Scout Scope or Regular Scope?

[Mark from ?]

Bought a Marlin 1894 SBL... 44mag. Hog hunting gun most likely, but if there is one gun I somewhat collect its levers.

Generally don't scope leverguns, but this has full rails, so was thinking of a 1-5 ish with Warne 1" quick remove mounts I already have.

Never had a Scout scope before....and worried I take it off i can't use it on anything else......so my thinking is go regular scope?

What does NES think?

 

[MatsonofCay]

I've got an M1aScout with a Vortex Crossfire 2-7 LER on it. It was a bit of a learning curve using it, but once I figured it out, it became really fun at what I term "rapid multi target acquisition". It's a nice switch from the traditional setup as well. I have qd rings so going to irons is easy, and reinstalling has my zero close enough for gov't work. The best part imo was getting my eyes trained to having both open naturally, and it taught them to be right eye dominant using optics where I'm normally right handed/left eyed.

 

[StevieP]

I have a Ruger Gunsite Scout .308 bolt-action rifle. I have a Leatherwood Hi-Lux 2 - 7x LER scope on it. BDC Reticle. It's OK. nothing to write home about. but it holds zero with low-mount QD rings w/ levers for easy on/off. I have mounted a 4 - 16x Nikon scope over the receiver for more-accurate shooting from a bench. But for what the scout rifle is for, the scout scope is better.

 

[Bullet Bill]

I had a ruger gunsite scout. It was a 1/3 MOA rifle with convential scope but with the scout scope setup it turned into a 1.5 MOA rifle. I think that was due to the extra weight hanging on the barrel, more sensitivity with parallax, and slightly lower magnification. After that I am not a believer in scout scopes.

 

[Woodsloafer]

@Mark from ? there's this:

VX-Freedom 1.5-4x28 IER Scout Duplex

Jeff Cooper's vision was to create a rifle that was extremely versatile, compact, and capable of taking down most game animals–enter the scout rifle. Fast forward a few decades and you can now squeeze even more performance out of the platform with our VX®-Freedom® 1.5-4x28mm Scout scope.

www.leupold.com

 

[paul73]

44mag.

just from that - a 150yds max ballistics, why to even bother with scope at all? a red dot will work fine.
i would go with a scout, and probably would keep it at 1x, zeroed to 50yds

 

[peterk123]

I like the idea of the red dot. But you can't go wrong with the freedom that was posted by @Woodsloafer

It's only 9.6 ounces!

 

[Rockrivr1]

Have an M1A Scout as well and I put a Burris Scout Scope on it. It's definitely different then using a normal scope. I enjoy shooting this rig in this configuration as it's more mobile and easier to engage different targets.

 

[Mark from ?]

I like the idea of the red dot. But you can't go wrong with the freedom that was posted by @Woodsloafer

It's only 9.6 ounces!

I like the Freedom...if I go the scout route that will be the scope for me.

I know 44 mag..and ballistics are minimal out to scope ranges.....and it already has a peep stock with the gun which to me is fine for 50 yards.

But it might be nice to have a scope on this one because it has the rail.....off to put the Beartooth safety delete in, then Ill decide.....

Thanks guys.

 

[Mountain]

@Mark from ? there's this:

VX-Freedom 1.5-4x28 IER Scout Duplex

Jeff Cooper's vision was to create a rifle that was extremely versatile, compact, and capable of taking down most game animals–enter the scout rifle. Fast forward a few decades and you can now squeeze even more performance out of the platform with our VX®-Freedom® 1.5-4x28mm Scout scope.

www.leupold.com

+1

On the Marlin SBL, for rail mount you want the IER (intermediate eye relief) scope, not the LER. I recommend the Warne Maxima quick detach low rings.

 

[Mountain]

I like the Freedom...if I go the scout route that will be the scope for me.

I know 44 mag..and ballistics are minimal out to scope ranges.....and it already has a peep stock with the gun which to me is fine for 50 yards.

But it might be nice to have a scope on this one because it has the rail.....off to put the Beartooth safety delete in, then Ill decide.....

Thanks guys.

What's the driver behind safety deletes?

 

[Mark from ?]

+1

On the Marlin SBL, for rail mount you want the IER (intermediate eye relief) scope, not the LER. I recommend the Warne Maxima quick detach low rings.

Thanks...

Those are the rings i have Warne low.

