I bought a modern reproduction of the Winchester Model 1885 HighWall “Black Powder Cartridge Rifle”. This rifle was made in very limited quantities and difficult to find. I found a fellow in Texas who specializes in these rifles and he found me a brand new in the box beauty! His name is Wayne McLerran and he can be reached here. http://www.texas-mac.com/ Wayne also penned a great book on these rifles that I highly recommend.
This rifle is sold without sights. Folks that are going to get this deep in BPCR will want a particular aftermarket set of sights for their style of shooting.
I had no intentions of installing sights. I wanted to install a “Period Correct” scope. Upon researching the cost of an original, turn of the century scope, I decided to go with a modern reproduction. Leatherwood has a line called the Malcolm. They are available in a long and a short version. The short version would be perfect for this rifle. I ordered one up from the place I purchase most of my optics, SWFA http://swfa.com Price is always right and extremely quick shipping.
The 6X version of this scope is perfect for my needs.
Here is a description from SWFA;
Standard (6x) Malcolm Scope   http://swfa.com/Leatherwood-Wm-Malcolm-Telescopic-Rifle-Scopes-C105.aspx
The Leatherwood / Hi-Lux Optics “Wm. Malcolm” scope offers authentic looks and styling, but has been built with the benefits of some modern scope making technology. Unlike the originals of the late 1800s, this 6x long tube-type scope is built with light gathering full multi-coated lenses. Plus, for fog-free service on those cold, damp mornings in the deer woods or at the range, Leatherwood’s “Wm. Malcolm” scope is built with a nitrogen-filled 3/4″ diameter tube. And thanks to a unique design that permits the use of varying length extension tubes at the front, this scope can be mounted on rifles with barrel lengths from 38- to 34-inches – using the factory cut front and rear sight dovetails. The Leatherwood / Hi-Lux Optics “Wm. Malcolm” scope comes with fully adjustable external mounts.
The scope arrived in short order. But then I found out that a mount for this scope is only available from one source. Steve Earle here in New England makes a beautiful version http://steveearleproducts.com/ But I like to do things myself so I made my own!
A piece of bar stock and an hour at the milling machine had a nice mount.
The barrel and receiver are drilled and tapped at the factory, but the spacing between the front and rear holes is non-standard. They vary from rifle to rifle. If you have Steve Earle make you a mount, he needs to know this dimension to drill the holes in the mount.
The mounts are perfectly fine for target shooting or hunting at your range. But they are simply not repeatable enough for competition in my opinion.
Above is the front mount.
And here is the rear mount.
There are better mounts available from Leatherwood and other aftermarket fabricators.
All in all I’m VERY pleased with this scope. The optics are amazing and for such a small objective lens, you can’t believe how bright it is. I thought it would be like looking through a drinking straw!
Good Shooting!