I want to put a scope on my gun but I want one that allows me to see my open sights. Any suggestions?

Your best bet would be a set of quick detachable bases and rings that will return the scope to zero when it is reattached, and that position the scope low for a good cheek weld and fast target acquisition. The Warne Maxima and Leupold QRW systems are both excellent and extremely sturdy.

The see-through mounts that allow you to see the iron sights with the scope mounted are simply awful for a couple of reasons. First, they place the scope so high that you have to lift your cheek off the stock to see the field of view. That makes it difficult to acquire a target quickly and also makes the setup slow and awkward to use.

Second, the vast majority of see-through mounts (in fact, all of them that I know of) are very weak structurally. I once watched a gunsmith "boresight" a scope by simply bending the see-through mounts with hand pressure until the scope lined up with the bore. Any sort of blow to the scope or mounts (including heavy recoil, especially with a big heavy scope mounted) or pressure on the mount can cause a shift in the point of impact.

If you get a quality scope of appropriate size and power for the rifle in question and mount it low to the bore with a sturdy set of rings and bases so that it is quick and easy to use, you will soon lose any interest in your iron sights.

Marlin lever actions such as the Model 94 tend to position a variable scope too far back because the rear ring is located quite far back on the receiver and the power ring on the scope places the scope too far to the rear for quick target acquisition. A fixed power scope sits farther forward because it has no power adjustment ring.

Also, the comb of the stock on a Marlin is pretty low, so the best setup uses low rings so that you can get a good cheek weld.

If I was putting a scope on a Marlin Model 94, it would be a Leupold FX 2 1/2x Compact fixed power scope in Leupold QRW mounts. I had that setup on a Marlin Guide Gun and it was all the scope you need, bright, sturdy and VERY fast and natural to use.

One more vote for just mounting a proper scope and using it. A properly mounted scope is the fastest and most accurate sight you can have. The see through mounts demand that the shooter deliberately use his rifle's stock badly.

OR............ An XS LeverScout setup.




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My 1894 in .44mag has a set of see-through mounts on it and a Weaver K4 single power scope. I almost NEVER use the sights. Also, like Bobby said, your cheek weld (to stock) is affected. They were on when I bought the rifle about 30 years ago, but I'll soo be replacing the mounts with standard.

A variable power is not one I would want with a lever-action rifle. A simple 4x or 6x is fine, I think. Quick sight-alignment and no fiddling.

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I used the "Ironsighter" mount on my 45-70 Marlin. I liked the high mounted scope and it never gave me a problem. It's a two piece mount that combines rings and bases in one rugged unit and allowed me to use a Williams peep sight. I switched to it after recoil ate 3 sets of weaver aluminum rings/bases. The high mount also extrends your point blank range due to the bullet traveling further before it crosses line of sight the first time. Down side is that the bullet is on a steeper slope past point blank range when it crosse line of sight the second time and makes longer shots a bit trickier. Nothing is for free.

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ED PANZELLA
"SAVE A COW, EAT A DEER"

Put a receiver sight on and forget the scope! The 1894 isn't chambered for any long range calibers, and I've shot my 357mag out to 300m(steel silhouettes) with no problem. The scope will make the gun bulky.

If you haven't tried a receiver sight, you don't know what you're missing. You look through an aperture at the rear, and the front sight is centered almost instinctively. Put the bead where you want to hit, and squeeze the trigger.....the sight radius is considerably longer with a receiver sight, and even aging eyes don't have a problem with the sight picture. I've never seen a receiver sight get fogged up in cold or wet weather.

I'd second this. Why scopes are neat, these work all the time, everytime!

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this is not the old west, you just can't go around cleaning up the streets with a gun. Even though somtimes thats exactly whats needed-Attorney General Russert
Im just a peckerwood that lives in the hills with too many guns There's going to be more shooting, more people are going to die. I didn't start it, but I mean to see it through I'm going to find them, burn their playhouse down Exercise my right to bear arms You don't understand how serious this is. They killed my dog-Bob Lee Swagger

Who sells receiver sights? Any pics?

I have Leupold 2.5x Compact scopes on a 336 in .30-30 and a Guide Gun in .45-70. However I used Weaver bases and Low Rings, this combination is lower than the QRW system although slower to dismount.

Brownell's, Midway, Cabelas.

I like these http://xssights.com/store/rifle.html or just plain old willies peeps.

They got a rail system too http://xssights.com/store/scope.html

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this is not the old west, you just can't go around cleaning up the streets with a gun. Even though somtimes thats exactly whats needed-Attorney General Russert
Im just a peckerwood that lives in the hills with too many guns There's going to be more shooting, more people are going to die. I didn't start it, but I mean to see it through I'm going to find them, burn their playhouse down Exercise my right to bear arms You don't understand how serious this is. They killed my dog-Bob Lee Swagger

Both Lyman and Williams still make receiver sights. The Williams FoolProof has click adjustments that can be locked via setscrew. The Williams 5D is the economy sight that slides for adjustment. The Lyman also has clicks.

I prefer Redfield receiver sights to Lyman, but those are where you find them, and invariably used. Ebay is a source as are sight dealers at gunshows.

The New Lyman's are aluminum, but the older ones are steel. I prefer steel.

The newer Marlins aren't D&T for the side mounted receiver sight(holes bracket ejector on LH side of receiver), but can be D&T. Another option is to use the Williams Guide(?) receiver sight that mounts in the rear scope mount holes. There are some other "receiver sights" or "ghost ring sights" being sold (Ashley and others), but I prefer a good receiver sight.

Some of the newer Marlins are D&T on the top of the tang for a tang sight. Marbles makes tang sights with click adjustments for windage and elevation, and these further increase sight radius. The downside is that the tang sights don't have witness marks for reference, and aren't as robust as a good receiver sight.

I don't have a marlin but a 94 win trapper. I'll tell you what I did. I bought weaver bases and some quick detachable rings. I thought I could just install the bases, scope and rings and be able to have my factory irons as a back up if the scope should ever fail. Wrong!! When you took off the scope and looked down the barrel all you saw was scope bases and not iron sights. I remedied this problem with a dremel tool. I milled a groove in the middle of the bases, repainted, reinstalled and it worked out great. Now I have the the advantages of a scope with the option of factory irons. So for about $120 I have a bushnell banner 1.5x4.5 in bass pro quick detachable mounts and weaver bases. I know this seems too cheap to have any quality but you'd be surprised. I love the scope and when I take it off and reinstall it, it returns back to zero. Of course I still confirm it with a few bullets down range. This is what I did with my win trapper but it should work on the marlin too. Dave

I have tried scope and receiver. I have become pretty good with the Ashley modified ghost ring. My eyes get worse all the time but I can still focus on the front sight and kill anything in 44 mag range. I have even got better at 100 yds on targets. My 50 yd target groups are getting more consistent also. I have not tried the scoped option on the 100 yd targets since I found a more accurate load. I have been thinking about it since the ghost ring groups have improved .

You will find something that works for ya. Just keep trying. I do think one or the other is the ticket. The see throughs are not.

I tried a scope on my 1894 carbine. It shot great but it was heavy and unwieldy. I did not like what it did to the gun's balance. Switched to a Lyman peep sight that bolted right up into the pre drilled and tapped holes on the left of the frame and it was good to go and Its the cat's whiskers.

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