looks like it had the modified PPCo dovetail rings ('Bartle' mounts??) originally, although it also looks like it may have had other rings fitted after the event as well. The fact that it has the lateral adjustment prism at the business end is consistent with this, the dovetail mount system having no lateral adjustment of itself.

[hatrick]

Thanks Roger... I had a feeling someone would know what that one had. Yet another mount I now have to look for... LOL

[Surpmil]

Hi Hatrick. It looks like it had the modified PPCo dovetail rings ('Bartle' mounts??) originally, although it also looks like it may have had other rings fitted after the event as well. The fact that it has the lateral adjustment prism at the business end is consistent with this, the dovetail mount system having no lateral adjustment of itself.

I agree, the serial number centered below the range drum saddle is the confirmation of that.

Thanks for those well done photos Hatrick. I'll add them in.

Your fourth post/scope is almost certainly a WWI fitting in view of the typical range markings, but as you can see the tube has been thoroughly polished, possibly even to the extent of removing markings such as those on your third post/scope.

I would have to conclude that the range drum markings were originally put on after the scopes were fitted up to rifles, since there was no way to adjust the collimation except by laborious and in some cases, impossible, hand-fitting. Thus having those markings would suggest to me that the scope was fitted up to a service rifle.

Your commercial model (final post/scope) is different from any I have seen in having a typical military range drum. The objective housing and the step in the tube are identical to the No.4 Aldis, but quite different from the later(?) commercial models. I wish I had some better photos of those, but haven't found anything much on my drives. Probably your scope is an early version of the commercial type made using available parts, and the other types I mention came later when most of those parts except perhaps lenses(?) had been used up.

If that scope was made up from surplus parts the presence of those range markings would contradict my guess above about when those markings were usually applied. The advertising blurb for the commercials referred to the advantages of a longer tube for different mounting types, so it could be someone transplanted those parts off a No.4 Aldis that was otherwise too damaged to use or because they wanted the longer tube. Could be something done quite recently too, in order to make a saleable scope out of a "junker".

[hatrick]

This is all great additional info for me on my scopes and is greatly appreciated. They are all hard to figure out since in most cases they have been re-purposed or re-worked one or more times after their military service.

My fourth scope may have been an original military scope but as you said it has been heavily cleaned and the tube polished which may have removed any markings or evidence of military service. That particular scope had definitely been re-worked/restored as it has a reproduction 1-6 range dial and and the bottom half of the range dial is the odd bottom half that started this thread and is pictured in the first post. I also replaced the range dial lock screw and focus dial lock screw with reproductions I had. So this one has been heavily re-worked but has great optics and works well. Just needs a proper black paint job to cover that heavily polished tube.

It's also interesting that my long, commercial model is kind of an odd ball and a mix of commercial and military parts. I may end up swapping some of the military parts to restore on of the others to bring them back into full military configuration.

Does anyone know if a proper black paint is available in the event I wanted to re-paint a tube? I want to say I was told it was japan black but I'm not sure that is available in the US being lacquer.