What scope are you running on your 30-30?

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Ruffinit

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I am setting up a Marlin 336 .30-30 to be a brush/tight woods hunting rifle. I am wanting to scope it and was wondering what those of you that are running scoped .30-3o rifles are running for power.

My current thinking is to run a 3-9x40 and am looking at Nikon Prostaff and Vortex Diamondback for options.

Thanks in advance for your advice and experience.

Ruffy
 
I believe mine wears an old Bushnell 3-9.
 
I have a Marlin 30TK 30-30 with a Nikon P-300 BLK 2-7X32... inexpensive, quality scope, and 300BLK is close to 30-30. I figured the graduated reticle should work just fine. I will soon give it a try at 150 and 350 yards.

If'n I did it again, I'd put a Vortex Crossfire 2-7x32 on it, for a wee bit more money.

My favorite scope is on my Marlin 336D 35 Rem... it's a Trijicon 1-4x24 with illuminated reticle.
 
3x9 Bushnell Legend on one.

30-30 shots are limited to 150 yards.

The 35 is the same thing but I can us it out to 180.

Any thing longer gets the .308

Iron sights on an old saddle ring gets to shoot the close stuff.
 
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Ruffinit said:
I am setting up a Marlin 336 .30-30 to be a brush/tight woods hunting rifle. I am wanting to scope it and was wondering what those of you that are running scoped .30-3o rifles are running for power.

My current thinking is to run a 3-9x40 and am looking at Nikon Prostaff and Vortex Diamondback for options.

Thanks in advance for your advice and experience.

Ruffy
Click to expand...
My Marlin has a Vortex Viper 2-7x32 which is a discontinued model now, with low Talley base and rings. Love it.

For a close up woods gun and occasional out to 100-150 in a 30-30 I’d personally go 2-7x32 in a quality capped hunting scope with the lowest decent mounts you can make work. Being able to dial down to 2x is more important for me than 9x-12x magnification when I’m in lowlight woods, and comes in handy if they are moving.

Out of the two you mentioned I’d go with the Nikon Prostaff, as some of the Diamondbacks I’ve noticed have slight outer edge distortion. I’m a big fan of the Vortex Vipers, and I’ve owned Diamondbacks that got the job done. Never had a problem with Nikon Glass, good value imo.

I have a Prostaff 5 2.5-10x40 on a .270 win Weatherby vanguard with medium DNZ game reaper mounts that I’m liking. It’ll be my field gun this fall.
 
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MacEntyre said:
I have a Marlin 30TK 30-30 with a Nikon P-300 BLK 2-7X32... inexpensive, quality scope, and 300BLK is close to 30-30. I figured the graduated reticle should work just fine. I will soon give it a try at 150 and 350 yards.

If'n I did it again, I'd put a Vortex Crossfire 2-7x32 on it, for a wee bit more money.

My favorite scope is on my Marlin 336D 35 Rem... it's a Trijicon 1-4x24 with illuminated reticle.
Click to expand...

This- I have a Crossfire II 2-7x32 on my 336. Definitely handles better than the 3-9x40 I had on it previously. Looks better too..

295f88ebd5aaa6b803b36e7b5f11c0b4.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
For what you mention I'd almost go with a fixed power scope. You won't have time to be messing with variables. Sounds like you want a point & shoot rifle.
I say that and none of my rifles have fixed scopes anymore. All variables. I kind of miss some of the fixed ones I've had in the past.
The Nikon Prostaff is a great scope for the coin. The glass is surprisingly good. Plus I had a scope-warranty issue with Nikon here recently and their service was outstanding.
 
In the original Nikon ProStaff line there was a 2-7x32 that IIRC was marketed as a rimfire/shotgun scope. Paralax set to 75yd. I have four of them on various guns. I don't presently have a .30-30 but when I did that's what topped it.

I've got the p-300 Nikon mentioned above on a .300 AR and it is a solid choice.
 
