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Picher · October 22, 2012, 05:35 AM

I dislike scopes on lever-actions. They change the balance and usually require a lace-on cheek-piece to align. See-Thru mounts are the worst, IMHO.

We used to see lots of hinged mounts by Weaver and Pachmayr that made some sense if the scope is fogged or wet, but may not be fast enough to swing if a quick, close shot is needed.

I decided long ago that I don't like hunting in the rain and won't do it unless in a covered blind, but I can hunt about any day of the week and don't need to travel more than 5 miles to hunt. Usually, I hunt on the 140 acres of family property behind the house. That said, all my deer rifles are scoped and none have iron sights. I do have iron sights on my shotgun for turkey hunting, but rarely use it for deer. None of my deer rifles are lever-actions.

The nice thing about scopes, especially variables, is that they can be very valuable when the hunter must confirm antlers in the dark woods before shooting. I turn the scope power up, if necessary to spot antlers on a confirmed deer.

You'd think that in Maine, the most wooded state in the nation, more people would use lever-actions, but according to tagging station surveys, the most used action/caliber rifle used by successful hunters is a bolt-action 30-06.

October 22, 2012, 05:35 AM	#11
Picher Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2004 Location: Maine Posts: 3,694	I dislike scopes on lever-actions. They change the balance and usually require a lace-on cheek-piece to align. See-Thru mounts are the worst, IMHO. We used to see lots of hinged mounts by Weaver and Pachmayr that made some sense if the scope is fogged or wet, but may not be fast enough to swing if a quick, close shot is needed. I decided long ago that I don't like hunting in the rain and won't do it unless in a covered blind, but I can hunt about any day of the week and don't need to travel more than 5 miles to hunt. Usually, I hunt on the 140 acres of family property behind the house. That said, all my deer rifles are scoped and none have iron sights. I do have iron sights on my shotgun for turkey hunting, but rarely use it for deer. None of my deer rifles are lever-actions. The nice thing about scopes, especially variables, is that they can be very valuable when the hunter must confirm antlers in the dark woods before shooting. I turn the scope power up, if necessary to spot antlers on a confirmed deer. You'd think that in Maine, the most wooded state in the nation, more people would use lever-actions, but according to tagging station surveys, the most used action/caliber rifle used by successful hunters is a bolt-action 30-06.