Optic for lever action Henry .22

FMH2016

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Looking for a little advice on an optic for a lever action henry .22 for my son. He wants an optic that doesn’t look out of place or too modern but a decent quality optic with low rings. Looking for something for Xmas for him. If anyone has an idea or has an optic on theirs that they’ve had luck with let me know! Thanks guys!
 
I feel like this is a sign to buy more guns not optics

Agreed! Get him a 10/22 or AR15ish thing or a bolt action or a pistol.

Optics mess up the handling of a lever gun. There’s just something about carrying a lever gun with your hand wrapped around the balance point like a good shotgun. It’s just right.

And yes, I imagine my lever guns moaning whenever I load them.
 
Agreed! Get him a 10/22 or AR15ish thing or a bolt action or a pistol.

Optics mess up the handling of a lever gun. There’s just something about carrying a lever gun with your hand wrapped around the balance point like a good shotgun. It’s just right.

And yes, I imagine my lever guns moaning whenever I load them.
Or? You mean both
 
As mentioned above, upgrade the shitty factory irons to good irons. If he really wants a scoped 22, buy another gun that will do well with a scope. I suggest a bolt gun but they are acceptable on semis as well. Don’t ruin that Henry!! I’m amazed at how much ammo we run through my brothers golden boy every time he brings it over to play!! Despite the clumsy reloading process, boxes of ammo just vaporize!
 
Looking for a little advice on an optic for a lever action henry .22 for my son. He wants an optic that doesn’t look out of place or too modern but a decent quality optic with low rings. Looking for something for Xmas for him. If anyone has an idea or has an optic on theirs that they’ve had luck with let me know! Thanks guys!
MVA makes a quality sight. Their sights are competition quality. If he is into the "old style guns", and will eventually get a Rolling Block, a Sharps or some other old school rifle (even a musket) an MVA will never let you down and can be used in all those rifles.

This is the type of scope that will last decades if properly taken care of.


Another option is a soule sight. A good soule sight is faster than regular irons and a scope, the only downside is that a Smith will need to drill the butt.

MVA Soule sights are excellent, so are Kelley (I use Kelley). Kelley are old school looking. Will also fit any antique style of weapon and they are not out of place, they were used in the late 1800's.


I am stupid fast and accurate with a soule.
 
Adding for a little history.


“Our telescope rifles realized our best anticipations, maintaining all we have claimed for them. We can do good work at half a mile and some at a mile. A Mississippi Regiment, 1,500 strong, came in sight of us and although we were unsupported and only thirty of us in position to see them, we opened fire at over 100 rods (more than a quarter of a mile,) and our rifles fully met our expectations, doing fearful work, and soon putting the whole regiment to flight, while not one of their shots took effect.”

Rifle 12.jpg
 
I had a set of target peep sights on my marlin 39 with a front globe , loved that set up. Wish I never sold that gun.
 
@kalashkid

my choice for rimfire scopes is the leupold FX-I 4x28. It’s not the cheapest scope at $300 but the optical clarity is excellent. There’s a reason I’ve never seen one on used market.

leupold also makes a VX-freedom variable zoom (2-7x) rimfire with a cool BDC reticle. I’ve not used these scopes but glass is reportedly just as good.
 
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MVA makes a quality sight. Their sights are competition quality. If he is into the "old style guns", and will eventually get a Rolling Block, a Sharps or some other old school rifle (even a musket) an MVA will never let you down and can be used in all those rifles.

This is the type of scope that will last decades if properly taken care of.


Another option is a soule sight. A good soule sight is faster than regular irons and a scope, the only downside is that a Smith will need to drill the butt.

MVA Soule sights are excellent, so are Kelley (I use Kelley). Kelley are old school looking. Will also fit any antique style of weapon and they are not out of place, they were used in the late 1800's.


I am stupid fast and accurate with a soule.
A big plug for MVA. Got the Win 5x retrofit on my 1874 Sharps and it's allowed me to reach out to 600 yds . The original Sharps rear leaf sight is PATHETIC.

DSCF0847.jpg
 
A big plug for MVA. Got the Win 5x retrofit on my 1874 Sharps and it's allowed me to reach out to 600 yds . The original Sharps rear leaf sight is PATHETIC.

View attachment 547290
Yes, the rear leaf is terrible. I understand they want to make them traditional or whatever, but they could still have a traditional look and be better, not some cheap piece of sh*t on a $1.2K++ gun.

I have a soule in my Sharps, but I have been thinking of getting an MVA scope and moving the Soule to either a lever action, a musket or a future Rolling Block.

If I could have the scope offset to the side, I could use both Soule and scope (close and long range). Would look weird AF. Lol.
 
Yes, the rear leaf is terrible. I understand they want to make them traditional or whatever, but they could still have a traditional look and be better, not some cheap piece of sh*t on a $1.2K++ gun.

I have a soule in my Sharps, but I have been thinking of getting an MVA scope and moving the Soule to either a lever action, a musket or a future Rolling Block.

If I could have the scope offset to the side, I could use both Soule and scope (close and long range). Would look weird AF. Lol.
Tried to PM you but your profile is limited or locked ?
 
Tang sight and front globe would be a nice fit on that also
Agreed ! I hope to get an opportunity to try a Sharps with Vernier type sights. Another forum member has a Sharps fitted with vernier type sights and hopefully we can meet up and try each other's rifles. I really enjoy the challenge of traditional sights, but I also need to understand my vision limitations..
 
Agreed ! I hope to get an opportunity to try a Sharps with Vernier type sights. Another forum member has a Sharps fitted with vernier type sights and hopefully we can meet up and try each other's rifles. I really enjoy the challenge of traditional sights, but I also need to understand my vision limitations..
Thats the great thing about aperture sights
Even lining up the blurry rings and putting the blurry target as best centered as you can will be much better than trying to see a rear notch and front post
 
Thats the great thing about aperture sights
Even lining up the blurry rings and putting the blurry target as best centered as you can will be much better than trying to see a rear notch and front post
That's pretty much how I was taught is to try and first focus on the target, then allow your eyes to relax and focus on the front sight, let the target and the rear apetuer go blurry. Seems to work well for me.
 
A scope on a lever is just wrong, sorry. Skinner peeps . I have them on my Henry 30-30 Brass and love them.
i had a simple scope on a marlin .35 for about 40 years....it looked fine.
you want one with a straight tube, not big flares at the ends.

if your son has poor eyesight (like i had all my life) a scope really takes the frustration out of shooting but not being able to see the target. If he can not see, he will quickly get bored with shooting the best he can, but the bullets going all over the place!
 
Back when I was in college, I created a shooting club for students. The club had a faculty advisor who was a 65-ish year old professor. He wore glasses for all purposes.

The first event for the club was a WW2 Eastern Front + CommBloc gun shoot. This was back when Mosins, SKSs, and AKs were more affordable on the typical college student income of $NOPE. Basically every student in the club who owned guns had some sort of CommBloc gun.

My professor was going to bring a Hungarian Steyr M. 95. Only problem was, he literally could not see the sights with his current prescription. So, instead, he used a M1917 with its aperture sights.

Point being this: if you have vision issues, aperture sights are better than open sights.

However, a magnified optic will generally be easier to use than aperture sights. Etched reticle, hopefully decent glass quality, and magnification. For any practical use, like say small game hunting with a .22, I would go with a fixed 2.5x to 4x scope.

The "right" optic fits the gun and the purpose. Define the purpose and shop accordingly.
 
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