Weaver Mounts
It should be noted that the Weaver mounting system was a huge success. The first Weaver mount was the V Mount offered with the Model 3-30 scope. It was a fragile-looking affair with an odd-looking spring on the side. That was quickly replaced by the S- and M-series mounts. These were the first in a series of stamped-metal, side mounts that survived until the 1980s.
In 1947 Weaver added the U and B mounts. The U mounts came in both top and side mounts. The B mounts were designed to position the scope as low to the rifle as possible. They also had a thumbscrew, quick-release feature. In 1950 Weaver introduced the Detachable Split-Ring Side Mount.
What was to become Weaver’s flagship mount, the Split Ring Tip-Off mount, was introduced in 1953. This ring uses a stamped steel top with a hook on one side and a lip with two screw holes on the other. It mates with a solid steel bottom. The “hook” clips under a lip on one side of the base and the screws fit into threaded holes on the other. The rings were then attached to a “rail” base with a large thumbscrew.
Mounting a scope in those rings would drive you crazy as the scope tube tended to rotate slightly when the screws were tightened. The system required a “guesstimate” about how far to position it in the opposite direction, so that when the screws tightened, the scope’s crosshair came to rest in the correct orientation.
If tightened too much the rings would bend and distort even the best steel scope tubes. But, that might be their best feature. While it messed up the cosmetics of the scope, the distortion and damage also helped grip the scope and keep it from slipping under recoil. Also, the flexible steel top ring would bend to the shape of the scope tube. No need to lap these top rings; they were “self” adjusting for grip surface. Better still, they were inexpensive. In 1963 the rings and bases retailed for only $9.75. Weaver still makes these rings, although the bottoms are now aluminum, so you can’t “crank” the screws as tight without stripping, which is probably a good thing.
In my neck of the woods, New England, another innovative Weaver mount was popular with deer hunters. The one thing we could depend on in Vermont during November was foul weather. The Weaver Pivot Mount would allow a shooter to pivot the scope to the side on a hinge so that the back-up iron sights were cleared for use if snow or rain had put the scope out of operation. When you were done, you could swing the scope back and a couple of spring-loaded clips would snap in and hold it in place. When I started hunting deer in the mid-1960s, almost every serious deer hunter I knew had one of these mounts. Even today the Weaver style of mounting is an industry standard, and Weaver competitors use the Weaver name to describe the rails and rings used for this system.
Reunited
The siblings were reunited in 2008 when ATK bought Weaver Optics back from Meade. Now the scopes and mounts are back under one company. Weaver scopes today still represent one of the best buys in optics. They are dependable enough that I trusted a Weaver Super Slam 3-15X 50 mm Illuminated Reticle scope on my rifle for a one-gun safari in Zimbabwe last year. The Weaver scope performed great under tough shooting and hunting conditions.
After 80 years in business the Weaver name has always represented solid performance for a fair price. While the owners and locations of manufacture have changed through eight decades, that standard has not. This powerful name in sport optics continues the path set so long ago by William R. Weaver. The company may have wavered and stumbled a bit through the years, but it never lost its way. Today, under ATK’s leadership, we can expect the Weaver brand to continue to bring fair-priced and high-quality scopes and mounts to America’s shooters and hunters.
