40yr old Nikko Golden Eagle rifle needs new scope mounts. Need some help!

[Stonyman88]

I've had this Golden Eagle 30.06 for over 40 years. It's been a great shooter. I want to put on a modern scope and give this to my son for his birthday in April. I am running into an unexpected problem. Seems nearly all of the best modern scopes have a tube that is too short to fit into the current individual scope rings. The tube must be a minimum of 5.75 inches with longer being better to fit. I am wondering if I can replace the original scope rings with a rail and use a new set of rings.

I am open to any suggestions offered.
View attachment 637785

I have a few Athlon ARGOS BTR 6-25x50 scopes and really am impressed with them, they measure 6.250 " from front to back of the tube, not sure what size the rings you have are, probably 1" ?? also check out the Vortex Venom with mil rad , and 5-25X56, and measures from the front tube to back 6.60 or 6.75, these all have great glass and zero stops, FFP scopes and many other features, I have several of Vortex, Athlon, and Arken, even the Arken Zulu, amazing unit, you could mount that on a picatinny rail on just the back mount or even just the front one.

 

[pavementends]

The mounts appear to be Redfield style with the windage adjustable rear ring and the dovetail (twist in) front. If so extension rings are available and would be the easy button. If not pic rail stock and maybe 2hrs of a machinist time to contour the bottom to fit the action and drill appropriate screw holes.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

I often have no choice but to use the Leupold Steel rings with the "extension" for the forward ring, compensate for the eye relief I need, and the long-tapered bell of the Leupold scopes. These extension rings are available in 1 inch and 30mm ID.

 

[stewdo]

Conetrol. They're not cheap but are excellent mounts. All my Golden Eagles (6) have Redfield and/or Burris rings. All are tackdrivers,especially the 270Weatherby at longer ranges.

 

[Sobewan]

It seems every time I buy a scope, I go thru the process of having to find one that suits my desired eye-relief, scope power and the proper tube dimensions to fit the existing ring mount positions of the rifle. I don't know what your budget is or what scope power you are looking for but you can usually get the scope dimensions from the manufacturer's website.
Stoneyman88 mentioned Athlon scopes and I have a couple including a Talos 4-16x40 on a 30.06. The tube where the mounts are used measures 5.8 in. Their 6-24x50 tube measures 6.2 in. so you may see a similar trend in tube length vs scope low end power with other manufacturers as well. I have no complaints about the Athlon scopes as they suit my needs and the clarity/quality of glass is much better than I expected. I will also vouch for Talley rings and use them almost exclusively for all my mounts now.