Have 2 94's not scoped.. My three Marlins: a .25-35, 30-30, and .45-70 have scopes.. I just set them up with bases for a peep sight, but at almost 70, I wonder if it is smart to take the glass off these rifles..
At the same time they feel so much better with irons.. What's your take..

the marlins yes. with compact scopes only. i like 1.5-4.5x20 scopes like lupes and nikons. i only have two 94's, one old one with irons and a timber carbine with a scout scope. i much prefer those scopeless but with the antler rules in this state and the conditions of public hunting grounds, i need a scope.

if your eyes are still good sure open sights are fine but for me a scope is much more accurate at my age. I like marlins a lot, I own a couple of Winchester too but do not care for them.i now have purchased 2 browning BLR`S 308 WIN. AND A 300 WIN. MAG both are scope the 300 mag has a 4.5-14x50 leupold that 300 mag should be capable of 500 yard shots off some type of rest.the great thing about browning BLR`S are they have a clip and bullets don`t get deformed like when schells are put in the tube holder.the other great thing about browning BLR`S is you can get a more powerful cartridge in a lever gun.

I must have at least 25 lever actions and none scoped...

The levers I have are equipped with peep sights and a post front.

I've tried a scope on my Guide gun, but at the moment I prefer the peep setup.

I don't particularly care for buckhorn sights, peeps (receiver) are a huge improvement.

Depends on where I'll be hunting. A savage 99 is scoped but I have a rem pump and a couple 94s I usually use in the thick woods of Maine that are irons. Mostly scoped here in PA so we can count points for legal deer. My eyes are still pretty good but I expect over time the scoped guns will start to see a little more use.

Have alway's uexclusivly used peep sights on my levers, considered scopes on a lever an abortion. But now that down to one functioning eye and the other not all that great I'm going to scope one of my mod 94 356's. When blowing snow or heavy rain will still use the peep sights. Will probably be a lupe 1.5x5.

I pull every scope off every levergun I buy, starting to pile them up! Have no use for peeps either.

I guess I'm different; I scope every one.

I wish I could use open sights. Even peeps at are blurred at my age. Don't like them,but scopes are a neccesity for me.

My primary hunting area since 1953 has been in VT where the rule for deer was a 3" antler. A scope is best for me to see behind the ear.

I started with a 6 Lyman Wolverine and switched to a 4X Lyman on my 99 358 in 1966.

When they made those lever actions in the late 1800's no one lived long enough for their eyes to go bad...

That is for sure

Years ago I never would consider putting a scope on a lever gun. All my lever guns had peep sights. As my eyes have changed I swallowed my pride and put a Weaver K-2.5 on a Marlin Glenfield 30_30. The remaining rifles with peeps now have fiber optic front sights as well.

I wasn't aware Winchester and Marlin made lever guns.

Some nice 99's.. Sold most of mine..

winnies no but everything else yes prefer 4x scope

I have scopes on a BLR and one Savage 99. I have peep sights on the other 9 lever guns.

I'm grateful my 59 year old eyes still like peep sights. But I also work really hard to never shoot much past 100 to 150 yards.

Exactly, after not getting a shot at a couple deer due to switching from rifle to binos to rifle in the early days of antler restrictions, I finally gave in and scoped my woods rifles. They just handle so much better with irons only. Now that I dont care so much and usually pass on the questionable ones, Im flirting with going back to irons.

As far as scopes 2-7 is max. Prefer the older Burris compact Mini 4X. Use to get them cheap but I guess the AR guys have taking a like to them, last one I sold went for double what I though I'd get. Been wanting to try the weaver classic 1-3.

Had a number of lever guns......always had a scope on them. Never had an interest in iron sights.

I never use to, but at 60 open sights are hard for me to see unless it's high noon on a sunny day. I scoped a Marlin I had but frankly to me a scope ruins the attribute that make a lever action feel so nice to me. If it has a scope I'd rather have a bolt action which is why I don't hunt my lever action much any more.

