why so many folks on here would NOT recommend putting greater than a 4X scope on a 30-30 rifle.

A little background...I grew up birdhunting. First chance to go deer hunting was two years ago, with a borrowed (now inherited) Marlin 336 in 30-30 from my wife's grandpa. He only ever hunted in the E. TX woods, had a 3X9X40 Simmons scope on it. The gun is now mine, and I have many boxes of both Hornady LeveRevolution and CoreLokt round point ammo, and would like to use both kinds of ammo depending on application. I sometimes hunt in the woods, and sometimes hunt on the plains for deer and hogs. But, I've never had any teaching/demonstration on how to select a scope or even use one, really.

Why wouldn't I want to be able to zoom in and see what I'm shooting at? How much of the animal should I be wanting to have in view when pulling the trigger? Half? The whole deer? I'm going on what I've heard, "Aim small, miss small" but that seems hard to do if my reticle covers most of an animal's image in the scope.

So, would you please do a fella a favor who missed out on his daddy not ever teaching him about rifles or scopes and explain to me why folks are so adamant about not having too high a power on a scope, especially now in light of LeveRevolution ammo?

i've heard the same thing. i think they read it somewhere way back and think that its gospel.


personally, unless its on a .22, a fixed 4x scope to me is useless for deer hunting unless its a walk and stalk only gun.

outta a blind, i much prefer to have a 9x scope.

My guess would be that most people who have them use them as short range guns for quick pull up and shoot situations, and the low power scope makes sense in that scenario. If you're shooting out to 100 yards with it, then I would say by all means, go with a more powerful scope.

everything in optics is a trade off. As you increase power, youlose light gathering ability, field of view, eye relief, and increase wobbles. And, IMO, a big variable scope really takes away from the quick handling capabilities of a light weight lever gun.

Another problem with variables, is that folks often crank the power up to look at something and then forget to crank it back down. First thing you know a deer appears at hand grenade range, on the run, and Joe Nimrod can't find him in the scope.

Low power scopes are better for short range woods hunting. High power scopes are better suited to open country and star gazing.

My woods gun is a M99, 300 Savage has a 2 3/4X Redfield on it. Iv'e taken deer at over 250 yards cleanly with it. You don't need the Hubble telescope so see a deer. JMO...

Lower power will be faster to acquire and have a wider field of view, and more light transmission...

Higher power will obviously magnify the target, less fov and less light.

I use variables on nearly everything... and dilligently make sure they are set on lowest setting, I can dial up as needed.

While I agree "aim small miss small", the magnification has little to do with the aimpoint of the scope. In fact, if there is any error in the sight in of the scope, it will be at it's worst (magnified error) at the highest magnification.

3-9x40 is plenty for most places a 30-30 is appropriate. heck, that's what's on our hunting 308's.

Listen to the advice of everyone else. Weigh it. Chew on it a while. But in the end, get and use what makes YOU happy. It is yours after all.

a 30-30 does not have the rangle like a high powered rifle. its a 100 yd gun. if you need a 9x scope for a hundred yard shot, go for it. but 4x is gonna give you a faster shot, decrease the shakes and increase your view

I beg to differ. From this site:
http://www.hornady.com/store/30-30-Win-160-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/

30-30 Win 160 gr FTX® LEVERevolution®
Ballistics

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200 300
2400/2046 2150/1643 1916/1304 1699/1025

Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300
-1.50 3.00 0.20 -12.10


Not trying to be argumentative, but doesn't this look like more of a 200-250 yd range round? And yes, a 30-30 is not a high powered gun, but I don't have 20 rifles and not much desire to at this point in my life. Just looking for a concrete explanation why, given the parameters I've given, it seems blasphemy to put a higher powered scope on a 30-30.
Guess I'll just have to kill enough proof to satisfy the knee jerk responses

brazman,

i've killed probably 50 big game animals in my hunting career.

all but a handful were well within 30-30 ranges.

all were shot with my scope either on 6x or 9x.

if i shoot, before i get outta the blind i turn it down to 4x. when i get into a blind i make sure it is on 9x, or if its a close feeder, then 6x.

if your in a blind, your not gonna be able to make a snap shot so don't worry about aquiring a target quickly. take your time and you'll shoot fine

a 30-30 is not NOT a 250 yd gun regardless if your usin special ammo. if you took a 30-30 on a hunt when youd be shootin over 150, your stupid imo. next time you take a animal past 150 yds with the 30-30, please let me know, please

and im a big boy, i can take crap.

