I've got an heirloom RIA 03A3 that was sporterized by my grandfather in the years following his service in WWII. He's been gone since the late '90's, and while I was going through my safe, I pulled this rifle out to have a look and consider taking it back into the field. It's got a 20" .30-06 barrel on it that I'm almost certain is a Douglas, a Reinhart-Fajen stock with rollover comb and ebony tip, a 2-position safety, jeweled bolt, and aftermarket trigger of some type. Pretty sure it's bedded but I'm not pulling it apart to look. In short, it's a really nice rifle.
Two problems. It's wearing a period Bushnell Sportview 3-9 that I don't trust and it has a hard-as-rock red Jostam "Anti-Flinch" recoil pad. I need to fix both of these while keeping the rifle looking clean and classy.
Looking for recommendations on a good quality lightweight 2-turret 1" tube hunting scope, no illumination, objective 40mm or less with 32mm probably looking best on it, 2-7x, 3-9x or something similar. Probably from a classic maker like Leupold instead of Vortex, for example. Realistically this rifle's future use will be deer and groundhogs at 50-250 yards. Scope budget, let's say $700 or less. Half that is fine, I'm not a price snob.
The recoil pad, I'm thinking Pachmayr Decelerator because of issues I've heard with Limbsavers turning gooey over the years. I've never fitted a pad before but it sounds like if I get a belt sander and am careful, I can do that myself. Your experiences / opinions welcome.
Thanks for helping put an old rifle back in service. If some good quality pictures would help, I'll see what I can do.