[kev]

Someone recommend a good optic for a Marlin 336 lever action in 30-30 Winchester.

I am currently looking at a Burris Fullfield II 2x-7x-35mm. Over the decades my "go to" optics have been Nikon. They have provided years of reliability on various rifles my family owns. Then there is the Bushnell line of scopes.

I would like to try something new, and that is why I am looking at the Burris Fullfield II 2x-7x-35mm.

Location: Southeast Texas

Longest shot: Maybe 100 yards. Typically around 75 yards or so.

Game: Whitetail deer

In 2018 I bought a used Marlin 336 that was made in 1976. Looking at the receiver screws and the top of the receiver, it looks like no optic was ever mounted on the rifle.

To compliment this nice older Marlin 336, I would like to mount a nice optic on it.

Suggestions?

 

[benson56]

Nothing fancy, as a 30-30 isn't much for long-distance shooting.

 

[Justme11]

I also left open sights on my 30:30.

Rossi RioGrande - Buckhorn sights work well.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

Ashley peeps

...unless you have serious vision issues and NEED glass....
Get the peep.



Failing that:
Leopold pistol scope on throw levers. I pick them up used $125 or so.
30-30 is a close range brush gun.

 

[1611]

A Leupold 1.5x5 if you must. But I'd just put a receiver sight on it. Or a tang sight if you want to channel your inner Tom Horn.

 

[bilmac]

I'm partial to shotgun scopes for my lever guns. 1-4x20 or that neighborhood. Small, light, with a thick heavy retical. Simmins or Bushnell Banner if they still make them. I would go for a fixed power around 2.5 X to save a little weight if I could, but I couldn't find anything like that last time I looked.

 

[whirlibird]

Kev,

https://www.opticsplanet.com/primary-arms-primary-arms-1-4x24mm-illuminated-riflescope.html

 

[ajole]

My Savage Model 99 came with a nicely blued old Weaver K4. Low rings, 4X fixed, just enough scope for the gun, IMHO. Love it.

If I were looking for something newer, maybe a Vortex 2-7X32, they are under $140, very good scopes. Nikon also makes one in that magnification range, but it looks bulkier.

Simmons used to make a 1.5-5X20 Whitetail scope that would be perfect, it's got WAY more light gathering that one would think, it sits on my 9mm carbine. The new model is called a Whitetail Classic, and there's a 1.5-5X32 shotgun scope, in various reticles.

Of course, the Leupold VX1 and VX-Freedom units in 1.4-4X or 2-7X are a good way to go.

 

[sarco2000]

Primary Arms (in Texas) has some really good midrange optics. I have the 1-6 (and a few others) but they have a 1-4 with a simple duplex-dot illuminated reticle for $120 (and they have a 10% discount program for vets, LEO, FR).

BTW they're 1-6 ACSS is pretty sweet but it's $289. Worth it though.

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-1-4x24mm-illuminated-riflescope-pa14x

Here's more:
https://www.primaryarms.com/Brand+P...es+Rifle-Scopes?order=onlinecustomerprice:asc

.

 

[Jack Swilling]

Vortex Crossfire II 1 x 4
$200
A lot of scope for the money

 

[Optimist]

Peep sight is a good choice for most things with the .30-30. A 1-4x variable works pretty well in that range of ballistics too.

 

[Fatbastard]

I have a few Riton optics that I enjoy. If I was to buy another tomorrow for my 30-30, it would be the 1x4x 24 IR. I run that on my "edc" 300 blackout and I love it. If I had a few more coins to spend, I have sampled the 1x5 and the 1x8 with ffp IR and I like them too. Lifetime warranty and they are local to me anyway. Good bunch of folks

 

[EventHorizon]

Before I give an answer; allow me ask a few questions. What is your terrain and what is your style? Deer hunting methods vary. Some sit and hunt in a stand or a blind over a resource, scrape line or funnel point. Others find a fresh track in the snow and follow it hoping for a shot. Some take a step, look around for two to five minutes before taking the next step in heavy cover.

Bait hunting, using doe in esterous scents, deer drives using multiple hunters, using dogs... methods vary. That beng said, my rifle was set with my irons being dead on at 25 yards and my scope on see through bases for 100 yards at 3X. BTW, I can't focus on irons and the target due to needing reading glasses so I'm strictly a scope shooter now.

The lever action 30-30 is called a brush gun because the short barrel is easier to walk with through thick woods and handles faster in tight quarters than a black powder rifle or black powder shotgun.

YMMV

 

[puttster]

Here's the optic I like

 

[The Old Coach]

Not much can top an old steel-tube Weaver K4. I have to have a scope now. Old eyes. So mine has a K4. There were K2.5s, too. I won't say they're a glut on the market, but you can get one in good shape for $100. Unless you beat 'em with a crowbar, they'll outlast you. And they just look right on a '70s vintage 336.

 

[kev]

...unless you have serious vision issues and NEED glass....
Get the peep.

Little more to it than that. Where I hunt Texas has a 13 inch inside spread regulation. Which means, a buck must have an inside antler spread of 13 inches to be legal.

So unless you can gauge 13 inches with the naked eye at 75 yards, then I need an optic.

 

[Justme11]

"The so-called "13-inch rule" means that (in counties where it applies) hunters can take only one buck per county with antlers measuring 13 inches or more on the inside spread. They can also take one buck with at least one unbranched antler per county. The state bag limit is five deer total.Dec 1, 2011"

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/...den-Use-buck-s-ears-as-a-guide-to-2334158.php

Wow, pretty goofy rule. And confusing.

Sounds like that card game that Captain Kirk made up to confuse the aliens. "Fisbin"

 

[AlphaSierraCharlie]

I'd pick a 1-6. I love my SWFA 1-6 SS, but Vortex has a 1-6 that seems perfectly fine for less than half the price.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

Little more to it than that. Where I hunt Texas has a 13 inch inside spread regulation. Which means, a buck must have an inside antler spread of 13 inches to be legal.

So unless you can gauge 13 inches with the naked eye at 75 yards, then I need an optic.

I have an EXCELLENT set of Steiner binos...

 

[Tad_T]

I have three .30-30 lever actions. A 1980 Winchester ‘94 that’s bone stock, a 1975 Marlin JM 336 that has a Skinner Peep Sight, and a 1978 Marlin JM 336 that has a Cabela’s .30-30 Scope on it that is ballistically matched to Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition.

It’s a good scope and is inexpensive. Comes with a lifetime warranty. I’ve had mine for 10 years and haven’t had any problems with it. I’ve only ever zeroed it once. It’s still on.

Cabela's Lever-Action Riflescopes