Henry Rifle Scope
Spring 2017
Once I got my Henry lever-action rifle (.357 mag), I decided it needed a scope to go with it. However, putting a modern scope on such an old-styled gun would be sacrilege! So I set out to build a scope that would be functional, yet match the style of the old gun. I was trying to model it after the very first scopes made, small diameter, long tubes. A bit of a doc-brown effect wouldn't hurt either.
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This was my first work in the field of optics, so I had to develop a system to make what is effectively a telescope, with three lenses (Objective, eyepiece, and a third lens to flip the image right-side-up), and then machine a set of aluminum tubes and brass fittings to locate each lens where it needs to be. A post-style reticle was then made by carefully grinding a small steel pin to a fine, sharp point. It too needed to be carefully adjusted to exactly match the plane of focus of the image so as to appear properly and clearly.
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The end result was very satisfying, matching the style and aesthetic of the rifle very well, and it holds it's zero surprisingly well. The field of view is, as expected, terrible. This is because of the small diameter tube. Eye relief is very critical and it's difficult to keep your head in the proper spot to see without vignetting. It has the vignetting of a 10x scope but a magnification of only 3x. Still, I am very happy with it.
