I just got back into the .30 WCF. I'll be running a Marlin and as soon as I got home with it, I set about mounting a Leupold Vari X-II, 1-4x. Mounted a sling off an M-1 Carbine that I have had in the safe for a few years.


I piddled with it, thougth about it, and decided to see how it would look with a Williams peep instead of the glass. Drifted the rear sight out, and ordered a Marbles Blank. The blank hasn't come in yet, but I thought I would post her pics with the alternate sighting arrangement, to get the opinion of experts on which way to run her.



Well, I leave it in your hands for now. I would for the most part be hunting with this rifle in a stand of woods where shots would all be less than 75 yards, I suppose.

Peep.

Thanks, T.

I did the same thing with a Win. 356. Started with a scope, but switched to a Williams peep. One thing though, I was glad to have the scope on when shooting in dark timber. Much easier to see the deer. The peep makes it handier, however.

Crimson the iron sighted lever gun is almost perfect for the close working still hunter as the lack of that tube on the top of the rifle makes it handle more like a fine shotgun. There are days when I enjoy getting out early to creep through the woods to see what jumps up in front of my pre-64 94. The sourdough front sight easily finds the shoulder and it is all over but the skinning.

On the other hand, you lose about a half hour of good legal hunting with iron sights in the evening. Its at that time the scope pays for itself.

That said, I would go with the peep myself.

I'd prefer the peep. but, unfortunately, with my old eyes, I need the scope.

It sure is handier with the peep, but I really wouldn't be giving up much to a bolt gun if I used the glass. I guess that is why I take off more than one day to hunt.

I have two 30-30's, one with glass, one with peep. I grab the one that suits the conditions of the day (terrain). Just get another rifle and you'll be good to go!

I'm with southtexas--i like my lever guns with receiver sights, but for the most part I need the scope(s) when actually hunting. If your eyes are young enough, I would stick with the receiver sight.

I use tang peep sights on all my Savage lever guns. I hunt elk, deer, antelope and coyotes with them. Most of the time, peep sights will work fine. Practice with them often, and you'll become proficient and gain confidence. You'd be surprised how accurate you can become with them at 30-30 ranges once you've learned to trust them. As stated earlier in this thread, low light conditions such as dawn, dusk or heavy dark timber can make seeing the ring, post and target difficult. There is no doubt that scopes have certain advantages over peeps in some hunting situations, so using a peep is more a choice for simplicity or aesthetics. I use them mostly for the satisfaction I get from hunting with my old Savages the way the original owner may have.

I wonder if, in the late 1800's and early 1900's, hunters used to compare peep sights and iron sights. Some guy may have said then that he preferred iron sights because of the simplicity. He may have also liked doing things the "old fashion way" instead of using those "new-fangled" peep sights.

Coming up on 37th birthday, and so far, my eyes are fine. My ears are another story, mostly gone. That doesn't affect the use of aperature sights though. LOL.

It really is your hands and eyes , and conditions you hunt in as well as how the rifle feels when you carry it and put it to your shoulder ,that should get the final say.
Get some woods walk around time , starting with the receiver sight. Then add the carry handle and try it again . If you are in a 100 yard typical range area , point and click on stuff like leaves , stumps ect . See what works for you.
Lots to be said for that front sight / target/ boom My eyes are getting to the point that lining up three ( the rear notch sight , front sight , and target ) gets fuzzy .

I like a peep myself.

Outfitters we used for a moose hunt in 2005 both carried Marlin Guide guns in 450 Marlin for bear protection. Both were equiped with red dot aim points. Very impressed with how fast they were.

I also prefer the receiver sights on a lever rifle. I have two, an M94 .30-30 and a .45-70 Guide gun, both have Williams FP sights.

Thanks for the replies, fellas.

Crimson..: My 45-70 Marlin shot well with the stock open sites, but I do savor the extended shooting time and sight picture that comes with a scope. I had full intentions of doing iron until I discovered the scout units. I'd suggest a 2.5 Leupold scout scope that leaves one with unobstructed access to the receiver and hammer.


With 2.5X magnification, one can still easily work with both eyes open. The scope also sits a bit lower than most systems. The rail mounts to the rear sight dovetail and front receiver holes.

There is a Burris scout scope in the classifieds, but the ashley mount is for an 1895 Marlin.

Peep, I like the XS and have them on all my Marlins. Love the front blade with white line (running them on a Husky and a 1903MS)

Course the tang works fine on my Savage 99, but I don't like tang sights much on 'standard' levers.

My rainy day rifles wear receiver or tang peeps, otherwise, my old eyes prefer optics.

Peep, no doubt. If low light scenarios give you pause, do what I do- either use a variable aperture disc or carry a spare disc with a larger aperture in your pocket. If you lose your light, screw in the larger aperture and keep hunting for a bit longer. A bright gold bead up front is equally important in a low light situation also.

