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For those who hunt with lever action rifles, do you prefer to have a scope when hunting, or just go with the open sights? I have an older Marlin 1895 .44 Rem. Mag. that just sits in the safe, and am pondering if I should put a scope on it. I have a one-piece Weaver base for it now and even installed it the other day and am thinking of maybe putting a Weaver K2.5 series scope on it and see what I can do with it at 100 hundred yards or so at the range for fun. I'm thinking a setup like this would be pretty good to have and use when I have my bait station up this spring for black bears.

I've got a Weaver K2.5 on a Savage M99 in .300 Sav. I like it. Open sights aren't in focus any more. If you get the scope set up right so it fits you its just as fast, if not faster, than open sights. The trick is to get the scope set up so its looking where you're looking when you bring the rifle up, not so that you're looking for the scope. You have to play with different hight rings and move the scope back and forth until you get it right.

With my older eyes I no longer have a choice. I can just barely use a peep sight and have one on an older model 94 30-30. My 94 AE gets a scope as does my 99 & 700. I think you'll like the K2.5 on your Marlin.

I used to pride myself on being able to shoot a tight group with open sights, and for a while I considered using a scope as cheating. Well, my eyes aren't what they used to be, and even focusing on a 6" orange dot at 100yds is tricky in low light. I can still see well enough to hunt out to 100yds with open sights, but I get a lot more satisfaction out of putting 10 rounds into 2" using a scope.

I put a Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5x scope on my Marlin .44mag, and it is even more enjoyable to shoot! The rifle retained all the quick handling, heavy hitting qualities that made it my favorite, and the scope adds the ability to shoot more precisely.

There are some leveractions such as two of my Savage 99's that are already drilled and tapped for mounts that I have scopes on and others that I wouldn't dream of doing it to. If you dont mind it, give it a try.

Has anybody put a red dot sight on their lever action?

I've scoped all of my Marlins eventually and they are okay but unless you use a small scope it does make them a bit top heavy. It also destroys the ability to wrap your hand around the balance point.

Anyway, some of the red dot type sites are very small and light, easy to align with teh target and it seems like they would be a real good way to go.

I'm with the other old farts around here needing a scope on most of my rifles.
I have a neat 2.5 Weaver on my 336, and on old K4 on my 94. My modern levers 99 & 88's wear Leupolds.

Yes bearstalker that would be indeed a dandy set-up for a black bear at a bait station. Get a relative low power scope with a large field of view.
I have an 1886 Jap featherlight in 45/70.
I am looking for a scope mounting proposition scout style withou having to drill a series of holes in the barrel.
Even a peep sight fades pretty quick in poor light with my older eyes.

I put scopes on my levers with Leupold quick release mounts. That way you can use it with sights or scope. I like it a lot. Flinch

Add me to the list of scoped lever gun users. If I can mount the scope centered over the bore I will scope it (usually with a Weaver K2.5), if not then I will put on a peep sight. Buckhorn irons and I don't get along.

Bob

Bearstalker:

Just Do It. The 2.5 is a great addition to a 44 (IMHO).

I use a Leupie scope on my 99.

BMT

I got some great responses, just what I was looking for. I'll go ahead and take that Weaver K2.5 scope off my 375 H&H and go ahead and put it on my Marlin and go see how it does at the range. I just can't justify seeing myself in a tree stand overlooking my bait station at 20 yards or so this spring holding a rifle with a 24" or 26" tube when I can use my Marlin for that closer work.

I used a 1x4x20 Vari-X II on a BLR for a number of years. Set on 1x, it was great close in, and easy to pick up moving targets.

For practical applications I'm not sure a scope is necessary on my .45/70. It has a ghost ring aperture and sourdough front sight, but at 100 yards the front sight obliterated the aiming point on my target and since the rifle seemed to be a good shooter was curious as to what it would do if I could see!

So I put on a EER Scout scope with QD mounts.....wow was I happy! My best group at 100 yds should have been .5 but due to my poor shooting form opened up to .75 it will consistently do 1" @ 100 yds. even handicapped with me as the operator. It was my first venture into the world of Scout setups and while I'm not sure I'll ever change the conventional scoping on my 7mag or 338 On the 45/70 it allows really quick target acquisition and I enjoy having it there. But I do concur with the poster that already mentioned QD mounts IMO the only way to go.

Any rifle or sluggun of mine is a 'curio' resting in my rack,if it has no optic sight on it.
My Winchester '94 has a Leupold 2x-4 x scope and my Savage '99 has a Bushnell 3x-9x scope. The rifle is new to me,and will wear a steel-tube Weaver K 2.5,if it proves to be a good shooter.
Frank

My 30-30 marlin is dead nuts @ 200yds with a simmons 3x9x32......Boots

I Have a scope on mine with the figure 8 mounts ........ great brush gun

I have a Tasco Accudot on my Mod 444.Small 30mm tube,it holds zero with it's recoil.Very fast sight.I like it a lot.
You can't do any long 75+yrd pinpoint shooting as the dot would cover about 3 or 4 inches on your target,but for hunting it's tough to beat.I have a Simmons prodot that came on a Mosberg 835 that I took off.I seem to thing it couldn't take the 3.5" turkey loads.I could be wrong on this although. I just got frustrated with it and it was getting close to opening day.So off it went.I'll give it some time this year.I missed a nice tom last year.Not enough practice with the beads .Don't ask me how.Buy the way.He would have been dead if it wasn't for the marvelous Remington Heavy shot .That junk leaked buffer in the mag and I couldn't rack another shell.
On the lever I'll vouch for the reddot set up.

I have lever guns set up both with scopes & with irons, Last couple years I'v been using scoped guns hunting. Its not that I cant hit with irons, lord knows I shoot with them alot & I'v yet to lose a deer I shot at with a gun. Its just, for me anyway I can put a bullet just where I want it with a scope more easily compared with irons. Seems irons I take out at least one shoulder every time, just cant seem to get behind it. Might be scycological & I'm afraid of a gut shot, I dunno. But with a scope it seems a no brainer. I know alot of guys go for a shoulder but I prefer not to if I can help it & a scope makes shot placement alot easier for me.
Most of my shots are under 100 yards by quite a bit, so theoretically reciever sights or even the stock rear are more than acurate enuff, but as I said every time I shot a deer with irons I ruined meat. BTW thats why I hunt, for the meat. You cant eat antlers & you cant eat much of a front quater if you blow it away at 50 yards with a 30/30 or 45/70 either.

A scope on a levergun? SACRILEDGE! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> I put a Williams 5D peep on my 94 Marlin 44 mag, and a AO Ghost Ring peep on my Winny 94 in 357 mag. These are both brush, and dense forest guns so the peeps are great for fast accurate acquisition of target, and less bulk,. less fragile than a scope for the kind of hunting I use these guns for. Now if/when I get a Savage 99, and/or a Browning BLR they will be scoped as these would be my open country rifles most likely in 308 . My 2 cents.