No Mo' SCOPE!!!!

hogdogs · January 13, 2010, 08:28 PM

well Junior found a buyer for the honkin' huge Bushnell scope and rings that was on my 336C Marlin. The guy who bought it also had a 336, I got the hole filler screws and mounted the scope on his...

Man this thing feels so good without a scope. More like a BB gun than a rifle now. So light to carry and so free to mount and swing.

I put 3 150 and 3 170 grain rounds in the tube. At 65 yards, I couldn't tell the 2 weights from one another, All were minute of deer with a a couple being well under 1 inch.
Man what a rifle now!!!
I refused to just pull the scope as it would require the ammo to sight in. This way it wasn't my choice but I am ready already!
Brent

Big Bill · January 13, 2010, 11:05 PM

Good for you dogs... I hate a levergun with a scope on it. It just don't seem natural.

reloader28 · January 13, 2010, 11:45 PM

When I bought my Marlin it had a scope and the first thing that happened when I got it home was to take that stupid thing off.
I am with you guys 100% about lever guns and scopes.
It dont belong!

hogdogs · January 17, 2010, 12:59 PM

Later, on the first trip to the woods, I realized that not only the weight was an issue... I never felt a balance issue with a scope on any other rifle like the lever gun. It was so top heavy that it took noticeable effort to keep the rifle properly upright on the shoulder.

It is naturally straight and natural now!

Brent

ZeroJunk · January 17, 2010, 01:03 PM

Luckily, you are still young enough to see.

hogdogs · January 17, 2010, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Luckily, you are still young enough to see.

If I can see it in my glasses, I can put the irons on as easy as crosshairs... I am one to call the .30-30 a 100 to 150 yard round so at that distance I can hit the "pump house". wouldn't try for a brainer at more than 25 though

Brent

ZeroJunk · January 17, 2010, 01:18 PM

My problem is that my left eye is great, and I'm near sighted in my right eye. Works pretty well because I can read fine, but I shoot right handed. Would have been great if it had been the other way around. I have tried to wear glasses . But, when you hustle up the side of a mountain in twenty degree weather they fog over as fast as you can clean them off.

DRice.72 · January 17, 2010, 01:21 PM

Cowboy guns just don't look right with scopes. I include revolvers in that statement! I know a lot of ppl like 'em. Just not my cup of coffee. (I don't drink hot tea)

hogdogs · January 17, 2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

But, when you hustle up the side of a mountain in twenty degree weather they fog over as fast as you can clean them off.

Yeah I find that too... lucky for me, our weather being quite humid, they clear real fast as soon as the fog cools off.

Quote:

Cowboy guns just don't look right with scopes.

Tell me 'bout it!!! Sinful!

Well, in his defense, junior bought this gun as his first "deer rifle" and insisted on optics. He bought the most expensive non-nikon at walmart for -$80 and cheap see thru rings for sub $20. I aquired the rifle in a trade for a slap wore out junk lorcin .380. The deal was he still owned the scope for when he bought a different rifle. He sold the scope and rings to a buddy of ours for $50 for what else??? To put on his Marlin 336...

Brent

James R. Burke · January 17, 2010, 07:00 PM

To each his own. I had a few levers never scoped them . One came with a pretty good scope on it. I pulled it, and put it on a bolt I had at the time.

DiscoRacing · January 17, 2010, 07:04 PM

I had a 336 given to me when my father had passed...it was his... he never hunted with a scope...I did put a scope on it when i got it... for hunting... my age/eyes could be slowin me down a bit... but... I would rather have a scope on the rifle and hit the deer that I aim for... than to injure and lose an animal to bad shot placement from not having the scope on it.. Just me an my 2cents.

hogdogs · January 17, 2010, 07:07 PM

Yes, James, there is a Santa cla..... err yes to each his own.... Glad I finally got good reason to try the irons... It was my own conservative nature that left it on so long! I cannot wait to connect with a brown fur sack of fresh meat.