On my Mauser sporters I use peeps almost exclusively, installing the QD sidemounted scopes (Griffin and Howe) for those rare long range situations. Mostly the scopes stay in my rucksack. Don't get me wrong, scopes are great. I merely love the way a rifle feels in my hands without one, while mooching through the woods.

I run tang peeps on all my levers, except the 99. I like the Marbles tang, because of the windage adjustment, and a front globe with the circle style insert. Makes for great, quick shooting, and accuracy as well. Clays to 200 yards, on a calm day, are not a problem. As others have said, if light is a problem, run a larger hole on the peep.

R.

I used a peep on my Marlin Guide Gun until my eyes truly needed a scope for decent shot placement. The peep looks better, but use whatever you need to make good shots.

You mentioned a stand at 75 yards or less. A peep sight is not necessary or for that matter as practical as standard old open sights. When you do get into lower light conditions, a peep is harder to use than open sights. I would endorse open sights over peep sights having shot lots of game with original Winchesters and Sharps...













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I have shot everything from prairie dogs to grouse to moose with lever guns and would argue for the conditions you mentioned, open sights are the best choice.

Great pics Shrapnel, I think my favorite is the pic of the PD you bumped off with a '86 winchester. Tom Horn.

Good point on the open sights shrapnel. I combine the old folding, 2 blade Lyman # 6 open sights on my Savages with tang peep sights. If the light is too low for the peep, I fold it out of the way and pop up one of the Lyman blades. Works well for this set-up but wouldn't for receiver sights.

CrimsonTide - XS sights does make a scout mount for the 336's. My 1895 has the scout scope setup and the XS peep sight system so I can decide in the field what sights I need. It's a fast setup to use. I like it!

These boys about have me talked into ordering a set of buckhorn rear sights for Rosie.

I like your 1876 with the pistol grip stock and high grade wood. Can you tell me more about it?

It must be a deluxe special order gun!

Jeff

I've used a Williams receiver sight on an old 444 Marlin and my 50's vintage 336SC in 35 Rem. Both with the aperture insert removed, making it a ghost ring sight of sorts. Love 'em to death.

Once you sort-out the "hold", they work well even to 100 yards and a bit beyond. With a full bead at 6 o'clock on the 35 Rem. that rifle is dead-on at 100 yards. Centered bead, it's on the money at 150 yards. Have killed deer offhand with that little critter at 90 yards and 50 yards, thus far. Both one shot drops.

Don't have many years left to use irons, so I enjoy them while I still can. Love to carry the Marlin 336SC for deer.

standard open sights for me. i almost got a peep, but i can shoot better with my open sights than my buddy can with his .270 and 3-9 scope

I like the idea of peep sights but put a Leupold 2.5 ultralight with the wide duple on my 336 SDT. I am good to 75 yards or so with open sights before things get tough sight wise. Gettin old sux! I may just put a peep sight on a 1895 I am looking for though.

Be safe and enjoy that 336
Patty

I'd go with the scope. Here's why:

I have a Marlin .45-70 guide gun.

2 seasons back I hunted it with a Williams receiver. I was in heavy brush the last day of the season and twice GOOD bucks got away because they were in with a bunch of does in tight cover, milling around, and while I could see the antlers barely with the naked eye and well with binocs, I could not see them when I looked through the rear sight and could not tell which deer in each bunch was the legal shooter.

At the last minute last year I realized I was going to wind up hunting with that rifle, the other one I planned to hunt with developed a problem, so I got onto Midway's site and ordered a Leupold 1.75-6X VX III, got 'er mounted and sighted in (I already had a base/rings, and had worked up a load a few years back with a bigger scope, so it was not R&D, just putting the parts together), and went hunting. About a week before the end of deer season, 50-75 yards from where the better bucks had gotten away the previous season, I shot the biggest blacktail of my life.

So ... obvious, scope succeeded where irons did not. In this case, as apples to apples as a comparison could be. I don't really like the handling of a scoped lever action, but for hunting game, irons seem to be serious disadvantage.

I'm not sure anymore for the times that I do want irons that open irons are not preferable to a peep or receiver. Having to let those deer walk away 2 years ago really shook my faith in receiver and peep sights.

Tom

Aye, there's the rub.

Crimson,
In the past I used to sight through a williams peep. Took out the apeture and used it as a "ghost ring" set up. Painted the front bead bright white and this setup worked very well in tight cover. You will be surprised how well you will shoot like that. Good luck with the rifle either way.

CLB

It is a Winchester Model 1876 Deluxe. They only made about 8,000 Deluxe models, making it fairly rare. Deluxes weren't actually called deluxe when they made them, they were mostly special ordered with the features we call deluxe.

1876 rifles are rare to begin with as they only made about 63,000 total. This one is a 40-60 caliber and only has the equivalent ballistics of a 41 magnum. Not really a moose gun, but neither is a 25-35 a grizzly gun, and I shot one of those too, again with open sights.

