Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions Scope for new 336 30-30

Hi friends.
I have never scoped a lever 30-30.
My own 30-30 is a model 94 with a Williams peep... Love it and am going to keep it in that configuration.

Two years ago I bought my grandson a 336 30-30, and I want to put a scope on it for him.
Here’s what I would like to get:
- 2, 3, or 4 power fixed, or nothing larger than a 2-7 variable.
- very good optics and durable construction
- not a big/heavy construction which doesn’t really fit the 336 frame and wind up unbalanced.
- open to any simplified woods-reticle which supports quick sighting and target acquisition. (plex, post, German #4)

What do you recommend?

Thanks much!!!

Forgot to add price.

Somewhere in the 2-500$ range would be nice.

I prefer a 2-7x32 for lever guns. Although I have Burris 4x on my 1894SS and it seems to work well. I prefer the 32mm bell scopes. That keeps them low on the gun. Leupold vs Redield. I kept the Redfield simply because it had a larger area of fine cross hairs over the Leupold.

I have a Leupold 2-7x33 on my Marlin 1895 45-70

Also a fan of the 2-7x33 Leupold or Redfield Revolution on a 336. Mount it as low as you can and it's a good fit.

Leupold VX II 1-4x 20 mm, Duplex.

Many thanks for your excellent suggestions!

Great to hear/see what’s working well on the 336.

Have a great weekend.

I've been using a Jap 2.5x Weaver since the 90's. Shame they don't make them any longer.

If price is a variable, I have a Barska 2.5x20 Contour fixed on my 35-30, and so far it has held a perfect POA. It is small and looks fine on a 336. I re-furbed the rifle and needed a scope, so I remembered I had the Barska in my pile of stuff that was NIB I bought for a rimfire I never used. I stuck it on the 35-30 just for kicks, and it turned out to be just what I needed. I don't know if the new ones are the same as they were 10 years ago, but mine is pretty dependable.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Barska-2-5...eticle-Black-Matte-AC12180-/231102687540

I didn't see this before my last post. You can get a great 1.5x5x20 Leupold for that. The 1x4x20 Leupolds are great little scopes, too. I have both on Marlins. I like their generous eye relief for a lever gun.

Yup, got one on my 1895! Works like a charm.

The older Japanese made Tasco scope were good, too. I have a 3x9x32 that holds POA like a champ!

This is my idea of the perfect setup. I've got some 1-4 X 20 and also 1.5-5 X 20 scopes. Midway has some Picatinny scope bases that have the weaver cut outs all along that are much easier to place the scope where you need it.. That's the only way to go.

Fist off, I am a peep sight guy. But PA now has antler point restrictions so you need to make sure the buck is legal. This has put me into mounting scopes on rifles that allow such.

I have a fixed 4x on a Marlin 1894SS and it does a nice job. I also have a Redfield 2-7x32. My only complaint on scopes is that under 2.5x I get the "ghost" image of the front sight. I also find that with a variable I seem to always be changing magnification based on where I am at in the woods.

Leupold VX3i 1.5-5x20, VX Freedom 2.5-7x33, Vx3i 2.5-8x36, FX II 2.5x

Burris FFII 2.5-7x35

Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5

This setup works for me on my 1895 45-70. Leupold 1.5-5 and Tally extra low mounts. Very handy. I’m not fond of rails on lever actions, to me they do not look right.

Agree 100% to the post above. 2x7 and mounted as low as possible.

Agree 100% to the post above. 2x7 and mounted as low as possible.

30-30 carbines produce moderate recoil so a spendy scope is NOT required. Mine wears a Simmons 2X-7X scope and I'm very pleased with it.

Sherwood

most of my marlins have 1.5-4.5x20 or thereabouts from either leupold or nikon. all use the talley extra lows. i have also had the scout scope setup on one or two and that is nice as well but at 2.75x it is not a lot of magnification for antler checking.

1 3/4 to 6 Leupold on my 3030 but it is a savage 99 made in 1910.

I put a 2-7x27 on mine and took it off a year later. Looked great, but my eyeballs need more magnification and light. Put a Leupold 3-9x40 on it. Been whacking bambies with it ever since.

I agree with the 1-4X20 theme or a slight variation of.

I have a VX-Freedom 1.5-4X20 on my ML and really like it, that's my first choice behind the VX-3i 1.5-5X20 if that kind of change isn't wanted to be spent.

VX-3i on my GG. (it's now wearing a receiver sight)

SS336, nice clean-looking rig, obviously an earlier example.

Thanks, Vic. It was made in 1978. I bought it used in Colorado 20 years ago for $285. It had a few problems and over the years I’ve fixed them had it reblued and refinished the stock. It shoots very well and has taken some game.

I did have a 2.5x Weaver on my Marlin but my AR needed it. I do think it was a good fit for my Marlin though

I bought my 336 in .30-30 with a Redfield Tracker fixed 6X scope. I love the combo. Looks good. Shoots sweet. Carries easy.

i Suggest a fixed 3x or 4x, mounted as low as possible....especially if your Grandson is fairly new to hunting. Less to dink around with when he's hunting. Keep it simple. You can always move him to a variable 2-7x later.

Never been a big fan of a scoped Win. 94 or 336. But, I do have a set up where I can put a Leupold 1.5-5x20 with a German #4 on my wife's Mod. 94 in .356 Win for moose hunting season, other then that it wears a peep sight from XS Sights. My Marlin 1895 in 45-70 wears a Skinner Alaskan peep.

If I was going to scope it or any other 336 action I would get the Skinner base with the machined cut out for Warne or Talley rings. One still has the peep sight, but a scope in Talley or Warne quick detach medium height rings allows scope use or a quick scope removal and peep sight use. That is in my opinion the best and most flexible option for those wanting to scope a 336 Marlin action. Also I can get good hits at 300 yards with a Leupold 1.5-5x20 and hunted with that scope on a .338 for 12 years. No moose ever complained it wasn't enough scope.

Big hubble sized scopes have a use for certain types of shooting disciplines. Big game hunting out to 300 yards ain't one of them in my opinion.

I have the same set up on my .444 Marlin. Same rings and scope. I really like it as well.

When it comes to lever action scopes most people seem to be more concerned with aesthetics and cosmetics than functionality. A 20mm objective low power variable scope that so many seem to prefer and recommend are about useless in heavy cover low light conditions.

I hunt dark to dark. ALL my lever guns have upper end quality scopes with at least a 32mm objective. Several have 40mm objectives. I have no problem seeing branches that may deflect bullets and animals well past legal shooting time.

I really like the leupold 2x7 scope on mine

I have an elderly 1-4x Redfield 5 Star 20mm tube on my Marlin 336Y. All my hunting with that rifle is in deep swamp or palmetto thickets. A long shot would be 40 yards.

Funny, I've shot a pile of deer in heavy cover, low light, {under full hemlock/pine canopy on cloudy days at last light} with a Weaver 2.5x20 and Leupold 1-4x20. It concerns me there are so many people out hunting with eyesight so bad they can't.

Haven’t had any problems with that 20mm objective, yet. Works fine for me. I did want it to look good and not overwhelm the rifle. I like my rifles to be stylish.😁

definition of short term and long term goals

Mine wears a Redfield Widefield 2 3/4. fixed power. I like the large field of view as opposed to more magnification.

I think the same, as deer move at dark. 30 mm tube minimum with as large of objective lens as you can handle....killing machine!

Leupold 2.5-8x. Won't overpower or unbalance the rifle and he won't out grow it either. Pity the Leupold custom shop isn't running cause a German No.1 would be perfect on a 30/30.