Scope for public land whitetails, deep brush

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lightningbug

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What are you guys using? I'm looking for something to top my late grandfather's Marlin 1894 .44 mag. Trying to find something light and bright at the low ends. Where I hunt I don't think I've seen a shot further than 50 yards, usually it's under 30.

I have my eyes on a Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4x20 ... anyone here use this scope?
 
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Have you considered a red dot optic? That's my preference for crossbow hunting, you'd be surprised the groups you can achieve with practice. Check out the Holosun 403b, PSA has them on sale for $120 free shipping. Mine has taken a beating in the whitetail woods.
 
Hmmm … I’d almost say try to find a vintage Weaver K2.5 for appearance if you think a 2.5X fixed will do.
 
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lightningbug said:
It's not, it's from the 70s... but I don't see the harm since the receiver is already drilled and tapped for scope rings from the factory.
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I am not really familiar with the 1894 lineage but I think the .44mag started late in the very late 60’s or maybe 70’s so yours is an earlier one. If the screws have never been removed from the receiver be extra careful removing them plus be sure to bag and tag ‘em incase you ever go back irons.

I am old fashioned (or stupid) and believe a 50ish year old rifle deserves an appropriate time period scope if you can find one that meets your application/needs. Older vintage Weavers, especially the Classic K series, topped many rifles and a vintage K2.5 with vintage Weaver rings just seems to fit a heirloom rifle.
 
I've almost exclusively changed over to 2-7x33 scopes. At 2x you get plenty of field of view in the woods, and the 33 mm allows more light in than 20 mm.
 
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NCFubar said:
I am not really familiar with the 1894 lineage but I think the .44mag started late in the very late 60’s or maybe 70’s so yours is an earlier one. If the screws have never been removed from the receiver be extra careful removing them plus be sure to bag and tag ‘em incase you ever go back irons.

I am old fashioned (or stupid) and believe a 50ish year old rifle deserves an appropriate time period scope if you can find one that meets your application/needs. Older vintage Weavers, especially the Classic K series, topped many rifles and a vintage K2.5 with vintage Weaver rings just seems to fit a heirloom rifle.
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It took me a while to find an un molested Remington model 14. I'm also stupid
 
Fifty and under, mostly 30 yards.
Even with my old eyes open sights would be a chip shot.
But if early and late come into affect than a 3x9 (I like Bushnell) would do the trick.

Heck at those distances a straight 4x would work. I just like to have more than I need.
 
I used a low power variable Leupold similar to the one you want for a long time and was very pleased with it. It was very fast to get on target and made the target bright and clear. I have a Leupold 2-7 on one of my Ruger 44 Carbines and shoot it very well. I would have no problems putting a scope on one of my Marlin 1894 rifles if I did not use them for SASS. I would not, however, have my 32/20 from about 1898 drilled and tapped for mounts. That would not be good. My others were drilled and tapped at the factory and could easily be put back into the original configuration.
 
Wouldn’t want a scope in the brush, especially at those yardages. Be more of a hindrance than a help.
 
Pogue said:
Wouldn’t want a scope in the brush, especially at those yardages. Be more of a hindrance than a help.
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I find that not to be true for me. A low power scope mounted on a rifle that fits the shooter nicely is very fast. Keep both eyes open, focus on the target, and the crosshairs find the target very quickly.
 
Sleipnir said:
What about the Mark-1 Eyeball. Fifty yards? No scope necessary.
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I have old eyes that do not do as well as they once did. I can use a little help. A low power scope is basically just a red dot with cross hairs instead of a red dot. I like red dots also.
 
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