It's obvious Savage didn't either!

I think a good compromise is to get quick release rings. I usually set em up with peeps also.except for my win model 88 s the top eject winchesters arent scoped.Then when them high falooting iron sight buddies come around or bad weather remove scope. Only bad thing is them levers on the rings can hang up in the scabbard. Some times I remove scope and put in my saddlebags.Hey 21 you piling up peep sights? You wanna sell some or trade four buckhorns? Thanks and Merry Christmas.

No, I use the factory irons and receiver peeps, when the day comes I can't see well enough, I'll retire my Levers to the safe and hunt scoped bolt rifles.

Except for my 88, all my Winchesters are unscoped.

All of the Marlins I have hunted with (35, 356, 375, and 444) were scoped........

No.

My 1971 Marlin 336C came with the Marlin 1.5-5 x 40 scope in tip-off mounts.

My Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun has a Leupold 3-9 x 40 shotgun scope. I used open sights until my eyes got old. With bifocals, I can either see the front sight or the rear sight but not both.

My Marlin 1895S wears a Leupold 2.5-8x32. Regardless of how good or bad your vision is, a decent scope a good 20 minutes of hunting light to both ends of your day. I've killed many deer in fading light that I wouldn't have attempted without a scope.

My top eject 94s, 71s, 95s either wear peeps or factory irons. The ones that are easily scoped, are.

I found a picture of my scoped Guide Gun in 45-70. The shotgun 3-9 x 40 is perfect for the 45-70 round.



Here is the gun as I hunted it years ago, when I could still see both front and rear sights. This is near Meaker, Colorado.

Some Yes

some no

Some no

My savage 99 is , but winchester 94 is not. But also have a Rem 7600 not scoped. Need one or two for the close in work hunting the thick stuff where 75 yds is a long shot.

I believe if I owned the gun at the bottom I would lay it across my lap each night as I sit on my couch and pet it like it was the precious little bundle of joy that it is. Man is that a beautiful firearm.


Mm

14 leverguns = 5 scoped ; 4 peeps; 5 open sights

I may have asked already - are those stocks original and then worked, or you had aftermarket's put on?

I always thought Savage 99's were uglier than homemade soap. My Marlins are scoped. My Winchesters wear Williams receiver sights and green fiber optic beads. If it's light enough that I can still see a deer with my naked eye, I can still see those green fiber optics well enough to shoot it.

those are nice look`n savage 99`s! I own a few too but yours got better wood on the rifles.thanks for the pictures !

Hah Fotis! I saw your photo and said to myself "that looks like the inside of the building at my shooting club", then saw you're from Cheyenne too.

I just put a Leopold 1.5x5 on my model 1895. I didn't realize that at low power I would be able to see the front site and muzzle. That's taking some getting used to.

I can't see front sights any more (unless the barrel is 48" long....), so ALL my rifles have scopes--a necessary evil in my opinion, like aging.

Prefer short, wide field fixed-power scopes, so most of mine for hunting big stuff have "shotgun scopes:" Burris 1.5X, Weaver K1.5X, Redfield 2 3/4X, Weaver V3.

The .22s have higher power scopes for smaller targets: Nikon 4X and 2x7X. But I'm tempted to put compact, low-power scopes on them, too since they work so well on the centerfires.

Yes and no. Top three original stocks, some refinished, some not. Bottom rifle is a 99F with 99 Presentation grade (PE) wood from the factory but not original to the gun.

The 1960-1964 model DL (deluxe) with the raised combs for scope use and the cut checkering (before the 1965 stamped checkering started) are some of my favorites to hunt with. In that set, the 22" barreled subset are my very favorite.

From top to bottom, I think these 4 are 308, .284, 300 and 300.

Out with another one today, and as usual, no scope...

Had bad eyes all my life and to top it off I'm right handed and left eye dominant... so I scope my hunting rifles. Or maybe I should say I hunt my scoped rifles?