I also enjoy hunting with Marlins. I have low/fixed power scopes on some and "peeps" on others. I've set up two 336/.30-30s with fiber optic fronts and "peep" receiver sights. It's a nice combination for woods prowling. I also put a small white bead front sight on a 1895/.45-70 matched to a Skinner brand rear receiver sight. That's a pretty nice combo as well.

Everybody will have their own preferences. I find that receiver sights are MUCH easier to shoot than traditional open sights. Then again, I'm 55 and well past my optical prime. Find what works for you.

PC

One more option would be a peep sight with a fiber optic front sight. For my 56 year old eyes, this works best. My three favorite front sights are, fiber optic, ivory bead and sourdough, in that order. for me,the fiber optic shows up best in low light.
Virgil B.

One more vote for open sights.
Then again, I have never used a peep on a lever rifle. I have a Winchester 94 with open sights and a Marlin 336 CS with a scope. I like them both.

One vote for each.

For me, it would depend on the gun's main use. If I was going to sit still with it, waiting for game to come to me, it would a low power scope. If it was my walking rifle, whether for hunting or just kicking around, it gets XS sights. My Marlin 1894 wears XS sights and is the long gun I throw in the truck when we go camping. Also nice to carry when I walk my 40. Stuffed with 270gr. Gold dot soft points over a max load of h110.
Quick sight picture and handy as it gets being a 16.5" barrel.

BTW, you guys are bumming me out with your eyesight problems. I turn the big 40 next month and hope to stay away from eyeglasses for a long time.

Aperture sights are my choice for lever actions; they keep them slim and handy and are much faster than open barrel sights. Unfortunately, at 61 my eyes are forcing me to hunt with scopes almost exclusively.

My Brownig B92 in .44 MAg has factory iron sighting instruments. All the Marlins (.30-30, .375 Win and .45-70) have Leupold glass in Wanre Quick Detach rings. Fixed 4x for the .375, 2-7x for the others.

I find that I rarely take the glass off except when I'm shooting the .45-70 with my "Rhino Blaster" loads.

The three Marlins (.30-30/170g Speer, .375W/220g Hornady, and .45-70/350g North Fork) deliver about 1350fpe to 120 yards, 200 yards and 300 yards respectively. I'm not concerned about 75 yards as a limit or average as most of my game shots have been longer.

Before my eyes got old I shot a peep sight, but these days it's 1.5-4.5x32 B&L and a 1.75-6x35Pentax on my Marlin (336SS & 336-35LTD). Even the 9422 has a Leupold 3x on it.

Crimson

I have a BLR in .358 win, was itchin real bad to get into the woods with her, but with my luck i just didnt want to chance it without a scope.

Well the itch was too great, first mornin in the woods and wouldnt you guess, Yep, i ran into a deer, saw the movement in the dim twilight, and it wasnt until he decided to get the hell out of there that i realized it was the big 10 pointer i had been huntin.

I was pretty sure that if i had a scope on the rig i could have easily have shot him, oh well, schitt happens, and usually to me.......All lever guns looks better with peeps or open sights but my BLR is real light, even with the scope so for now it stays put, its a Weaver Grand Slam fixed 4.75X

Darkstar, No binoculars?

both have their ups and downs... i prefer the peep sights, I just unscrewed the disc to make the hole in the peep larger. Gun works perfectly fine that way, and out to a hundred yards, I've had no problems.

not reading whole thread i'd say if your eyes are good go with peep sight

I am an optics guy. I have 5 lever guns, and 4 of them are scoped. I like shooting my 336T with open sights, but I don't hunt with it. In my opinion, I would lose at least 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening due to low light if I hunted with open sights.

If you don't mind your sights having batteries the new micro sized red dots and holographic sights are quite nice, but a little expensive.

The peep sight looks good and should do everything needed within the range your looking at. Another option which is good is to go to a scout setup with QD rings in case you find yourself in low light conditions and need the scope. If not, another consideration is a Hi-Viz fiber optic front sight to pickup in low light conditions and a little fluro orange nail polish around the aperature.

I've been hunting with the 30-30 since I started 28 yrs ago in a Marlin lever action and it is a great combo. Though I mostly use scoped bolt rifles now, I still have 3 30-30's in the safe which at least one gets carried every year for a hunt or two.

Nice pickup

I use the XS ghost ring peeps sights on my 336SS and I love them. Very fast and easily minute of deer!

Nicest buck I have ever shot, which isn't saying too much, I got with a open sighted Marlin in .45-70 GOVT.

Also the most fun I've had shooting a deer.

Gave up my 300 WBY/3x9 scoped from the previous year.

That is a really nice rifle you have their.I would mount a peep on the rear with a scope just in front using a guide gun type mount.

I would leave the Marlin mid sight if it folds or put a folding one in if it didn't.

Apertures screw in and out and the gold lined ones are a big help

I have a sourdough on one of my model 70's and an ivory bead on my 1899 Savage TD. I have fire sight fronts on three shotguns, a 24 D Savage, and a a 10-22. They make a huge difference.