I agree with the lower profile that a Nikon PROSTAFF 2-7x32 will bring to your lever action rifle. I also like the now discontinued MONARCH 3 2-8x32. Better glass than the PROSTAFF and it wasn't that much more expensive. I have 2 on AR's, very similar to the M-223 2-8x32 BDC 600. Nikon's brand new for 2018 P-Tactical Rimfire is another great option. It can be had with a MOA reticle and exposed turrets if you want to dial in your distances. The adjustments are .5 MOA/ click. Dang nice scope for under $180. The other scopes above can be found but may take some looking. You can dial all of them in using Spot On to get the best possible accuracy for your rifle, scope and ammo. Feel free to drop me a note if you have any Nikon related questions. I do freelance work with Nikon but zero sales. Happy to try and answer any questions you might have.
 
You should talk! You are a Hunt-Brothers-Wannabe that buys high end 35s!

Have you no hole into which you can crawl?



(happy to know you like me photo!)
 
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I kill more deer per year then most people see.

I will kill one in your honor with a 500$ .35 this coming season. :p
 
Imma also recommend a Vortex diamondback 2-7. I have one on my 6.8 SPC and has done me well from 20-30 yards at 7 power up to 125 yards. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be just as good on a 30-30.

I’m think of pulling it off and putting it on my 358win
 
I have been giving some serious thought to getting a lever gun, 30/30, and mounting a DeltaPoint Pro. For me, it will not be a hunting rifle, but more of an urban/rural defense gun. I like my AR's, but I think carrying a lever gun would less of disturbance.
 
I've got one scoped .30-30 that I hunt with occasionally...rather hunt with a bolt gun.

94AE 24" barrel scoped with a Redfield (Denver) fixed 4-power works for me.

400967694.jpg
 
Thread necro here, because I'm actually, genuinely trying to decide on optics for my Marlin 336w, now that I'm almost done with handload development for it. What do y'all think of using the Primary Arms SLx 1x Micro Prism for a 30-30 lever action?

www.primaryarms.com

Primary Arms SLx 1X MicroPrism™ Scope - Red Illuminated ACSS Cyclops Reticle - Gen II

DetailsAfter rigorous field testing, this optic has been given a Silver-tier rating by the National Tactical Officers Association. This Primary Arms MicroPrism is part of the SLx optics line. SLx optics have built a reputation for innovation, reliability, and value. All SLx optics undergo...
www.primaryarms.com

The rumor mill I've listened to in the past says 30-30 is ballistically similar to 7.62x39... means supersonic 300blk as well. Well that's neat because the BDC in the SLx 1x there has a 50/200/300 BDC arrangement for 7.62x39/300blk, and the SLx would keep the rifle lightweight, compact, rugged, and with less snag points.

Right now it's between that, and like RR said, a basic 2moa tube red dot. Something like a Sig Romeo 5, Holosun 503CU or even an Aimpoint T2. Because it's small, lightweight, has good light transmission, and I'm only really going to be taking hunting shots at 50yds anyway. But I like the prism sight BDC because my handloads have ended up being stupidly precise with that rifle and I'd like to make the most of it as a shooter, too.

I could do a variable magnification scope, but that always ends up making the rifle heavier when I'm trying to keep it handy and portable. I'm all about my modern guns, so I have no qualms about traditional versus modern aesthetics, I just want the end result to be practical and effective at making hits and seeing what I'm aiming at.
 
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For ME - I like a larger diameter objective on a brush gun. I’ll sacrifice a few ounces for having a wider FOV and a little more light transmission when hunting cover. The leupold 50mm I have for sale came off a carbine setup for an eastern woods gun.
 
Average shooting distance for me in tight woods falls around 35 yards, in brushy open woods maybe out to 75 yards. I set my 336 up years ago with a fixed 2.5x Bushnell and see thru rings. Most times even with my old eyes I’m using the irons at the closer distance. For longer more open shooting I’ll choose a more powerful round with a higher magnification scope.
 
Vintage Weaver K4 … old school rules!

The .30-30 range for me seems to be the 3x to 4x range. Growing up watching my Grandpa hunt he had the L4 and K6 Weavers so that gives them a soft spot in my heart also.
 
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My Glenfield30 is set up with an older Burris 4x scope that’s the perfect scale for the gun. Not sure if Leupold still makes their 2.5x fixed but that’s even handier.
 
Update: I ended up mounting a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-8 on my rifle so that I can do point blank to 200 yards as needed.

Just as a side note, I emailed Vortex to see if they could give me subtensions for the load I'm running. (Hornady Leverevolution) To my surprise, they quickly got me the info for zero distance and holdovers.
 
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