Love the peep sights at the range though.

Have been using scopes all my life except for a short time in the Army. I have scopes on all my lever actions except for a Winchester 71 in 348 - just couldn't make myself do it.

Do it, you know you want to! 😈😈😈

I prefer the Weaver V-3 for the leverguns. I broke the horizontal cross hair in an old Weaver V-4 which has been on several rifles since the late 1960’s. At the time the V-3 was in short supply so I tried this straight 4X Burris Short Mag. It is a good scope but I believe I would have been better served with a straight 3X scope. I have it on my .307.

Only my BLR 358 has a scope. The others still have iron. Most of the others have aperture sights. Some are left with open sights. My wife's 336 has a scope though.


I hate buckhorn sights with a passion! The people responsible for installing buckhorn sights on rifles should be neutered before they can breed and spread their stupid genes (IMHO).

I can go with that. Can't see the running game to get your shot, the sights block it out.

Most of my lever guns wear peep sights. I have three that wear scopes.

One Browning BLR in 270 WSM my son has. We put a Nikon Monarch African 1x4x20 on it. Nice.

On my Win. M88's and in the future maybe an original Win. Big Bore .356 while Monte Carlo stock that now has a William receiver sight on it.

These are...

What caliber are those Sako's?? Beautiful rifles...

Most certainly.

A scout scope, however, leaves all aspects of ones action readily available. One could run this unit while wearing boxing gloves. Will easily do clover leaves at 100 yds. 45-70.

243 and 308...

with my eyes scopes aren't an option,they're a nessesity

My stainless 308 Marlin Exp. wears a Vortex 3X9..And it is impeccable...

I put a scout scope on my Rossi 92.... For about half a day and that's all I could stand. Looked as goofy as Herman Munster riding a tricycle and fugged the balance up royally. Went back to irons {aperture rear} and all is well again.

Leupold VX2. 2x7 mounted in Leupold QRW rings 444 Marlin

Scope a light handy .30-30 carbine? I wouldn't think of it. Sort of wrecks the whole dynamic.

"Need" a scope? Bah! My aging eyeballs are as bad as anyone's, and worse than most and I have iron sights on all my hunting rifles (aperture sights that is), and also employ some simple tricks that keep me in the iron sight game. Run the problem past your optometrist the next time he has you in his chair.

Win 94 AE in .307 Win has a Leopold Ultralite 2.5X
Marlin 1895 in .450 Marlin was a Leopold VXII in 1-4X, though it will be a straight power before too long
Savage 99 in .300 Sav has a M8 4X
Savage 189 in 250-3000 has an old Lyman Alaskan 2.5

All good guns and all have killed critters

No, not anymore. If I want a scope I'll carry something else. I've killed three or four deer and a couple hits in the last couple years with open sights and they still work fine.

Assume this is a Marlin. What model is it? Like to get me one.

That's one of the GBL model Marlins. Big Loop and laminate stocks. Could be either a .45-70 or .30-30. I had one in .45-70, it's a nice rifle. I just like the stainless guide gun more.

I own about a dozen levers and all are scoped except my .405 Winchester. The .405 wears peep sights and is capable of 1.5 inch groups at 100 yards. Sometimes I think about taking some scopes off but never get around to it.

No doubt about it, they look a lot better with no scopes.

Marlin 45 Colt CB......1-3x20 Weaver

Top - 35Rem with Monarch UCC 1.5-4.5x20
Bottom - 30-30 with Brunton Eterna 1.75-5x20

99's yes

94' 32 spl and 86'45-70 no

My first Centerfire was a Marlin 30-30 that I mounted a Gibson Discount Store 6x scope (Tasco) on a Weaver tipoff mount. It was used extensively to hunt Prairie dogs, rabbits, coyotes, deer, antelope, elk, turkey, and a few other things I might not want to mention like a concrete donkey yard ornament. I still have the rifle and it's got a Weaver 4x on it. The Gibson Scope is on a 22 hornet.

