Aldis Scope Elevation Range Dial - Bottom Half Help

**hatrick** · 08-09-2024 08:46 AM

Roger... thanks for searching through your spares for that elevation dial bottom half. I guess that search will go on and hopefully something will turn up or a broken or beat up scope comes to light that can sacrifice the elevation dial.

Surpmil... I'll take better pictures of all of my Aldis scopes and do them individually so you can have a good account for your records. It may take a week or so since I am really backed up right now but I will get them done ASAP.

Appreciate all the help guys...

Thanks,
Eric

**hatrick** · 08-22-2024 12:55 PM

Sorry it has taken me so long to take pictures of all my Aldis scopes... I hope they aren't too dark as I was using my iPad. Please let me know if I should re-take them with better lighting and camera.

This one looks to be a Holland & Holland that had H&H mounts

**hatrick** · 08-22-2024 12:57 PM

I think this was a Purdey mount scope

**hatrick** · 08-22-2024 12:58 PM

Not sure what mounts this one had

**Roger Payne** · 08-22-2024 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by hatrick

Not sure what mounts this one had

Hi Hatrick. It looks like it had the modified PPCo dovetail rings ('Bartle' mounts??) originally, although it also looks like it may have had other rings fitted after the event as well. The fact that it has the lateral adjustment prism at the business end is consistent with this, the dovetail mount system having no lateral adjustment of itself.

**Surpmil** · 08-22-2024 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Roger Payne

Hi Hatrick. It looks like it had the modified PPCo dovetail rings ('Bartle' mounts??) originally, although it also looks like it may have had other rings fitted after the event as well. The fact that it has the lateral adjustment prism at the business end is consistent with this, the dovetail mount system having no lateral adjustment of itself.

I agree, the serial number centered below the range drum saddle is the confirmation of that.

Thanks for those well done photos Hatrick. I'll add them in.

Your fourth post/scope is almost certainly a WWI fitting in view of the typical range markings, but as you can see the tube has been thoroughly polished, possibly even to the extent of removing markings such as those on your third post/scope.

I would have to conclude that the range drum markings were originally put on after the scopes were fitted up to rifles, since there was no way to adjust the collimation except by laborious and in some cases, impossible, hand-fitting. Thus having those markings would suggest to me that the scope was fitted up to a service rifle.

Your commercial model (final post/scope) is different from any I have seen in having a typical military range drum. The objective housing and the step in the tube are identical to the No.4 Aldis, but quite different from the later(?) commercial models. I wish I had some better photos of those, but haven't found anything much on my drives. Probably your scope is an early version of the commercial type made using available parts, and the other types I mention came later when most of those parts except perhaps lenses(?) had been used up.

If that scope was made up from surplus parts the presence of those range markings would contradict my guess above about when those markings were usually applied. The advertising blurb for the commercials referred to the advantages of a longer tube for different mounting types, so it could be someone transplanted those parts off a No.4 Aldis that was otherwise too damaged to use or because they wanted the longer tube. Could be something done quite recently too, in order to make a saleable scope out of a "junker".