I have a marlin 30-30 that I'd like to mount a scope on. Been a LONG time since I've been in the market for a deer scope.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what where to start? Mounting hardware needed? The rifle is stock with iron sights and no place to mount a scope

Eyeguy, I live up in Montgomery and wouldn't mind making the drive if you could hook me up!

Wrong emoticon sorry

I've got an old 336 R.C. and been trying to mount a new scope and have been searching high and low for new scope mounts.......no luck. I finally got in touch with someone with Leupold and they said the only thing they offer is the old 2 piece mounting base......I wanted a solid base dovetail setup. Not to say that someone else doenst offer what I am after, I just havent found it yet.

I would not spend a fortune since you will not be making long shots.

I put an inexpensive Simmons 3x9 40 on mine. It's much better than making an iron sight shot imo.

Just be very careful about what rings you use... see through rings sound cool as hell but are a lot harder to use because of how high you have to get on them.

AstroAggie15 said:

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I have a marlin 30-30 that I'd like to mount a scope on. Been a LONG time since I've been in the market for a deer scope.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what where to start? Mounting hardware needed? The rifle is stock with iron sights and no place to mount a scope

Eyeguy, I live up in Montgomery and wouldn't mind making the drive if you could hook me up!

Wrong emoticon sorry

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I've got a few fairly inexpensive ones that are good. Rudolph, Sightron, Riton... plus need mounts.

Time to upset the purists.

With the availability of modern ammunition like Hornady leverlution, you would be leaving performance on the table not having an optic on your 3030. There is no way I would feel good taking a 150+ yd shot which is now possible with the new stuff

If you just plan to use old fudd loads then you could do without.

For my confirmation, my uncle gave me a 30-30 he worked on and put my Grandfathers first scope he ever owned on it. He redid the trigger and stock as well. The scope was an old Weaver 3x. Weaver fixed it since the crosshairs were broke.

You can cover up a 100 yard 3 shot group with a half dollar easily on a good day of shooting.

NW80 said:

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OK . . . the old NW80 will resurrect!

DO NOT PUT A SCOPE ON A SADDLE GUN !!!

Learn to shoot iron sights or sell it!

Damnit!!

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Pride cometh before the fall...

NW80 said:

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OK . . . the old NW80 will resurrect!

DO NOT PUT A SCOPE ON A SADDLE GUN !!!

Learn to shoot iron sights or sell it!

Damnit!!

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I'll poke the bear.

My Marlin 30-30 has a scope. Don't think I've ever shot it without one. Have killed a few deer with it back in my East TX days.

This part might really be sacrilege... I have a red dot that I'm thinking of putting on it.

I can actually shoot ok with iron sights (at least with my 22, which I don't have scoped), but just prefer not to. I'm quicker with a low power scope, and figure I'll be even quicker with a red dot.

Hodor said:

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NW80 said:

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OK . . . the old NW80 will resurrect!

DO NOT PUT A SCOPE ON A SADDLE GUN !!!

Learn to shoot iron sights or sell it!

Damnit!!

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I'll poke the bear.

My Marlin 30-30 has a scope. Don't think I've ever shot it without one. Have killed a few deer with it back in my East TX days.

This part might really be sacrilege... I have a red dot that I'm thinking of putting on it.

I can actually shoot ok with iron sights (at least with my 22, which I don't have scoped), but just prefer not to. I'm quicker with a low power scope, and figure I'll be even quicker with a red dot.

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Bought my 30-30 used. Guy I bought it from had red dot on it. I put it on one of my ARs. Obviously it worked for him.

Hodor said:

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This part might really be sacrilege... I have a red dot that I'm thinking of putting on it.

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I love my Marlin 1984c. JM stamped, great wood, really nice gun.

I'm thinking of buying another one to butcher like this just for the reactions it would cause here:



But in all seriousness, a red dot or RMR on something like a 30-30 is the best compromise IMO if you do want an optic, because it's light, which is the primary benefit of a gun like this...you start to lose what makes shooting a lever gun so nice if you put a large heavy scope on it. It's also more than capable of making good hits at the ranges OP is wanting. I'd skip the scope and put a red dot on if he wants an optic.

Get a weaver 1-piece base and Burris z-rings. I've have these on my 1894 and 1895 and works great with no problems.

Its not about range or caliber. Its about stock angle.

The pistol grip Marlins have a drop at comb and drop at heel that is very similar to bolt action rifles....just a little bit more drop

Regardless, my straight stock Winchester 9422 works wonderfully with a 4x scope.

If stock angle is still problematic for you then you can choose different height scope rings. The AR15 has no stock angle, but scopes can be effectively used with good mounts designed for AR platforms

Neches21 said:

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The pistol grip Marlins have a drop at comb and drop at heel that is very similar to bolt action rifles.

Regardless, my straight stock Winchester 9422 works wonderfully with a 4x scope.

If stock angle is still problematic for you then you can choose different height scope rings. The AR15 has no stock angle, but scopes can be effectively used with good mounts designed for AR platforms

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You're wrong about the Marlins. And you can't choose rings low enough, that's the problem- even if the scope was resting directly on the barrel it would be too high.

The only way to make it work is to add a cheek pad to the stock.

I think this is far to subjective to reach an agreement.
A lever gun will never be a "bench gun" like a bolt gun, but people have been effectively using scopes on Marlins for decades

Neches21 said:

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people have been effectively using scopes on Marlins for decades

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No doubt; I'm one of them.

CactusThomas said:

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Neches21 said:

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people have been effectively using scopes on Marlins for decades

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No doubt; I'm one of them.

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Precious friend of mine died young. 8 years ago. 9th grade drop out from a share cropper family

Left a $69million dollar fortune to his 3 sons

Owned one rifle: a Marlin 30-30 with a fixed 4X Weaver with which he whacked a bunch of white and muley deer.

TxSquarebody said:

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If the target is at a range where a scope would be more accurate than iron sight, I believe you are out of range for the 30-30.

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Haha, I remember when I found this out first hand. As a kid I used my dad's .32 Remington which is almost the same thing as a .30-.30 ballistically. It had an open sights and I complained to my dad that I wanted a scope like all of the other rifles had in the family.

So, I am sitting on the ground at the edge of an oats field which was mostly dirt. A buck comes out, I shoot, and I see the dust from the bullet around about the bucks feet ! This buck was not 300 yards. I don't know if it was even 200 yards. But that was a quick education on how fast that bullet drops!