Brent

DRice.72 · January 17, 2010, 07:20 PM

Hogdogs, junior has a great looking gun there! I can see where optics might be necessary. I will have to put them on all my guns one day. Don't mean I'll like it tho!

ENC · January 17, 2010, 07:26 PM

My young eyes just don't work with iron sights anymore. However I am not a fan of a full size scope on a lever gun either so... about three years ago I put one of those cheap BSA red dots on it just to see how I like it and boy oh boy it is nice. I keep saying I will replace it with a nicer red dot, but if it aint broke don't fix it keeps me from tinkerin'.

Evan

Doyle · January 17, 2010, 07:54 PM

Brent, you might have felt differently about a scoped 336 if it had come with a proper scope. I've got a Leupold VX-II 2-7 on my Rem Model 7 (same length and weight as a 336). Weighing only 10.5 oz, it balances nicely on the rifle. The same scope on your 336 and you probably would have kept it.

hogdogs · January 17, 2010, 08:01 PM

doyle, I will concede that the scope on the rifle was way wrong in dimensions but the satisfaction I got from sending just 6 rounds down range with the irons and hitting a 4-5 inch group with irons offhand... I can just imagine how tickled silly i will feel when I am doing the bloody work on a dead deer killed with iron sighted lever action "saddle gun"...

When i buy a bolt rifle, I will likely not even try it with out a scope... some rifles just SCREAM "Scope me Daddy!"
Brent

Dr. Strangelove · January 17, 2010, 08:08 PM

I took a scope off a Ruger Model 77 in .308 this year after I realized all my shots deer hunting were less than 100yds. It made it much lighter and far easier to handle in the woods/brush.

I also like the "back to the roots" aspect of it, it wasn't all that long ago that scopes were a rarity, especially where I live.

Sometimes I think we depend too much on equipment and not our own skills. (By the way, that's not directed toward anyone in this thread, just a general statement.)

Hog Buster · January 17, 2010, 08:58 PM

I had a Winchester Model 94 years ago and put peep sights on it. That was the quickest pointing and best shooting lever action I ever owned. I never liked scopes on lever actions. I always felt it hampered their quick pointing ability...... Now that I think about it I killed a number of deer and hogs with that rifle. Sorry that I got rid of it.....HB

Daryl · January 17, 2010, 10:42 PM

I hate a levergun with a 'scope for my own uses too.

That's probably why I mostly use bolt action rifles, but the one lever I have has open sights.

Daryl

GeauxTide · January 18, 2010, 12:33 PM

I joined the marlinowners site after I got an 1894 and I found the most interesting sights advertised. I bought one and was so impressed that I bought one for my 39 Mountie. Skinner Sights, at skinnersights.com, are half the cost of XS and Williams I was looking at. Take a look.

hogdogs · January 18, 2010, 01:21 PM

Did you get the tang mounted flip ups skinners or the barrel mounted? Peeps or buck horns?
Brent

hogdogs · January 18, 2010, 01:25 PM

OOPS, Lyman makes the tang mounted flip up sight.

Brent

Hog Buster · January 18, 2010, 07:04 PM

Mine was mounted on the left side of the receiver . Williams I think, but it might have been a Lyman. It's been so long ago I don't remember for sure.

Lawyer Daggit · January 19, 2010, 12:32 PM

Great to hear your discovery. Guys today seem to have reached the view that they cannot hit a darned thing without a scope- yet our forebears did perfectly well without them.

On a big game rifle I think one if fine without a scope out to about 200 yards or so. Being just on the plus side of 50 when shooting rabbits my eyes tend to demand a scope over 50 yards or so.

The balance of some guns, particularly lever actions and single shots has to be experienced to be believed without a scope.