I've also got a Win 94 with a side mount, but I don't care much for that combination, plus it isn't as accurate as the Marlin.

Soooo.......no....

No but I am going to put a Burris Fastfire on my latest acquisition.

have glass on a few....here's one.....45-70

4200 1.75-6x32.....

Just took a 4x off one of my 30/30's and replaced it with a 2.5x. I think the 4x is going on my Whelen.

They all have their purpose, some scoped some not but all good. Some cool rifles on this thread.

Gonna be a lever gun in a pistol cartridge for SD around the farm? Gotta bud that does that with a Marlin Cowboy lever in 44 special.

Not much quite so fun as shooting a lever gun off-hand.

Yes, or walking your farm/ranch with a set of shooting sticks and rangefinder too Pal.

Negative, just picked up a 94 carbine in 7-30 Waters. I like the Fastfire on it, arrived today, now I need to shoot it.

It would be nice to get on on the 92 in 44mag

I use receiver sights on all my Lever Guns except my 9422 magnum. I used to have a scope on my 9422 Trapper but have now replaced with the Skinner Peep

Had scope on my 94-22mag. but took it off and put a Skinner peep on, then bought a Ruger American 22mag. for my scoped rifle.

Now I have the best of both worlds.

Virgil B.

I guess the net answer is "sometimes."

I had a Winchester 94 AE trapper .44 magnum for a few years which I scoped. I've had several Marlins, scoped and unscoped. My notion is the Marlins are easier to scope and are less affected, functionally, by a scope, yet for some reason that winchester came up pointed where I wanted to shoot better than the marlins do. Unless there's a difference in drop in the stock I can't think of a reason for that.

Doesn't really matter, if I have them scoped I wish I had iron sights on them and when I have one with iron sights I wish it was scoped.

I think the right answer is to have two otherwise identical rifles, one with iron sights, one with a scope.

Tom

A scope in tip-off mounts allows for use of iron sights.

gbl

10-4 sounds like a fun popper for around the place.

Up until a few years ago I never would have considered putting a scope on a lever gun. I have always preffered peep sights on lever guns. I liked keeping them traditional and they handle nicer.
But like a lot of you my eyes have changed as I have gotten
older. My Marlin 1894 CL in 25-20 is one of my favorite squirrel rifles and it was just getting to hard to make those small head shots in the dark woods. I installed a Weaver K2.5 on it and now I really enjoy hunting with it again. Just for fun I mounted a Burris 2.5 power pistol scope with quick detach mounts on a 30-30 Marlin Glenfield. With the extended eye relief I was able to leave the peep sights on.
My 1886 SRC and Winchester M-94 will stay with peep sights.
I guess sometimes we have to swallow our pride a little bit.

One more thing the 99's have over the 94's, much easier to scope.

And to prove how fickle I can be, later, in the spring, this happened to my Guide gun.

OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Bet you can pick out and bust hell out of a deer in the thicks with that set-up Vic.

I like it on 1.5X, field of view is where it's at in the woods. No 6.5-20s for me in there.

68 ft field of view at 100 yards lets you pick them up pretty easy.

The 1-4X20 VX-2 has more, that's what I have on my .44 mag rifle.

A buddy of mine wanted to fire my .44, I had it on 1X, and his question was "Do you have the scope tilted, I can see the barrel..."

That will work, and someday I'll have to scope or reflex sight all my weaponry, LOL on your buddy, newbies are fun to study at times during their proper guidance programs to the straight and narrow, I'm most certain I provided a lot of cheap entertainment in my day too.

I've NEVER asked a silly sounding question........



















Yea, right.......

I scope all of the lever guns that I use in the field.On one BLR I installed a long eye relief scope .I really like this scope on this takedown and It really keeps p.o.i after assembly-consistantly.It is my primary sheep rifle now

larding a levergun with a scope seems wrong.

