Shots under 50 and most under 30. Can be low light and in very thick brush.

I can see where a scope will help you see twigs and branches as well.

Any advantages to one over the other or is it just after of preference and how well your eyes see a peep?

I have been very pleased with the Skinner Peep I put on my .45 Colt lever rifle. Also pleased with the low power variable on my .30/30 and .44 Mag lever rifles. All my shots are in deep woods and at short range.

For those distances the peep with suffice and well. If you don't have enough confidence in the irons go scope.

Why I am leaning scope. I wear glasses and notice I can't see quite as good with the naked eye the first/last 15 minutes of shooting time.

Cold doesn't help either, transitions lenses and they darken some with low temps.

A fiber optic front sight helps a great deal. A burris fastfire or that type are also nice on lever actions.

Been there done that on a fiber front. They Starburst too much for me. Tried in on a muzzleloader and was shooting 6" groups at 50 yards. I am not willing to go down that road with a rifle.

Looks like you have screwed up eyes, scope will be the only option. Fortunately, I don't have that issue

Low magnification and a heavy/thick reticle would be my choice for close shots at moving game. I have a variety of scopes in the 1x to 5x range on most of my short range medium game rifles. I have a friend in NH who hunts whitetail by still-hunting or tracking if there is snow on the ground where his shots are close and usually at moving targets. He swears by the old Weaver K1.5s with post and crosshair reticles. Not great glass and precise adjustments, but rugged and reliable, at least that's what he says.

What 260 said.

I have killed several deer with scopes that were simply not quick enough for peeps. Sounds crazy but true. I can't think of any reason to use irons when you can use a scope, unless you just like the looks and feel of iron sights.

I can shoot with peeps fine, iron sights in good light, but for early and late evening hunts I want a scope.

I bought a Marlin 336 35 Remington earlier in the summer. I mounted a Bushnell Elite 2-7x32 firefly on it. I've never charged the firefly reticle on any I've hunted with. The heavy reticle is more than enough right up till dark.

I do. I never tried the fiber in low light or on a cloudy day. We were trying to shoot one bright sunny afternoon and that's all it took.

If the fiber were a .010 or .019 I could probably make it work as they are fine on my bow sights.

This is a scope I have been semi looking for.

I wonder if they made them with the heavier 3-2-1 reticle?

You can always apply a nice fixed FXII Ultralight 2.5x20 for any condition you may encounter. Fast sighting with an 8 exit pupil. Shots made easier from 20 yards out to 200 yards.

Available at any time with heavy duplex?

The Bushnell 3200 Firefly reticle is the same as the 3-2-1 reticle. The only difference is the Firefly can be charged by a flashlight to glow. They were made in1.5-4x32, 2-7x32, 3-9x40 and 3-9x50. I've had all of them. The 50mm one was to honking big. I sold it as soon as could.

A 2-7 was recently sold here on the classifieds. Keep an eye, they show up.

👍

Yes, that's what I have.

I would vote for a low powered variable scope with an illuminated dot.

Eotech

I don't like scopes on lever rifles! If the lever rifle is heavy or chambered for a long-range cartridge, I'd consider a scope. I had one on a 358 Win BLR and I have one on my 1892 256.

I'd go with a Skinner. I have Lyman steel aperture sights on all my lever rifles except my 1886 sight is an aluminum Lyman and my 1892 256 which has a J4 Weaver on it. The setup I like best is on my 375 Winchester it has a Lyman steel aperture and a brass post for the front sight. I don't like most factory front sights, unless I were to keep an open sight rear sight. I took off the aperture sight on my pre-64 1894 32 Special and it has the factory sights on it now since I'm selling it.

Red dots sights are game changers for aging eyes. I have no less than 3 of them. I put a Burris FF3 on my Henry lever gun. Best combo since sliced bread and PB&J.

I went from a skinner peep to a 2.5x20 Leupold with standard duplex on my 1895G and I’ve never regretted it.


My 375 Win wears a 1-4x20 with HD Leupold and another 30-30 has a new 2.5x20 Weaver.

If you’re hunting in low light and in thick brush, you really need a scope. Iron sights, while they look traditional, are not going to gather light.

I love my leverguns but add aging eyes and these days I only use my iron sighted leverguns in bright conditions. Go for a light, low power scope and mount it as low as you can.

Scope for all the reasons mentioned above. Also for game ID.

I've passed on a few deer that were in thick brush while hunting with iron sights. Easy shots, was 90% sure they were legal bucks, but not sure enough. Last time it happened more or less cured me of my interest in hunting with irons. Irons do have an advantage in bad weather.

I have yet to harvest game with my lever 30-30. I acquired it just a few years ago and have only carried it on a couple of javelina hunts. Last year when I decided to call it a trip, I walked out of camp and set up a paper target with a 5 1/2" black center at a ranged it at 150 yards out. I shot at it three times in a standing position and resting the rifle over the top of my tripod shooting sticks. With a peep in the back and a white blade up front, all three fell in for kill shots. I wear progressive lenses and I'm not sure if I could have done that with the factory iron sights.

That white blade holds up pretty well in very low light, though I'm guessing low light in the wide open desert might be different than low light in the eastern thickets??