Karl Kahles scope

[Al Flipo]

I got this old scope recently and I was wondering if anyone knows a little more about the history of the scope.
Some say it was used as a sniper scope and others say it was used in hunting rifles.
It is marked Karl Kahles Wien Mignon 4x

 

[dan belisle]

I have a 4x kahles hunting scope, doesn't have any external mounts of any kind. Takes 26mm rings. Good glass. - dan

 

[seaforth72]

The style is World War I. If it was actually army issue it should have the rifle serial number engraved on the tube e.g. Gew. 1234

It has the German style claw mounts, a headache as there were so many variations, so trying to find mounts on a rifle to match is difficult. If not marked with Gewehr (rifle) serial number it is then likely civilian. Could be used to make a clone of a WWI German or even British sniper as the British basically copied the German design.

Kahles made good glass and Canada used the C2 sniper scope Kahles 1969 ZF 69 on the C3 sniper rifles.

 

[RRCo.]

The mounts are called "Wiener-Schnäppermontag" or just "Wiener-Montage, as in Vienna, not sausages. http://forums.nitroexpress.com/printthread.php?Cat=0&Board=mannlicher&main=219714&type=thread

 

[nowarningshot]

Kahles doesn't make cheap or inexpensive scopes. How something vintage compares to modern optics, I'm not sure. If it's needing service, not sure where you would send it. Would make an excellent optic for a vintage euro rifle.

 

[Al Flipo]

Thank you all for your input, appreciate it. And thanks for the pictures RRCo.
I have almost exactly the same scope as on that old hunting rifle in the pictures. (Same mounts)
Which makes me think that the scope was a civilian version. (No markings to indicate that it was a sniper scope)
The optics are still very clear on this scope.

 

[RRCo.]

You're very welcome and I'm sure you can find more on the Internet. A very similar set of mounts was used to fit Kahles scopes to the M95 rifle in WWI, but you'd have to examine the photos of those to see if that's what you have. Sometimes ex-military scopes had the markings scrubbed off the dials when they were re-used on hunting rifles.