Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Which scope base would you use for an 1894 Marlin?

I have a couple of sets of Talley bases and rings and they set the scope too far back on the Marlin 1894. I also have a Leupold 1 piece base for a 336 Marlin but the screw holes don't match for the 1894. I noticed Leupold doesn't catalog a base for the 1894.

Which base would you guys use?

I usually don't scope my 1894's but rather put peep sights on them. I do have a Weaver base that is universal for the 336 and 1894 rifles. It is drilled with two sets of holes. The 336 has a slightly longer hole spacing. The Weaver base works, but the cutout notches for the ring placement are wide and I can't mount a short compact scope on my 1894's. I have a Bushnell Trophy on an 1894 for load testing and development. I use this until a find a good load and then put a peep sight on it. Trouble is, the Weaver that I have only takes the big, longer tube scopes which look like heck on the clean lines of the little 1894.

I just ordered, but have not received, a Redfield Junior one-piece scope base which is specifically for the 1894. It is steel and uses the rotary dove tail mounts like the Leupold. I hope it will mount the short scope as I just acquired a 2X7 Leupold Compact which should look quite nice on a 1894 and well proportioned. I found the Redfield in the Brownell's catalog. You can find it here:

www.brownells.com

Part # is 750-511-165

I should have mine in a few days and will post again when I get to see it.

Good shooting.

You can just use a weaver base & cut the slot where you want it with a file or hacksaw. I'v done it a few times & while you need to be cautious its not difficult. Come to think of it you could probubly use a dremmel tool for this too.

I have had trouble finding good bases for mine also. The regular Weaver looks terrible..... The Redfield junior is also very long. You could use Weaver Grand Slams which are two piece, or what I am going to order are Warne two piece bases made specifically for the 1894. I am going to use low Burris Zee rings which should fit the bases and am mounting a Weaver 21/2 power scope.

Just got my Redfield Mount from Brownell's . Looks like it will accept the short Leupold compact scope. Ill post the results when I mount it.

Let us know how those Warne bases work.

Thanks.

Hi Guys, I decided against the Warne bases because they are powder coated instead of blued. Hey GLC, how long is you Redfield base? I have an older one and it is really long. Just wondering if the new ones are shorter?? THANKS!

Why would you choose against powder coating? Is is tht the color of the bluing and the base don't match? I can sort of see that , but the powder coating will withstand weathering much better. Just curious.

It is mostly due to the color. Some of the things I like about the Marlin are the blued metal and walnut. It just seems out of place to have a painted part on a classic gun.

Wiktor, I would put an XS Sight Systems lever scout mount on an 1894. It drops in, using the existing rear sight dovetail as the front attachment and the existing front receiver screw holes for the rear attachment. It's a Weaver-style, really low mounted and, in the Cabelas catalog picture, appears to be blued. With a scout mount you don't need the wing attachments on your hammer, and you can carry the gun with one hand around the receiver just as if it had iron sights. You'll need an IER scope, of course, unless you can find a good deal on a handgun scope, which would work too.

Cabelas sells them for $50.

If you go this route which is a good one, don't put a hand gun scope on it. the eye relief will not be correct and it will most likely drive you nuts. I have the burris Scout scope on my Savage Scout and like it a lot Leupold also makes one that is very nice. I would opt for eith of these or a redot before I put a pistol scope on it. In fact an Aimpoint 7000Comp would be really cool. Kind of a mix of old and new technologies.