Scoped Lever Gun?

[Cheesemaker]

I inherited a Winchester long barrel 30-30 with a side mounted scope. And I hate it.

 

[bellarum]

Too funny! I inherited the same and love mine. I have fun shooting it with the weaver glass of the time. I was thinking of upgrading the scope but, kinda like it the way it is because everything is and looks the same age. Mine is a win classic octagon barrel with a steel butt plate The old weaver glass works fine for smashing milk jugs at 100yrds. That's pretty much all I've done with it to this point.

I inherited a Winchester long barrel 30-30 with a side mounted scope. And I hate it.

 

[MikeE]

I have a Leupold 1x4 on my Marlin 1894C (.357) and I love it. I can't see bubblegum with iron sights, even the XS ghost ring was no help. Very accurate with the scope. Since there is virtually no recoil a shorter eye relief is no problem for me.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

+1 with the aperture site bunch, but what the heck, it's your rifle so go ahead and mount your scope. .357 is less expensive to shoot if you plan to shoot a lot with your scoped Marlin.

 

[Hook686]

but if I had the 3x9 laying around there is no reason not to.

this


I have a 1-4 on my 1894C . It is on 4X most of the time. I use it to mostly hunt coyote. A 3-9 strikes me as oversized for a 125 yard carbine, but with my aging eye sight it would work for me.

 

[erudne]

I inherited a Winchester long barrel 30-30 with a side mounted scope. And I hate it.

I'll send you my address!

 

[Redcap]

No scopes on leverguns for me.

 

[H2O MAN]

Scout scopes on lever guns

 

[Barachiah]

I'd say if it gives you that special feeling, go for it. I personally don't have scopes on lever guns, but that's just because I've never had the opportunity to give it a shot. Dying to know what your experiment is.

 

[Spitpatch]

There is no reason to relinquish irons or ready use of them should one choose to scope a good Marlin. Contrary to one suggestion here regarding keeping both, I would avoid any "see thru" type mounts, as they invariably elevate the scope much too high, requiring the shooter elevate his cheek above the comb to compensate. This destroys proper cheek-weld, necessary for good consistent shooting.

My Marlin .357 sports the factory buckhorn irons of course (and sighted in prior to any thoughts of scope installation), and in addition has the Weaver base with Warne Quick Detach rings, cradling a Leupold 1x-4x. Tested repeatedly for repeatability, it is flawless in that regard. The buckhorn is high enough to see over the Weaver base when the optics are detached.

My Marlin .45-70 is outfitted quite similarly, but with a Leupold QD base and QD rings, in this case cradling a Leupold 1.5-5x.

A Marlin .44 Magnum that resided here for a time was graced with a Williams FP on the rear, with Fire Ring aperture, and Fire Sight front. No scope. Skinner sights were explored for this gun, but the Williams allowed for a lower-profile front sight, and so that was the choice.

CAUTION: installation of any aftermarket peep (especially the Skinner, riding high on the receiver) may require replacement of the factory front sight with one of different height.

 

[teflon6string]

I appreciate the varied responses guys. I'm open to all constructive ideas.

Actually, even with bifocals, I'm competent with iron sights on pistols and rifles, especially 150-yard brush guns with distinct sights like these. I'm just looking for some variety. It's hardly a grand experiment to keep eyeing a scope with mil dots sitting idly in a box. Just something interesting to try with two weapons so similarly configured.

Even with all the ideas here I'm still not sure which one I'll put it on. I can always take it off if I don't like it, or switch it to the other. Thought there might be strong preferences for one caliber over the other and I wanted to hear the rationale.

Interesting how many votes there are for peep sights. I have a Mojo peep on an evil assault rifle and I love it! Might try that with one of these too. Maybe rubber cement some different size washers on the rear sight and see what's up before I jump on a purchase.

I'll check back in here and tell you how it works out. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[gallogiro]

I wanted to mount a burris red dot on a marlin 30-30 but decided on one of the newer Redfield (revolution) 2-7x33 and I love this set-up. It's a brush gun and for the most part stays on 2x, great eye relief and no issues to quickly acquire targets. Sighted in with the Hornady leverevolution ammo and it does great. From the bench it has no problems hitting an 8" gong at 200 yrds with scope at 7x. I know that's not phenomenal performance but I am happy with that for a brush gun.

As far as your question, buy rings for both guns and try the scope on both. I'd leave it on the gun that's most accurate; if you ever have to shoot a bit further out you could always turn up the power on the scope and feel confident in your shot.

 

[jcw]

All of my lever actions are scoped. Has more to do with my eye sight than anything else. A low powered scope in low light situations is not a bad thing to have.

 

[MountainBear]

Here's the latest project. Still needs some fit and definitely some finish, but hopefully it will be ready to go by deer season. It's a Leupold VX-II 2.5x IER scope (scout scope) mounted in quick release rings. The aperture on the XS is big enough to where even my old blind father can see it. I haven't shot it for groups, but once I get that done, I want to dismount the scope and then remount it to see how much shift I get in my zero.

I know that doesn't really answer your question of what to do with your gun, but it's some good gun porn and an example of what you could do if you were so inclined.

 

[H2O MAN]

Looking good, this one is mine.

 

[MountainBear]

Looking good, this one is mine.

Looks nice! Except for that damn safety wart.

 

[Spitpatch]

Amateurs.

 

[thereddog]

I know a guy with 2 lever .357 carbines, one has open buckhorn sights, the other has a 3x9 and both are a lot of fun to shoot.

If I was shooting in a driving rain or in the cold wet, i'd probably use the buckhorns.

 

[teflon6string]

I know a guy with 2 lever .357 carbines, one has open buckhorn sights, the other has a 3x9 and both are a lot of fun to shoot.

If I was shooting in a driving rain or in the cold wet, i'd probably use the buckhorns.

That's an important point for me reddog.

Aside from a scoped Mauser 30-06 with no front sight, my rifles and pistols with optics have zeroed iron sights and I can dismount the scopes/dots with the twist of a coin (a feature I look for when selecting toys). At the risk of offending those who despise the word "tactical," I've been around "working guns," everyday-shooters, long enough to see things break and fail. Whether it's a dead battery or a scope knocked out of alignment, there's nothing like a reliable backup when the SHTF.

So to refine and add to my original question, is there a specific rail that still works with stock iron sights if I yank the scope off in a hurry?

Starting to lean toward putting it on the .44 magnum for the additional range. But wait! I like the mil dots for different ammo (.38, +P, .357) in the little gun. I'm sooooo confused!