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PU scope Steel or Aluminum?

4K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  notabiker 
#1 ·
I've read a lot about the rifles but came across something about the original scopes. Did I understand correctly that some scopes were manufactured out of aluminum?

Reason I ask is that there's a very good chance that I'm going to buy my rifle from Classic but I'm keeping my eyes peeled on the classifieds until I get my finances straightened out.

Paul
 
#2 ·
Some of them were alloy (Krasnogorsk). Supposedly, the Soviets had some issues with metal powder coming out of the interior of the alloy tube during recoil and soiling the inside of the lenses, which they eventually addressed by coating the inside of the tube.

I have a '44 Tula with a Krasnogorsk, and you can actually feel a considerable difference in the balance of the rifle due to the lower mass of the scope.
 
#3 ·
Some of them were alloy (Krasnogorsk). Supposedly, the Soviets had some issues with metal powder coming out of the interior of the alloy tube during recoil and soiling the inside of the lenses, which they eventually addressed by coating the inside of the tube.
I believe one or two members here have experienced this same issue. Even though the alloy scopes are usually considered more collectable than most steel bodied PUs, I would opt for the steel if I were going to be doing a lot of shooting. YMMV.

John
 
#5 ·
I don't know about "few and far between" anymore, as this recent shipment has turned up a lot of them (a lot more than we would have thought possible even six months ago). However, I still think that the odds are in your favor in getting a steel body. Worst case scenario is that you get an alloy and end up buying a steel body scope to use as a shooter for another $225-$250, or so. From a collector standpoint, the alloy scope would still be cool to have.

John
 
#7 · (Edited)
Personally I don't think that if you will shoot with you PU sniper few times a month, something will happend with alloy scope in observed future.
I think this problem is exaggerated. Of course, steel scopes have more stronger construction, which is very important in war time conditions. But now is not war time. If this problem was so serious, there will be no way that 80000 of such scopes were issued, and we still could see them.
Alloy scopes are rare, but not unique, and many of them are still used. And anybody see that famous alloy powder at lenses?
Also, we should not forgot about Progress scopes with alloy rear lense block, many of them were issued in 1943 - beginning of 1944.
Krasnogorsk scopes has one advantage comparing to them - they have additional paper gasket inside rear lense block.
It's intresting, that when GRAU prohibit production of scopes with alloy details (only Progrees produce alloy rear lense block that time), Krasnogorsk already stoped production of their scopes. It mean that they stoped scope production not because they were too bad.

Most of the Krasnogorsk scopes that I was able to look inside, were covered with some reddish grease or varnish, which was still sticky.
Only one early unfinished (grey) scope have dark finish inside.


So personally I prefer PU sniper with alloy scope - very intresting, rare, and progressive at that time item.
 
#9 ·
Personally I don't think that if you will shoot with you PU sniper few times a month, something will happend with alloy scope in observed future.
I think this problem is exaggerated. Of course, steel scopes have more stronger construction, which is very important in war time conditions. But now is not war time. If this problem was so serious, there will be no way that 80000 of such scopes were issued, and we still could see them.
Alloy scopes are rare, but not unique, and many of them are still used. And anybody see that famous alloy powder at lenses?
Also, we should not forgot about Progress scopes with alloy rear lense block, many of them were issued in 1943 - beginning of 1944.
Krasnogorsk scopes has one advantage comparing to them - they have additional paper gasket inside rear lense block.
It's intresting, that when GRAU prohibit production of scopes with alloy details (only Progrees produce alloy rear lense block that time), Krasnogorsk already stoped production of their scopes. It mean that they stoped scope production not because they were too bad.

Most of the Krasnogorsk scopes that I was able to look inside, were covered with some reddish grease or varnish, which was still sticky.
Only one early unfinished (grey) scope have dark finish inside.

View attachment 588910
So personally I prefer PU sniper with alloy scope - very intresting, rare, and progressive at that time item.
Very interesting. Do you know if most of the Aluminum scopes have had the interior "coated" as noted a few posts up?
 
#8 · (Edited)
I have one of those alloy scopes on a Tula, a 43 Tula, makes for a lighter rifle, only problem is I worry about "value degredation" if I take it to the range repeatedly, due to scratches or whatever, it always happens to new rifles, a scrape here, a scratch there, aint good for a noble rare rifle scope, apart from if I decide I want to sell it and just have the several I plan on for sure keeping. Then I have a progress No6 scope on a tula 44, my worste cosmetic condition scope that came with the other tula, I personally took apart and cleaned off oil from the lense, and resealed, it has the alloy rear lense block, and that alloy rear housing seemed to hold together fine, and I believe the scope was issued some, had wear to blueing and painted over black paint that flaked off in areas.
This whole powder thing is a joke to me, they seemed to have addressed this problem internally a long time ago, I think folks are envisioning trying to look through their lense and suddenly they can't see through them no more, like what, after two thousand rounds? I doubt it. And if so after a large number of rounds down range, well, speaking from experience, these scopes can be taken apart, it aint easy when you have to use an electric heat gun, but they can be put back together after a lense wiping with a lense cloth, apart from the rumor that the Russians injected nitrogen into the scopes and sealed them like a space capsule, truth is it wasn't likely done, at all, back then, it's done now with newer scopes where they put them together and then inject nitrogen in one hole and evacuate the excess nitrogen mixed with any moisture through another hole, it expedites production of mas produced scopes and eliminates the need for a dry or warmed up work piece. Nitrogen facilitates the evacuation of moisture, the same can be done with a warm or dehumidified room and or a heat gun to get the work warm. And yeah, I proved my theory by putting that scope on a repro mosin sniper, went shooting in the rain and very cold environment, no clouding up, nothing, its great, like the other cheap sporting scopes I took apart in a similar manner and tested, "without nitrogen gas".
 
#11 ·
They were not aluminum but rather a newly developed alloy- silinium.
 
#12 ·
There's an aluminum PU scope that was listed on ebay, new seller, it has pouch, brackets etc. Sellers id is bayowriter, the item number is 251157101924. Looks good
 
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