On your .30-30 lever gun, do you shoot open sights or use a scope ?

I am a strong believer that nearly any hunting weapon, rifle, handgun, bow, leveraction, shotgun, crossbow, etc can be improved by adding a scope. Of course, there are instances where a HIGHLY specialized scope would be necessary to be an improvement over open sights, such as very low light, dense brush conditions where an appropriate scope (large objectives, large tube, low magnification, high eye relief, large recticle, etc) is often quite expensive and typically prohibitive in cost compared to simple open sights.

If you've got a rifle that you consider weak or inaccurate (as many consider the .30-30 or most leverguns), wouldn't you want to know for sure where you were aiming? If I've got a 3MOA sight open sight, but can't tell if I'm aiming EXACTLY behind the shoulder or 2" behind the shoulder because of range, a magnified scope WILL help my shot placement.

If my rifle shoots 6" groups with iron sights, but most of it is because I can't tell EXACTLY where I'm aiming, odds are I can lessen my groups by adding magnification and knowing FOR SURE where I'm aiming.

When I used a 30-30, a Marlin, I either used a Williams FoolProof peep sight, or more
recently (as I got older, and eyesight not what it used to be), I used a Weaver 1-3x scope.
I really liked the peep sight, and had changed the front sight by installing a small white
bead, also available from Williams. Very accurate, and very fast to use.
The Weaver 1-3x scope is, I think, a good fit on a 30-30. Plenty of magnification for the
ranges at which a 30-30 is normally used, and not a monstrosity sitting on top, either.
More proportionate to the rifle it's used on.

I have a 1.5-5X scope on my Winchester 94.

i put a leupold m-8 4x on mine and never looked back. i hate peep sites in low lite conditions.

That's why they make ghost rings.

No, it messes up the handlin' too much. Of course if you ain't totin' a lever action carbine then it'd be a great idea.

I had a scope on mine for a while, but then I took it off. For what I use my 30-30 for, I do better without the scope. The only time I use it much is for hunting in extremely thick brush, or shooting varmints at night when I'm by myself. I can shoot it one handed, so that frees up my other hand for the light.

I own a Marlin Model 336 .30-30 cal. with a Leupold M8 4x33mm. Good luck.

Mines a Win with a top extraction, so it would require the side mount for a scope something I wasn't to fond off and so it remains irons. It don't see to many rounds or hunting anymore resides at the cabin just in case. I have kept her stock as given to me by my grandpa.

My Marlin 30AS (co-worker buddy's old gun) came with a monsterous, way out of place looking, Simmons 4-12x40 scope on it with see thru rings. I shot it a few times with the scope but then took it off and sold it. (The coworker originally bought the scope first for use on a newer bigger rifle, but ran short of cash for the rifle - so he had the monster scope mounted on the 30-30 for some reason!)

Anyway, this is my Marlin 30AS with the huge scope and rings....(looks silly doesn't it?)

Now here is the way the Marlin 30AS looks now. Plain ol' open sights and looks a lot better.

I have shot the "plain jane" 30AS at the range this past weekend and felt it was just right... It was light, easy to come to the shoulder and view. I got groups scattered around the 7 ring at 50 yards, so to me, that's pretty good with open sights. No rifle sand bags or anything. Just me holding it steady at the bench at the range. I hunt in the thick brush and wooded creek bottoms here in Virginia, so re-scoping my 30-30 might not be the best for the conditions. Then again, maybe it might. Who knows....

Butch A.