Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Lever gun hunters...I'd like your opinions

Peep, no doubt. If low light scenarios give you pause, do what I do- either use a variable aperture disc or carry a spare disc with a larger aperture in your pocket. If you lose your light, screw in the larger aperture and keep hunting for a bit longer. A bright gold bead up front is equally important in a low light situation also.

On my Mauser sporters I use peeps almost exclusively, installing the QD sidemounted scopes (Griffin and Howe) for those rare long range situations. Mostly the scopes stay in my rucksack. Don't get me wrong, scopes are great. I merely love the way a rifle feels in my hands without one, while mooching through the woods.

I run tang peeps on all my levers, except the 99. I like the Marbles tang, because of the windage adjustment, and a front globe with the circle style insert. Makes for great, quick shooting, and accuracy as well. Clays to 200 yards, on a calm day, are not a problem. As others have said, if light is a problem, run a larger hole on the peep.

R.

I used a peep on my Marlin Guide Gun until my eyes truly needed a scope for decent shot placement. The peep looks better, but use whatever you need to make good shots.

You mentioned a stand at 75 yards or less. A peep sight is not necessary or for that matter as practical as standard old open sights. When you do get into lower light conditions, a peep is harder to use than open sights. I would endorse open sights over peep sights having shot lots of game with original Winchesters and Sharps...













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I have shot everything from prairie dogs to grouse to moose with lever guns and would argue for the conditions you mentioned, open sights are the best choice.

Great pics Shrapnel, I think my favorite is the pic of the PD you bumped off with a '86 winchester. Tom Horn.

Good point on the open sights shrapnel. I combine the old folding, 2 blade Lyman # 6 open sights on my Savages with tang peep sights. If the light is too low for the peep, I fold it out of the way and pop up one of the Lyman blades. Works well for this set-up but wouldn't for receiver sights.

CrimsonTide - XS sights does make a scout mount for the 336's. My 1895 has the scout scope setup and the XS peep sight system so I can decide in the field what sights I need. It's a fast setup to use. I like it!

These boys about have me talked into ordering a set of buckhorn rear sights for Rosie.

I like your 1876 with the pistol grip stock and high grade wood. Can you tell me more about it?

It must be a deluxe special order gun!

Jeff

I've used a Williams receiver sight on an old 444 Marlin and my 50's vintage 336SC in 35 Rem. Both with the aperture insert removed, making it a ghost ring sight of sorts. Love 'em to death.

Once you sort-out the "hold", they work well even to 100 yards and a bit beyond. With a full bead at 6 o'clock on the 35 Rem. that rifle is dead-on at 100 yards. Centered bead, it's on the money at 150 yards. Have killed deer offhand with that little critter at 90 yards and 50 yards, thus far. Both one shot drops.

Don't have many years left to use irons, so I enjoy them while I still can. Love to carry the Marlin 336SC for deer.

standard open sights for me. i almost got a peep, but i can shoot better with my open sights than my buddy can with his .270 and 3-9 scope

I like the idea of peep sights but put a Leupold 2.5 ultralight with the wide duple on my 336 SDT. I am good to 75 yards or so with open sights before things get tough sight wise. Gettin old sux! I may just put a peep sight on a 1895 I am looking for though.

Be safe and enjoy that 336
Patty

I'd go with the scope. Here's why:

I have a Marlin .45-70 guide gun.

2 seasons back I hunted it with a Williams receiver. I was in heavy brush the last day of the season and twice GOOD bucks got away because they were in with a bunch of does in tight cover, milling around, and while I could see the antlers barely with the naked eye and well with binocs, I could not see them when I looked through the rear sight and could not tell which deer in each bunch was the legal shooter.

At the last minute last year I realized I was going to wind up hunting with that rifle, the other one I planned to hunt with developed a problem, so I got onto Midway's site and ordered a Leupold 1.75-6X VX III, got 'er mounted and sighted in (I already had a base/rings, and had worked up a load a few years back with a bigger scope, so it was not R&D, just putting the parts together), and went hunting. About a week before the end of deer season, 50-75 yards from where the better bucks had gotten away the previous season, I shot the biggest blacktail of my life.

So ... obvious, scope succeeded where irons did not. In this case, as apples to apples as a comparison could be. I don't really like the handling of a scoped lever action, but for hunting game, irons seem to be serious disadvantage.

I'm not sure anymore for the times that I do want irons that open irons are not preferable to a peep or receiver. Having to let those deer walk away 2 years ago really shook my faith in receiver and peep sights.

Tom

Aye, there's the rub.

Crimson,
In the past I used to sight through a williams peep. Took out the apeture and used it as a "ghost ring" set up. Painted the front bead bright white and this setup worked very well in tight cover. You will be surprised how well you will shoot like that. Good luck with the rifle either way.

CLB

It is a Winchester Model 1876 Deluxe. They only made about 8,000 Deluxe models, making it fairly rare. Deluxes weren't actually called deluxe when they made them, they were mostly special ordered with the features we call deluxe.

1876 rifles are rare to begin with as they only made about 63,000 total. This one is a 40-60 caliber and only has the equivalent ballistics of a 41 magnum. Not really a moose gun, but neither is a 25-35 a grizzly gun, and I shot one of those too, again with open sights.

I also enjoy hunting with Marlins. I have low/fixed power scopes on some and "peeps" on others. I've set up two 336/.30-30s with fiber optic fronts and "peep" receiver sights. It's a nice combination for woods prowling. I also put a small white bead front sight on a 1895/.45-70 matched to a Skinner brand rear receiver sight. That's a pretty nice combo as well.

Everybody will have their own preferences. I find that receiver sights are MUCH easier to shoot than traditional open sights. Then again, I'm 55 and well past my optical prime. Find what works for you.

PC

One more option would be a peep sight with a fiber optic front sight. For my 56 year old eyes, this works best. My three favorite front sights are, fiber optic, ivory bead and sourdough, in that order. for me,the fiber optic shows up best in low light.
Virgil B.

One more vote for open sights.
Then again, I have never used a peep on a lever rifle. I have a Winchester 94 with open sights and a Marlin 336 CS with a scope. I like them both.

One vote for each.

For me, it would depend on the gun's main use. If I was going to sit still with it, waiting for game to come to me, it would a low power scope. If it was my walking rifle, whether for hunting or just kicking around, it gets XS sights. My Marlin 1894 wears XS sights and is the long gun I throw in the truck when we go camping. Also nice to carry when I walk my 40. Stuffed with 270gr. Gold dot soft points over a max load of h110.
Quick sight picture and handy as it gets being a 16.5" barrel.

BTW, you guys are bumming me out with your eyesight problems. I turn the big 40 next month and hope to stay away from eyeglasses for a long time.