Yes I know this is like asking grape or Strawberry jelly on a biscuit and some will say scopes on a lever gun is just wrong but...
What is the opinion of the fire on what is the perfect scope?
And what about mounts? Should those weaver see through mou ts ever be used? Does anyone ever really use the iron sites by looking under the scope?

My favorite is a Leupold 2-7x33 mounted as low as possible. I use a Weaver base and Leupold rifleman lows or Burris Zee rings.



See through mounts get thrown in the trash immediately.

I'm still looking for the perfect scope for a 336.

I have a Leupold 4x on my 336

Leupold 1.75-6x or 2-7x are small enough. VXR and VX3 are bright enough for most purposes. Hafta buy secondhand though.

I have a Leupold VXII 3x9x40, a Zeiss Divari 3x9x36, and a Sightron SII 1.5x6x42

Max power 2 1/2 in my opinion. But the only lever I have a scope on is a 256 WM. Lever rifles are really handy and quick pointing with out a scope. Putting a scope on a 30-30 - I would never do it.

I’m not a fan of scoping a lever but straight tube scopes look good on them. Anything else looks and is silly on a lever.

Thats the way I feel , I will put one on I like, sight it in and then say MEH. Got to be small, short, bright, maybe 2-3 power, thats it. Did I say small?

Weaver steel K3 is what I use on my BLR . On a Winchester or Marlin if I was gonna scope one I would probably use the same thing or a Burris RT6 or something of a similar size . Something compact .

Bushnell Dusk to Dawn 1.5-4.5 is cheapest, yet surprisingly good. I liked the leupold 1.5x5. and 2x7 also. Years ago sightron made a Compact 2x19 but no more. It really makes your 30-30 a 250yd rifle!

I forgot about the BLR. I suppose the BLR and the Henry long ranger levers should have scopes.

I just can’t bare to put a scope on a LA 30-30. Ruins the Nostalgia f me.

But if I just had to, it would be one of the older short Leupolds in 1.75 To 6 Power.

Leupold 1-4x20. mm

Have a leupold 2x7 on mine

It doesn't exist... it is up to you. Don't over think it.

i have either leupold 1.5-5x20's or the same from nikon on most of mine. the best i ever had was a cheapo 4x32 bushnell sportview but it didn't do so well in wet weather. it had a huge 100% FOV when i put it to my shoulder though and was clear as a bell. didn't really like the looks of it either but functionally it was great in dry weather. i also have a winchester timber carbine in 450 that has the leupold scout setup. that is nice for close shots and doesn't blow the aesthetics of a lever gun too bad like a receiver mounted scope does.

I feel a 2-7x33 is perfect and it looks balanced. The 20mm makes it look back heavy visually. I think a 2.5x in Talley rings looks good on the 16” models.

I understand the feelings on scoping a levergun but I’ve come to realize underscoping and not wringing out its potential is where they get a bad rep for accuracy.

Yeah you can stretch the range out with a 2.5 in the open but it ain’t worth a crap for picking a shot through cover.

No reason a 30-30 ain’t a kill everything in North America at 250 yard gun.

The best lever scope? Not having one. I love optics don’t get me wrong. On levers I prefer irons. Ghost peep type for non movin* shots. Blade and notch for moving

Another vote for the Leupy 1.5-5, looks Ok on a levergun I think.......or go with a "scout" setup........my 63 year old eyes don't work too well with iron sights anymore, so if I want want to hunt with my levers, some kind of optic is necessary......

I have a Winchester big bore 94 in 356win. I have been considering a 3X Leupold as low as I can get it.
Like many on here, my eyes are starting to be a problem with iron sights. May have to do it.
Les

Truth.
When time comes I can not shoot my '94 .356 with it's irons and hit inside a 8" circle at reasonable stalking/tracking distances it will stay in the safe. Like it does when I want a longer reach with a scoped bolt action.
Feels like a good shotgun in my hands.
Rainy day? Thick cover? It is a fantastic walking around rifle.

Any scope that helps my vision is fine . I don't use them for looks , I use them so I can clearly see what I am shooting . Whats silly to me is folks pounding their chests and saying scopes are silly on a lever 30-30 . Some folks like accurate bullet placement , some folks are fine with pie plates .

I'm not a chest thumper but I don't do scopes on lever guns. I prefer a peep and an Ivory bead instead . I do however have a BLR in .358 W that my dad put a K3 Weaver on that I have shot deer with . It works great at the distances I normally shoot , usually 100 yards or less . Another scope I use on a Ruger bolt carbine , is the Nikon 1.5x4.5x20mm that they sell for muzzleloaders and Shotgun . It has the parallax set at 75 yards , good field of view , short length and light weight . The one I have has the red diamond in the crosshairs instead of the dot . I think they marketed it as a Turkey reticle , not sure if they still do this but it is available with the Nico Plex reticle. I was initially a bit leery of using a scope on a rifle but I have shot this scope on the 6.5x55 Ruger carbine to 300 yards and it works like a champ .

I have a Mossberg 472PRA that's very Marlinesque. Haven't installed it yet, but have a new A/O scout mount and a new Leupold FX-II 2.5x28mm scout scope ready to go if, and when, I decide to do so. The A/O mount is for a Marlin, but fits the Mossberg perfectly. Not sure if this is a "perfect" set-up or not, but I'm sure it will be an advantage to me over the iron sights and work very well in my cedar swamp/forest that my 40 in NE WI is made up of.

Odd preferences... the ghost ring aperture sights were developed for fast moving targets. And they work great for that purpose.

