I want a heavy but low power scope

[314159]

I built a lightweight Remington 7600 carbine long ago and did a great job, if I say so myself.

A bit too good of a job. Ageing makes you really appreciate light weight but my recoil tolerance has dropped as well. I want to increase the weight a bit and rather than just put lead in the butt stock and mess up the balance I plan on adding steel scope rings and a steel tube scope to fatten it up some. If that's not enough I will add a weight.

So, recommendations for a 2 to preferably 3 power, 1 inch or 30mm steel tube scope? I'm thinking an old Weaver K3 but I would like recommendations from the hive mind here. In the era of steel scope tubes I don't think there were a lot of good variables to choose from but I'm open minded...

[BobM]

The Weaver K3 or K4 was the first thing I thought of too. I’m not sure what else is out there along those lines.

[JHC]

ACOG TA11 for the win! With Larue QD mounts on the strip of rail you'll add. Awesome optic and weight.

[P30]

An alternative that comes to mind:

limbsaver.com/pages/recoil-pads-showcase

I don't have this product but would try something like this first. I like it light (motorbikes, rifles, ...).

PS:
americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/4/11/10-ways-to-manage-recoil:

Many excellent pads are available, but my shoulder says the LimbSaver from Sims Vibration Laboratory, the Kickeez, the Pachmayr Decelerator and the Remington Supercell cannot be beat.

[TWR]

I think most of the newer LPVO's are 20 oz. or over, some way over (think Razor). Any reason you're not looking at them?

[314159]

The rifle has a top notch pad already. I don't even want to think about the cost and/or availability of a TA11 these days (also lack of diopter adjustments). A modern LPVO might be the solution, I had no idea Razors were that heavy. Thanks for the tip TWR.

I blame a long term fascination with Col. Cooper's Scout Rifle writings with my light weight rifle obsession.

[okie john]

I built a lightweight Remington 7600 carbine long ago and did a great job, if I say so myself.

A bit too good of a job. Ageing makes you really appreciate light weight but my recoil tolerance has dropped as well. I want to increase the weight a bit and rather than just put lead in the butt stock and mess up the balance I plan on adding steel scope rings and a steel tube scope to fatten it up some. If that's not enough I will add a weight.

So, recommendations for a 2 to preferably 3 power, 1 inch or 30mm steel tube scope? I'm thinking an old Weaver K3 but I would like recommendations from the hive mind here. In the era of steel scope tubes I don't think there were a lot of good variables to choose from but I'm open minded...

Older Weavers will add some heft but maybe not as much as you'd think. Reticle options are limited, the reticle may not be centered in the field of view, and nobody works on them any more. They're also not as weatherproof as modern scopes and some of the glass may be starting to get a little cloudy. On the plus side, they'll look right at home on a 7600 carbine, especially if you go with bases like these https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1362111673, which will also add some weight. Older Leupolds are also starting to get a little long in the tooth but they'll have fewer issues than a vintage Weaver. They were made in 2.5x, 3x, and 4x, plus decent 1-4x variables that would not look out of place on a 7600.

There's also the option of a fixed 4x with a 30mm tube. The only one of those I know about is this: https://www.kaps-optik.de/en/sport-o...ne-4-x-36.html Kaps has a good reputation but little if any support in the US so any repair or warranty work means a return to Deutschland.

The other option is to go with a steel 1913 rail. Not sure if anyone makes one for the 7600 but I suppose it's possible. There are plenty of steel rings to fit them and some of those are very heavy. If you go that route, then old-school aesthetics are out the window and a Nightforce SHV 3-10x42 would work relly well.

But adding weight aft of the chamber will wreck the balance, so the muzzle will float on fast offhand shots and the gun will be harder to use well. Not sure I'd go that route...

The real problem is recoil, which is an ammo issue, so why not focus on that? Modern bullets and propellants let the 30-06 perform like the 300 H&H did 25-30 years ago. Modern 30-06/180 loads are ideal for really large animals, but they're way more than you need for deer. Today's 150-grain cup-and-core bullets are better than ever, and 150-grain monolithics penetrate like the 180s of yore. So if you use factory ammo, then you could cut recoil somewhat by cutting bullet weight.

If you handload, then you can create reduced loads using H4895 and the instructions at https://imrpowder.com/wp-content/upl...ifle-loads.pdf My son absolutely pole-axed a 200-ish pound hog with a 165-grain Remington Pointed Soft Point CoreLokt from a 20.5" Husqvarna 30-06 carbine. Muzzle velocity was 2,550 FPS. That’s basically a hot 300 Savage or a mild 308, but it's solid deer medicine and recoil is mild.


Okie John

[pastaslinger]

The Razor gen II (not gen II-E) is on the heavy side, and there are plenty of bulky one piece mounts available

If you can do some more power, the Vortex Razor gen II 3-18x is pretty damn heavy

[LittleLebowski]

How about a silencer?

[314159]

That would just mess up the balance in a forward direction!