I recently bought a secondhand MLR (Miroku badged BLR) and am likely to fit it with a peep sight.

hogdogs · January 19, 2010, 12:39 PM

When I put the 6 rounds on paper, I used the same corn sack that the guy used when we put the scope on his 336... My 6 included several closer to center than his and none of mine were wider than his widest.
Brent

January 13, 2010, 08:28 PM	#1
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	No Mo' SCOPE!!!! well Junior found a buyer for the honkin' huge Bushnell scope and rings that was on my 336C Marlin. The guy who bought it also had a 336, I got the hole filler screws and mounted the scope on his... Man this thing feels so good without a scope. More like a BB gun than a rifle now. So light to carry and so free to mount and swing. I put 3 150 and 3 170 grain rounds in the tube. At 65 yards, I couldn't tell the 2 weights from one another, All were minute of deer with a a couple being well under 1 inch. Man what a rifle now!!! I refused to just pull the scope as it would require the ammo to sight in. This way it wasn't my choice but I am ready already! Brent

January 13, 2010, 11:05 PM	#2
Big Bill Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2008 Location: Idaho Posts: 1,053	Good for you dogs... I hate a levergun with a scope on it. It just don't seem natural. __________________ There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time." - General George Patton Jr

January 17, 2010, 01:21 PM	#8
DRice.72 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2009 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 451	Cowboy guns just don't look right with scopes. I include revolvers in that statement! I know a lot of ppl like 'em. Just not my cup of coffee. (I don't drink hot tea) __________________ They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin Light is faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright unitl you hear them speak! They should have stopped with "Congress shall make no Law...

January 17, 2010, 07:20 PM	#13
DRice.72 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2009 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 451	Hogdogs, junior has a great looking gun there! I can see where optics might be necessary. I will have to put them on all my guns one day. Don't mean I'll like it tho! __________________ They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin Light is faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright unitl you hear them speak! They should have stopped with "Congress shall make no Law...

January 17, 2010, 08:58 PM	#18
Hog Buster Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2009 Location: Pointe Coupee, Louisana Posts: 772	I had a Winchester Model 94 years ago and put peep sights on it. That was the quickest pointing and best shooting lever action I ever owned. I never liked scopes on lever actions. I always felt it hampered their quick pointing ability...... Now that I think about it I killed a number of deer and hogs with that rifle. Sorry that I got rid of it.....HB __________________ Those who beat their guns into plows, will plow for those who don't.-Thomas Jefferson

January 13, 2010, 11:45 PM	#3
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	When I bought my Marlin it had a scope and the first thing that happened when I got it home was to take that stupid thing off. I am with you guys 100% about lever guns and scopes. It dont belong!

January 17, 2010, 12:59 PM	#4
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Later, on the first trip to the woods, I realized that not only the weight was an issue... I never felt a balance issue with a scope on any other rifle like the lever gun. It was so top heavy that it took noticeable effort to keep the rifle properly upright on the shoulder. It is naturally straight and natural now! Brent

January 17, 2010, 01:03 PM	#5
ZeroJunk Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2006 Location: Browns Summit NC Posts: 2,589	Luckily, you are still young enough to see.

January 17, 2010, 01:18 PM	#7
ZeroJunk Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2006 Location: Browns Summit NC Posts: 2,589	My problem is that my left eye is great, and I'm near sighted in my right eye. Works pretty well because I can read fine, but I shoot right handed. Would have been great if it had been the other way around. I have tried to wear glasses . But, when you hustle up the side of a mountain in twenty degree weather they fog over as fast as you can clean them off.

January 17, 2010, 07:00 PM	#10
James R. Burke Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: U.P. of Mich/Quinnesec Posts: 1,897	To each his own. I had a few levers never scoped them . One came with a pretty good scope on it. I pulled it, and put it on a bolt I had at the time.

January 17, 2010, 07:04 PM	#11
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	I had a 336 given to me when my father had passed...it was his... he never hunted with a scope...I did put a scope on it when i got it... for hunting... my age/eyes could be slowin me down a bit... but... I would rather have a scope on the rifle and hit the deer that I aim for... than to injure and lose an animal to bad shot placement from not having the scope on it.. Just me an my 2cents.