Favor a Scout scope on levers, as they leave plenty of room for slick operation with no need for spurs etc.

I like quick detachment rings low and illuminated reticles on my hunting levers I like the detachment as in snowy condition I got the iron sights
And in a saddle scabbard they ain’t rubbing around
I
Like 30 mm straight tubed Burris etc

Like button...

When I was younger I was a big fan of iron sights, after cataract surgery I couldn't use them any longer and put scopes on my lever guns that could take them with out D&T'ing them and sold off the ones that were too valuable in original condition. Surprisingly I like them(1-4x20mm) when fitted to you they have very fast target acquisition on the lowest power and on the highest power very capable of precise bullet placement even at longer ranges. I use the 1-4x20's on my combo guns for called coyotes and they work great with the shotgun barrels from my shoelaces out to 40 yards and from there to 300 yards the rifle takes over and at 300 yards a coyote is in mortal danger. I used combo guns now a lot more than the levers in my safe.

12ga/22 Savage Highpower


16ga/16ga/6.5x58R(25-35 Win equivalent)

A while ago I sent a message over to Vortex about the lack of a light weight, fixed power optic on the market at reasonable prices. This specifically with the Lever, and other short range carbines in mind.

Theoretically it would not be that expensive, would be notably lighter and simultaneously more robust than a variable optic, and could come in especially compact, with a wide FOV possible.

They told me it was an interesting concept, but it had not crossed their minds before (I doubt that), and that they had no current plans to do so.

While I am generally a fan of a 'naked' lever gun, a low powered optic to clarify target beyond 100 yds is useful. A set of low see-through mounts keeps the open sights open, and the parallax issue virtually doesn't exist because of the short range. (AKA the ol' Pennsylvania woods gun).
Many levers came to me in that configuration with the seemingly then ubiquitous 4x tasco or bushnell on top.

To answer the question, any light weight low power optic with a wide FOV. If you go too narrow, it defeats the purpose of a short range carbine.

Yep, good luck finding much of anything new that will work right on a lever, or most all of my hunting rifles.

Weird times, nothing by match bullets and 3 pound scopes. More shooters, less hunters.

^^^^^This X2

Still get a clear sight picture with the front factory bead in the notch but a ghost ring and fire sight are superior for the woods. Upgrades coming soon.

I like the Leupold 2x8, Leupold vari X III-3.5x10 with AO

Old burris signature 3x12

I shot more than a few coyotes in the 80's with 125g-135g bullets in a 30/30, two shot rifle with pointed bullets.

Weaver Classic V 1-3x20mm on my 94 and Henry BB brass in .357. Perfect for me.

leupold 2x7x33 on my marlin 336 30-30

+1

Perfect setup IMO

Yea, my hunting buddies give me grief, but I have a Burris Droptine 3-9x40 on my 375, a Bushnell Elite 3200, 3-9x40 on my 30-30 and 35, and a Swift 2-7x32 on the 444. What the heck, they all kill deer. No perfect scope IMO, it's whatever works for you!

One guy in our club has an ancient fixed 2.5 leupold in flip over mounts on his 94 Winchester, but he's a little strange anyway.

2x8 Leupold

I have a 2X7-32 Hi Lux LER (Scout Scope), with a Doc Pearson picitinny rail designed for my top eject model 94 30-30.

Pachmayr made those flip over mounts a long time ago. Actually pretty handy setup for a top eject 3030 keeping the open sights intact.

I have an old Redfield fixed 6x on my Marlin 336 in 30-30. Got a nice 7-point buck this season with it. Love the setup - wouldn't change a thing.

I just got the Doc Pearson mount in for my model 94 top eject. Going to put a 2.5x Osprey IER scope on it. Should work fine for my hunting needs. Very fast shipping on the mount.

That's exactly what my 1894 .44 Mag looks like. XS Scout Rail with a Leupold M8 4x32 matte.

I have an elderly Redfield 2-4X 20MM scope on my Marlin 336Y. It's as close to perfect as I have seen yet. Rings are standard Weavers, not see through. Where I hunt, the shots are quick and at short range. Low light as well, in the swamps and pine forests. A scope is a necessity for me.

I had a Weaver K2.5 gloss on my model 94 but it ruined the handling even tho it shot very well.

I ended up with a ghost ring peep sight set.

If I had to do it over again I’d go back to my he K2.5

While I mostly prefer the looks of levers without scopes, I have a couple of Savage 99s, Win 94, and 1895, and a Marlin 39 that all have peep or open sights, but I don't shoot them very well anymore. They are fine on a nice bright day at the range, but not for hunting in the woods. I generally use low power fixed or variables on traditional tube fed levers, higher powers on longer range guns. Here's what my current levers are wearing. If you can't see it, you can't hit it. ;-)

Marlin 57 22lr 4x Weaver
Marlin 57M 22 mag 2x - 7x Weaver
Marlin 1894 44 mag 2.5x Weaver
Marlin 336 30-30 Bushnell 1.5x - 4.5x
Marlin 336 35 Rem 1.5x - 4x Vortex
Marlin 444 Weaver 2x - 10x in quick detach rings
Savage 99 300 Savage Burris 3x - 9x
Savage 99 22-250 Leupold 3x - 9x
Henry Big Boy Steel 327 Fed 4x Leupold
Henry Long Ranger 223 4x - 12x Vortex

I have an El Paso Weaver K-4 on my 336, an early 80s, straight-stocked gun. The gun looks good and handles great with that classic scope.