Lyman Alaskan 2.5x - A scope To Count On For Decades

James, 

The card enclosed with the return of my Lyman Alaskan 2.5X rifle scope says that “We love happy customers!” Well, be assured that you have another happy customer in me.  Thank you, not only for the good technical repair work, but also for the outstanding customer service that included the return of my scope in a nicely crafted wooden box. That added, thoughtful, gesture tells me that you clearly understand that, for ageing hunters like me, old scopes can have sentimental value far greater than monetary value.

I don’t know when my late Uncle Bob put the Lyman Alaskan 2.5X scope on his Remington Model 721  .30-06, but the rifle was manufactured in 1948. I acquired it in 1971, and the attached photo shows me with my first good mule deer, taken in 1972 in the La Sal Dolores Triangle of Utah. In the 1960s and 70s, many mule deer came off the Uncompahgre Plateau of Colorado to winter in the Triangle. I shot the buck about a half mile west of the Utah/Colorado border. Up until I acquired a .260 Remington, I used the 721 for everything: deer, antelope, caribou, moose, sheep, goat and bears.

In the early 1980s, on a DIY hunt for goat and black bear out of Wrangell, AK, I fell into a rocky gully and banged up my rifle, scope and me.  With darkness coming on, I decided I’d better not come off the mountain until morning. Talking in my head, I told myself you’re OK, you know where you are, stay put. So, I put on all my rain gear, lighted a candle, ate my last food, backed up to a boulder, and spent the night curled up on the ground in the rain, hugging my 721 and Lyman, for there were brown bears around.

I didn’t get a goat on that hunt, but managed to get a decent black bear.  After that, the scope frequently fogged up, so I put a Leupold 2-7x on the 721.  It served me well, but, getting more sentimental as I age, I have been wanting to put the Lyman back in action where it belongs.  Now, thanks to your good work, I can and will.

If I have a problem with the scope now, it is deciding where to take it.  At 73, I am still in DIY mode and thinking about SE Montana.  I have two points each for deer and antelope, but for this year, time is running out, I find the Montana regulations and application process difficult to understand, and the Covid-19 outbreak (now here in my rural PA county) brings much uncertainty. I may just buy more points and think about next year.  I have accumulated a few points for deer, antelope and elk in Wyoming where I have more knowledge and experience, but am thinking about saving them for one last, grand DIY hunt in 2022 when I will be 75.  After that, up until about 100, I’ll hire outfitters and guides, maybe!

Thanks again for your exceptionally good work and service.

John
Conneautville, PA