buddy shot a doe at 225 yards this year with a 336 spitting 160 grain leverevolutions. dropped it deader than snot.

marlin make a 336 with a 24 inch barrel, with leverevolutions its good past 150 yards.

ballistically its like chunking little round basketballs then picking up a football and giving it a whirl. football is gonna go farther than the basketball

so how much range does this hornady lever stuff add?

typically a 100 yards.

i agree with you that a 30-30 with standard ammo is a 100 yard gun. ballistically (on paper) they say 150 yards.

ammo has a higher B.C, it starts out faster, slows down less and hits harder at all ranges.

hornady and marlin both advertise it to be effective to 250 yards, i think its a stretch, but its been tested by us to 225, so its definatly good to that range.


to get the full potential of that loading, i think you need the 24 in barrel version of the 336

Sure, not if you're using a 4X scope
If it happens, I'll be sure to let you know.
And this morning, when I took a crap, a few "big boys" were floating in the bowl.

Like I said...

thats nice, ive never heard of this new magical hornady stuff till today.

but anyways, optics on a lever gun is

dude, have you been living under a rock?

I like fixed 4x on 30-30s. If I need more scope I take more gun.

Would you please tell me why you like fixed 4x? If you could be as thorough as possible, it would be more helpful.

well, it's lighter, cheaper, more rugged (fewer moving parts, and places to leak), brighter, less critical eye relief, wider field of view, and plenty of power, and will never be too much or too little power at the critical moment. That enough?

I have been shooting 30-30 Marlins for many years, for both deer and hogs. I am currently using a 1.5 -4.5 x 21 and have no problem making 80-100 shots that are DRT's. It's all in the shooter skill and confidence in their ability to make clean shots with the equipment on hand.

Look at your expected shooting distances and terrian and use what you feel comfortable with.

I got in the deer hunting game later in life, too. My dad bought my first rifle, the same Marlin 336 30-30. I've got cooler rifles, and bigger caliber rifles, but that 30-30 would be the last to go if I had to get rid of the rest. Great rifle, lots of tradition. I have a cheap Tasco 3-9x40 on mine, but I've never shot at anything over 125 yards even with LeveRevolutions.

One other point. If your budgeting for a scope you can get a better quality fixed power (because of the reasons mentioned above, less moving parts etc..) with the same money a lesser quality variable will cost you. Look into Leupold's fxIII's versus their vxIII's. The variables are more expensive to make and then purchase.

I'm not even going to dwell on ballistics too much, but IMHO I certainly don't have a problem with a 30-30 out to about 150yds, but as far as the 4X scope I think a lot of the hype came from a time when there really weren't too many variables available and the 4X was recommended if you had to have a scope but didn't want to limit the field of view for short yard shots.

Now that variables are everywhere I don't see a problem at all with a 3 X 9. Walk in the woods - put it on 3X. Come up on a clearing/pasture and need to see a little further dial it on up.
Shoot that thing and enjoy it........

My 2 cents. being a surveyor I would opt for higher magnification when possible regardless of the firearm or in my case instrument. get the highest magnification and clearity for the money. IMO

I like scopes on my short range brush guns as well as the reach out and touch something guns, I can see the target better with some magnification. You do not have to have a high power scope to shoot well at most tanges encountered in hunting, mostly hwat you will find on the rifles I hunt with are 1-4, 2-7 or 3-9 power scopes a few are larger and there are a few fixed power ones 2X, 4X or 6X.

the fixed power scopes are generally lighter and more rugged with less potential failure points than a variable power scope.

My favorite scope for a 30-30 size is a 2-7X32 which has a wide field of view at 2X and is very quick on target, ans at 7X is more than enough to place a shot well at distances further than would be recomended for a 30-30. This size scope is also much brighter tnan the various 1-4X20 scopes as the much larger objective lens allows more light in.

I also believe in aim small, miss small and to me that is more a mental process than a scope magnification thing. pick out a small spot on the target or animal and hit that small spot. Numerous groups have been shot at 300 yards with various guns that are sub MOA with 4 power scopes.

I also have several scopes of larger magnigication top end 16X, 24X that do not get turned up much past 10X, Mirage often becomes a factor with higher magnification

You the shooter of the gun are the oe that needs to be satisfied with your choice.