Glassing a Romanian 1969 v.2

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A rimfire training arm makes sense.  Many men entering service have never have handled a rifle before, and may be intimidated by firearms.  Teaching the skills of marksmanship to such men becomes easier if a fear of recoil and noise is taken out of the equation.  After such skills as holding, aiming and follow through have been mastered with a .22, then the new recruit can be introduced to the service arm.                                

In a time of national emergency there might not be enough service arms to spare for recruit training.  Every available service arm may go to the front as soon as it is accepted by the military.  Then it is prudent to acquire readily available rimfire arms from commercial vendors.  The only changes required being a military blade front sight and a dull finish on both wood and metal.  This was exactly what the US government did after Pearl Harbor.  The US is not alone in using .22 rimfire trainers.  Both our allies and former enemy’s have done likewise.                                                                                          

Even when there isn’t a national emergency, a rimfire trainer is still attractive.  Rimfire ammunition costs a fraction of the cost of centerfire service ammo.  That keeps the bean counters very happy!                                                                                                    

Often, range space on certain military bases can be at a premium, especially those overseas.  A rimfire arm (or rimfire adapters for the service arm) can be shot at shorter distances, (25-30 meters) with proportionally smaller paper targets to simulate the same image as a target viewed from 50 to 300 meters.   We did this in Korea.  Believe me, those tiny paper silhouettes’s work!

The 1969 Romanian is a fine example of a rimfire trainer.  To begin with, they are steel & wood.  The metallic sights are slick.  One standing leaf and two flip up’s, this is a sighting arrangement often seen on expensive European sporters.  They have a trap butt plate made for holding a cleaning kit.  Best of all, the 1969 Romanian is very accurate!  5 round groups measuring 3/8 inch, shot @ 50 yards with match ammo on a scoped Romanian are common.                                                                                    

When these rifles first hit the market it, was discovered the grooves on the action for tip-off rings weren’t standard US size (3/8 inch).  Most common tip-off rings wouldn’t hold!   It was discovered that some European air rifle rings would work.  However, those rings are expensive and hard to come by.  One US Company, Kwik-Site, www.kwiksitecorp.com 1-734-326-1500, realized there was a market for 1-inch rings specifically designed to fit the Romanian (to handle a 1 inch diameter scope).  They quickly put them into production, part # KSN-TO22.  A proper fitting set of rings isn’t the only consideration though.  Kwik-Site designed the rings so a scope will sit at the right height when the rifle is held with the shooters cheek in the correct place. However, there’s more to scoping a 1969 Romanian then just a proper set of rings. (See Note 1)

KWIK-SITE® rings to mount a 1 inch tube scope on a 1969 Romanian, Kwik Site Part # KSN-TO22

The rifles fixed, standing 50-meter rear sight blade makes scope selection critical.  Most scopes with an objective bell won’t work.  The objective bell will hit the standing leaf.  Had Qwick-Site made the rings higher, then the shooter would not be able to achieve proper cheek weld with the stock (A few fellows have cobbled up special extra high base setups so they can use huge objective scopes on 1969’s, they jut look terrible, and NO cheek weld is achieved). 

Some shooters, wishing to use a scope with an objective bell, simply drove the rear sight assembly out of its dovetail.  Others ground the standing leaf down.  Either of these options makes the rifle a “scope only” affair.  When the 1969’s began to show up on the US market, I acquired one with the cleaning kit.  I also got a Qwick-Site set of 1inch rings, part # KSN-TO22.  I mounted a Bushnell 1.5-5X20 mm scope (1inch diameter).  The forward tube on the Bushnell is straight, without an objective bell.  It cleared the rear sight.   This scope and ring combo worked fine.  However, aesthetically, it was less then appealing.  A short, one-inch tube scope looks “stuck on” when mounted on the trim 1969.  If a scope has an objective bell, it looks even worse on the slender 1969!     

A scope and rings should blend seamlessly with the profile of a rifle.  The combination should compliment each other.  The lines established by the rifles form should carry through to its sighting arrangement.  A long, slender rifle needs a similarly styled scope to retain form.

By coincidence, a few months after acquiring the 1969, I happened to stop at a garage sale.  I saw a long, slender riflescope with rings lying on a table.   I figured it was a inexpensive “.22 scope”, the type of scope with plastic lenses and casual adjustments.  I picked it up and looked through it at a distant house.   Wow, nice clear optics, no fuzzy hallo!  It was at its lowest power, 3.  I cranked it to the top, 6 power.  Everything still was clear and bright.  Only then did I check its pedigree.  Weaver!  A V22-A.  I snapped it right up.

The Weaver V22-A is a US made scope that was produced in the old El Paso facility.  The last year the V-22A was available as a new item was about 1986.  The V22-A is a 7/8-diameter tube scope, 12.5 inches long.  An1/8 inch narrower then most scopes, the V22-A maintains the trim lines on the 1969.  1/8 inch doesn’t sound like much, but it makes all the difference on a slender rifle like the 1969.  With quality optics the V22-A is a premium scope.  Remember, the V22-A was a 7/8-tube scope.  Weaver supplied it with 7/8 diameter rings at the factory.  A Weaver V22-A  just “looks right” on a 1969 Romanian. 

The slender Weaver V22-A compliments the 1969 Romanian Mil-Surp rifle. 

The Weaver V22-A clears the 1969’s standing leaf with plenty of room to spare.

Quick checks of several gun shops, gun shows and listings on ebay, http://www.ebay.com reveal V-22A’s are readily available at bargain prices.   Clean V-22A’s sell for $25.00 to $35.00.  Often, they can be had for much less!  The one I acquired at the yard sale cost me $5.00.  I found a second one in a gun shop for $10.00.  It seems scopes of less then one-inch diameter aren’t considered high demand items these days.  They don’t command high prices.   There’s no new scope in the $35.00 price range that could come anywhere near the optical quality and adjustment repeatability of the V22-A.

If you plan to scope your Romanian, the Weaver V22-A deserves serious consideration.

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