4feathers, I have owned marlin lever guns for over 30 years and found them to be extremley accurate at the ranges they were desighned for , a fellow gave me some advice many yers ago that I have found to be very true, he told me not give up on the gun too soon that it would start shooting better the more i shot it, and boy was he right after about 40 or 50 rounds it started shooting very nicely!! 30 years later it is still one of my favorite rifles (30-30).also , I agree with some others on this forum ashley ghost ring sights are the way to go if you are determined to use open sights!!