Winchesters, with the exception of the Model 88, no.

Marlins, yes....

I have a Marlin .45/70 with a 1x4 Leupold and a M94 with a peep, so one of each

I did scope a Marlin I had but I never cared for the way it made the gun seem sort of top heavy.

i have several marlins stubbys with the now discontinued nikon monarch ucc 1.5-4.5x20 on tally lows. it does not clutter the guns up and makes them a whole lot more useable for me. i have a few more that are awaiting a deal on some leupold 1.5-4.5x20's as well. i have a 35 rem guide gun that i have a cheapo bushnell sportview 4x on talleys and while i don't particularly like the look, when i pull it up to my shoulder it feels like i have a Terminator eyeball. thing is unreal for a 30 buck scope. i also have a 94 timber carbine 450 with the 2.75x scout scope and it is a slick little unit. but my top eject guns are irons only.

I love the look of a scoped Marlin.

no. not yet anyway...

I have a Simmons 44 MAG scope on my Marlin 30-30 with 2-7X settings. This scope is very bright and optics are clear. Great scope for the money.

Sherwood

That must be it! I do have my Marlin scoped with a Leupold VX3 1.5-5x20.

I've come to a point I cannot even see the front sight on my S&W 686.

Took my dad's 1954 Marlin 336RC out this year. Have to admit I swapped out the old Weaver 4x for a Nikon 2-7x33 iirc.

It still works.

If you shoot critures under 100 yds put the scope on if you can't understand how open sights work. Too me its like putting a scope on a bow. I have a Marlin 336 30-30 . It is actually designed a saddle rifle not a sniper unit.

WOW! What a nice buck Calhoun! Looks like great shot placement! Like I said before quick detach rings ,low or medium, low power illuminated reticle (30 mm straight tube or so) Preferably a peep with a blade front also. That is a good trees and saddle outfit. I like bigger scopes same detachable ring set up, but a ballistic reticle for open range work. The illuminated reticle not really needed either. ( but would be nice)

It was never a saddle rifle in my world. I've seen hundreds of leverguns in the woods since I started hunting and the next one I see riding in a saddle will be the first. And they aren't bows and they're capable of killing a lot farther out than a hundred yards.

First, the gun has wore a scope it's entire life - the fact I put a Nikon 2-7x on it rather than the 1950's Weaver 4x my dad had on it my entire life doesn't make it a "sniper unit". Second, there are at least a dozen bucks running around my land, making sure that I'm shooting at the right buck is important to me and a scope set at 3x allows me to do that (my eyes alone won't). Third, I hunt the Sandhills.. if I have to chase a wounded deer, it ain't gonna be a 50 yard follow up shot. Getting to 200 yards can be a chore.



And last... I've shot tens of thousands of rounds out of M16's, and thousands of rounds out of old lever actions with peeps or open sights. I choose a scope because.. I want a frigging scope and my dad's gun has always had a scope and it's always going to have one.

Like.

cool!

What is this of which you speak, "follow up shot"?

It happens.. actually that guy on the ground has 2 in him. Both went through the chest about 3" apart, but he was running after the first shot so he got a followup. Then he was plowing up sand.

Probably about 13 years ago I wounded a big doe and had to chase her half a mile through hip high grass. That was the last year I used a bolt action.

Come on Man! Trying to tell a fellow hunter who has a reputation on this sight as being helpful and concientious on this forum about how he should humanely harvest game is as sick as trying to tell some one how to make love to his wife, or what type of ice cream to put in his cone. JEEZ! The marlin was made to easily mount a scope! For a reason.........they freaking work! If you can't shoot a rifle past 100 yards that is NOT MY PROBLEM......IT IS YOURS! My levers snipe just fine! Merry Christmas!

Well said.

What a great buck (and nice shot too)!! Taking that with your Dad's Marlin would make for a very memorable hunt......