I recently picked up a Marlin 336 30-30 and thought I was gonna put a XS rail and a peep sight on it and use it for camp/truck gun. Shot a few rounds with iron sights and could not see the rear dovetail sight well enough to hit anything. My dominant eye Is pretty blurry on close in objects like that. I have readers that I use for the computer, etc but don’t wear glasses for anything else.

I’m newish to hunting and have only used scoped rifles. My typical shots are 150 yds or less, most are around 100. I have a 3x9 on my 30-06 and mostly keep it in the 2 to 3 magnification range. I don’t have issues with the scopes like I did w the iron sights.

I’d like to use the marlin as a deer/hog rifle but not sure what direction I should go in. Would a rail and a red dot work? I have concerns that I won’t be able to focus on the sight and it would be blurry like the dovetail iron sight. Was also looking at some 1.5-4x32 or 2-7x32 scopes and saw a Bushnell and a vortex I liked. My budget would be in the $125 range. But mainly I’m looking for advice on what style scope would be best given my blurry close up vision.

Or should I just realize my eyes are going bad and go get some damn glasses?

Thx for the help!

Get some glasses! I don’t think that will help you focus on the sights correctly though. Also that makes me the pot. I’m pretty sure my eye sight is bad enough now I will not pass my next DL test if I don’t get glasses.

I gave up about three years ago and scopes my levers. One wears a 4x33 and the other a 3-9x40. As soon as I get around to it the 3-9x40 is coming off in favor of another 4x33 or possibly one of the smaller variable power, 1.5-6, 2-7, etc. I also didn’t like the rail I used with the 3-9. By the time the scope was mounted I had to get a cheek riser to get a decent cheek weld. It’s way up in the air and looks like crap. The 4x is sitting in Talley lows and looks good.

You don't focus on the rear sight of a peep anyhow. You focus on the front sight. Try it. There is something magical that happens when you have to look through a peep. Looking through a tiny hole tricks your brain into doing a better job focusing or something. I don't know, buy try it before you give up. Buckhorn sights are terrible.

I have put Burris Fullfield II scopes on most of my lever guns. For the money they are hard to beat IMO. I also used Talley Lightweight mounts. I tried the lows but the rear sight starts to get in the way so I went with mediums.

Several options here

(1) fixed 4x scope
(2) 2-7 variable
(3) 3-9X40 variable

The easiest and simplest setup would be a fixed 4x, there are a lot of good used Redfield’s on the market. The 2-7 also has a trim profile and looks good on a lever gun. Not sure which Bushnell you are looking at but if you are looking at the Vortex Crossfire II, I personally can’t recommend it based on experience with other VCII scopes. The 3-9x40 is the largest scope I would recommend on a lever gun. It is bulkier than a fixed or a 2-7 but it has waaay more options to choose from in your budget.

I personally like vx2 2-7’s on my lever guns (Savage and Marlin) but when I find a good deal on a 3x9x40.....well a good deal is hard to pass up. I recently picked up a used Sightron SIi 3-9 for $100 and it is now on my .35 Marlin 336.

i had a Leupold 2x7x32 on mine that was perfect for a lever gun. slim and trim

IMO that is the best rig. I had a winchester i had a 3x9x40 on and it was too much scope for the gun size wise

Burris Fullfield II 2x 7 or 3 x 9 are great on a lever gun.
Great scopes for the money.

I put Leupold 3x9x40 on everything. My Marlin 336 Cowboy 30-30 wears one. It shoots very well. I carry this as a backup to my go to gun. I have open and peep sighted leverguns as well and know they reduce morning and evening hunt times. Not so with the scope.

Looks nice! Which magnification scope is that? So far I can't find a Fullfield II in a 2-7 for sale anyplace, but I just started looking.

Thx for this info. I was looking at the Bushnell Banner Dusk & Dawn 1.5-4.5x, mainly b/c of the price point. Still looking over reviews and processing the info on this thread. If I can find a used Burris Fullfield II 2x 7 that might be a good fit budget and feature wise.

All of mine are the 3-9

I have a 336 30-30 and sports an old bushnell legend. I've done a mild amount of hunting with it. It was my favorite walking around rifle for a while.

Dad, my brother, and I all had 336 lever guns and we all used fixed 4’s. But, in today’s world, due to the rather rainbow type bullet trajectory of 30-30’s and 35’s, I might be inclined to go with a BDC reticle scope. Those calibers are great out to about 150 yards, but after that the holdover gets tougher (which is why I transitioned to a 270 later).

I did kill a spike at 260 yards once, with my 35, shooting into a hard ice cold north wind, but I reckon there might have been a bit of luck involved. Maybe. Possibly....

I change my answer. I've been considering this or a 6x or my 30-06 as well.

I started with open sights. No problem. As I got older I had trouble identifying antlers, that was the only reason I went with a scope. I started with a fixed 4x but some places I hunt are close range shooting so I dropped to a fixed 2 1/2x which seems to be okay.

They stopped making that scope.

I have a VX-R 3-9x40 on my 30/30

+1

The Fullfield II 2-7x35 has been discontinued. I had one on my 336 for a while and it was excellent. It now wears a VX-3 1.75-6x32 with a German #4. It too is discontinued though. Even though it’s over your budget I recommend a VX-Freedom 2-7x33.

Several folks recommended the fullfield 2-7, I found one from a guy on the TX gun traders site. Should get here next week. I found a rail I like and need to find some rings. It’s coming together nicely!

Side question- what makes one set of rings better than others? A basic Leupold or Weaver ring set are like 20 bucks but others are $120?

Peep or ghost ring and fiber optic on front, amazing what the difference is.

I believe the $20.00 Leupold rings are the Rifleman. To me they are cheap and flimsy but I don’t hear about them breaking very often. The Weavers work well but I hate them because they are a royal PITA to mount. Screws are on one side with a flange on the other. When the screws are tightened it causes the scope to rotate. So instead of getting the scope level and tightening the screws, you have to cant the scope slightly and by trial and error get the scope level when the screws are tightened. I don’t feel the need for $100.00 and over rings. Warne, Talley, DNZ and Burris work fine and all are about the same quality IMO.

Have Leupold Rifleman rings on a Ruger American. Only went with those b/c the rifle came with bases. Otherwise I would've used Talleys.
They've been fine for three years, although only a 223.

Solid choice on the Burris Fullfield II it will serve you well.

The cheaper rings are usually aluminum or other alloy. For the more expensive rings you are basically paying more for material, concentricity, and finish. Now I have seen a lot of folks use Leupold Rifleman, Redfield’s, and Weaver Quads with zero issue but I tend to use steel rings (especially after having a Talley LW break on me recently) in the “middle of the road” category like Burris or Warne. To me, paying a little more for quality is cheap insurance

Well the 2x7 turned out to be a pistol scope, he had a full field 3x9 so thats in the works now. Thx everyone!