January 17, 2010, 07:07 PM	#12
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Yes, James, there is a Santa cla..... err yes to each his own.... Glad I finally got good reason to try the irons... It was my own conservative nature that left it on so long! I cannot wait to connect with a brown fur sack of fresh meat. Brent

January 17, 2010, 07:26 PM	#14
ENC Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2001 Location: Grand Lake, OK Posts: 658	My young eyes just don't work with iron sights anymore. However I am not a fan of a full size scope on a lever gun either so... about three years ago I put one of those cheap BSA red dots on it just to see how I like it and boy oh boy it is nice. I keep saying I will replace it with a nicer red dot, but if it aint broke don't fix it keeps me from tinkerin'. Evan

January 17, 2010, 07:54 PM	#15
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	Brent, you might have felt differently about a scoped 336 if it had come with a proper scope. I've got a Leupold VX-II 2-7 on my Rem Model 7 (same length and weight as a 336). Weighing only 10.5 oz, it balances nicely on the rifle. The same scope on your 336 and you probably would have kept it.

January 17, 2010, 08:01 PM	#16
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	doyle, I will concede that the scope on the rifle was way wrong in dimensions but the satisfaction I got from sending just 6 rounds down range with the irons and hitting a 4-5 inch group with irons offhand... I can just imagine how tickled silly i will feel when I am doing the bloody work on a dead deer killed with iron sighted lever action "saddle gun"... When i buy a bolt rifle, I will likely not even try it with out a scope... some rifles just SCREAM "Scope me Daddy!" Brent

January 17, 2010, 08:08 PM	#17
Dr. Strangelove Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2008 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 1,436	I took a scope off a Ruger Model 77 in .308 this year after I realized all my shots deer hunting were less than 100yds. It made it much lighter and far easier to handle in the woods/brush. I also like the "back to the roots" aspect of it, it wasn't all that long ago that scopes were a rarity, especially where I live. Sometimes I think we depend too much on equipment and not our own skills. (By the way, that's not directed toward anyone in this thread, just a general statement.)

January 17, 2010, 10:42 PM	#19
Daryl Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2008 Posts: 2,350	I hate a levergun with a 'scope for my own uses too. That's probably why I mostly use bolt action rifles, but the one lever I have has open sights. Daryl

January 18, 2010, 12:33 PM	#20
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,424	A thought on sights I joined the marlinowners site after I got an 1894 and I found the most interesting sights advertised. I bought one and was so impressed that I bought one for my 39 Mountie. Skinner Sights, at skinnersights.com, are half the cost of XS and Williams I was looking at. Take a look.

January 18, 2010, 01:21 PM	#21
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Did you get the tang mounted flip ups skinners or the barrel mounted? Peeps or buck horns? Brent

January 18, 2010, 01:25 PM	#22
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	OOPS, Lyman makes the tang mounted flip up sight. Brent

January 18, 2010, 07:04 PM	#23
Hog Buster Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2009 Location: Pointe Coupee, Louisana Posts: 772	Mine was mounted on the left side of the receiver . Williams I think, but it might have been a Lyman. It's been so long ago I don't remember for sure. __________________ Those who beat their guns into plows, will plow for those who don't.-Thomas Jefferson Last edited by Hog Buster; January 18, 2010 at 07:07 PM. Reason: Spelling

January 19, 2010, 12:32 PM	#24
Lawyer Daggit Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2004 Posts: 1,181	Great to hear your discovery. Guys today seem to have reached the view that they cannot hit a darned thing without a scope- yet our forebears did perfectly well without them. On a big game rifle I think one if fine without a scope out to about 200 yards or so. Being just on the plus side of 50 when shooting rabbits my eyes tend to demand a scope over 50 yards or so. The balance of some guns, particularly lever actions and single shots has to be experienced to be believed without a scope. I recently bought a secondhand MLR (Miroku badged BLR) and am likely to fit it with a peep sight.

January 19, 2010, 12:39 PM	#25
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	When I put the 6 rounds on paper, I used the same corn sack that the guy used when we put the scope on his 336... My 6 included several closer to center than his and none of mine were wider than his widest. Brent