It's had a little bit of work done inside. Guide and seal being the obvious.
https://flic.kr/p/2ktvh2j
What calibre as that makes a difference to what glass to put on?
Sportmatch had pretty much taken over the mount market by 1989, though an Apel HW would always be nicer.
Scope wise then I think Tasco were still making nice glass. .177 then a 4-16 x40 AO; .22 then any 3-9x40AO. Some Nikko Sterlings weren't that bad then. The tricky bit is to find something thats quite good and not all marked up. Heck an old Leupold would be very nice.
Many would say keep it as it is even though its pretty factory looking with all the Venom work in the innards. Being a Venom custom then the rifle can be reblued. Upgrading the stock even. But that investment really depends on how well it still shoots first. Nat driving fantastic then invest however much you want. Or just enjoy it for what it is; nice catch.
It's a .22 3-9x40 is about the biggest I'd go. It was wearing a Super Moonlighter but that's too big for my liking.
It would benefit from being re-blued but as everything is aged the same I'll leave it as is for now. Might be something look at in the future. I'll clean, re-lube and use it I think.
Super Moonlighter with AO are a bit of a lump. The Moonlighters less so. Optima scopes weren't very bright glass wise towards the end.
A good Jap 3-9x40 would keep the weight to at least some sportiness. Can a HW77 .22 be sporty? They can if not heaped with extras. Most non AO can be reparallaxed to 25m.
The trick will be to find some bright period glass. All too many budget scopes of that time were getting pretty average. Heck, Kassnar were good for one year and then lost it.
Again a period Leupold or, if you can find one, a B&L would lift it a bit to hint it was a bit special.
Good luck, the chase is part of the fun of it all.
The thing I'd really want to check is whether the inside of the barrel is rusty. From experience this is an absolute killer.
Best Regards
Simon
I've got some slug guns.