The Lyman 2 1/2 X Alaskan Scope

by
posted on June 13, 2011
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
2011779828-125rifleman_f.jpg

From the March, 1938 issue of American Rifleman

The new year was only a few days old when Lyman shipped two samples of their new 2 ½ X hunting scope sight for our test. One was the first Alaskan to come through production and the other was No. 14, so we believe by this time all jobbers are supplied with samples, and that individual orders for the new Alaskan model can be promptly filled.

The optics for the new Alaskan were developed and are supplied by Bausch & Lomb which assures the purchaser of an excellent glass. The final design is a small, light, neat instrument with long eye-relief and internal adjustments. It joins that group of American-made hunting scopes of which the Noske and new Weaver have been the only examples. The eye distance is 5 inches, the exit pupil 9-mm. and the objective 18-mm. The tube diameter is 22-mm. which is the same as the Zielklein, but the eye end with 22-mm. clear aperture is enlarged, to 1.22 inches. The instrument is 10 ½ inches long, and it weighs 8 ounces. It has a field view of 40 feet per 100 yards. These are very good and practical dimensions and characteristics.

The resolving power is, of course, not equal to that of 4-power scopes, but the Alaskan approaches the ability of some 3-power scopes in that respect. Visual checks can be misleading in such tests, and we prefer not to make any direct comparisons. Another reason for our hesitancy is the discrepancy between the actual magnification and the advertised power which sometimes exists in an appreciable degree. The Alaskan samples we tried appeared to give fully 2 ½ magnifications, and we were also impressed by their very apparent uniformity in all optical details. We can say that our resolution tests indicate that in efficiency per unit power the Alaskan rates somewhere within 6% of the very best hunting scopes, tried to date, in the matter of definition or distinct contrast.

The tube is made of an aluminum alloy, heat treated, designed to combine the tensile strength of steel with the light weight of aluminum. Griffin & Howe have brought out a new 7-ounce side-bracket double-lever mount of the same material, making the whole outfit weigh under a pound on the gun. The G. & H. permanent side-base of heavier metal accounts for the major part of this total 7-ounce mount-weight. The mount is designed for low-position, and the 5-inch eye-distance of the new Lyman scope permits a low-position of the 2 ½ X Alaskan on practically any desirable sporting rifle.

Latest

Hearing Healthy
Hearing Healthy

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

The Armed Citizen® June 30, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Book Review: Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers Of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler

The result of a decade of research, Clockwork Basilisk is a comprehensive, two-volume history of the rare revolvers that preceded the development of the well-known Colt guns of the 1830s.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.