The driver behind the safety delete is the safety is fxcking ugly and shouldn't be there in the first place. Every Marlin I ever handled or hunted with growing up didn't have one.

They are to make lawyers feel good....they can be a real hindrance in the field if you are used to cocking back the hammer when its time to shoot, and you forget about the safety. Your going to drop the hammer with no bang. Happened to a few friends of mine. Sure, saftey worked as intended, but they were so keyed on the deer, they forgot about the stupid crossbolt, because the Levers they grew up with didn't have them.

Its not like a regular rifle or shotgun if you forget the safety you just click off quietly........the hammer is dropping loudly..., and the deer is going bye bye.

 

[Mountain]

Thanks...

Those are the rings i have Warne low.

The driver behind the safety delete is the safety is fxcking ugly and shouldn't be there in the first place. Every Marlin I ever handled or hunted with growing up didn't have one.

They are to make lawyers feel good....they can be a real hindrance in the field if you are used to cocking back the hammer when its time to shoot, and you forget about the safety. Your going to drop the hammer with no bang. Happened to a few friends of mine. Sure, saftey worked as intended, but they were so keyed on the deer, they forgot about the stupid crossbolt, because the Levers they grew up with didn't have them.

Its not like a regular rifle or shotgun if you forget the safety you just click off quietly........the hammer is dropping loudly..., and the deer is going bye bye.

Gotcha. LOL I'm good for at least one missed bird a season after forgetting the safety. Missing a deer would be terrible.

 

[Broc Tuah]

just from that - a 150yds max ballistics, why to even bother with scope at all? a red dot will work fine.
i would go with a scout, and probably would keep it at 1x, zeroed to 50yds

Depends on the situation.

If open field, a red dot is probably fine.

If wooded area, where a hog might blend in, an LPVO might be best.

I use an LPVO for hogs, when I am not using a knife.

 

[paul73]

Depends on the situation.

If open field, a red dot is probably fine.

If wooded area, where a hog might blend in, an LPVO might be best.

I use an LPVO for hogs, when I am not using a knife.

i finally recalled where i saw it, here is it below, kinda an interesting take on this topic. ymmv.

LPVO and the Scout Rifle

Low Power Variable Optics (LPVO) are more than just the "new hotness" in the world of firearms. The development of these versatile optics ...

cliffy109.blogspot.com

so it really may boil down to the way how your individual brain reacts to an 3x scout scope picture 9" away from the eye compared to an lpvo 3" away from your eye and taking way larger portion of the FOV.

 

[Mark from ?]

i finally recalled where i saw it, here is it below, kinda an interesting take on this topic. ymmv.

LPVO and the Scout Rifle

Low Power Variable Optics (LPVO) are more than just the "new hotness" in the world of firearms. The development of these versatile optics ...

cliffy109.blogspot.com

so it really may boil down to the way how your individual brain reacts to an 3x scout scope picture 9" away from the eye compared to an lpvo 3" away from your eye and taking way larger portion of the FOV.

Along these lines....still undecided, yet want to see it for real........I ordered a Vortex Crossfire 2 Scout 2-7x from Amazon. More to see if I would like it, if not its easily returnable.

It will be here today. If I like the sight picture/handling etc, of it....I'll likely keep it.......if I really like the scout thing, i'll just get the Leupold eventually and keep the crossfire for a .357 I may eventually buy.

If not....I'll likely be buying a 1-?X regular Leupold vx3 or whatever they call them now.

 

[Mark from ?]

Mounted the Scout Scope....not really my cup of tea. Very weird FOV......

Ill need higher rings to mount a regular 1-?X to get over the peep sight height. That means new scope and rings. This may stay as is with the peep sight for now.

 

[pinefd]

If you're not thrilled with the scout scope, you should give a red dot a try, as others have suggested. I have them on a couple of mine, and they work great and are a lot of fun:

Frank

 

[Garys]

I put a regular scope on my Marlin 336C. Since it's a side ejector, no need for a Scout Scope. OTOH, I put a Vortex Crossfire Scout on my commercial M1 Carbine because it's a top ejector. I haven't fired it yet, but looking through it, it has 9.45 eye relief and a good view downrange.

I forget the exact brand on my Marlin, but I think it's a BSA Deer Slayer. I can check when I'm back home later in the week.

 

[Mark from ?]

If you're not thrilled with the scout scope, you should give a red dot a try, as others have suggested. I have them on a couple of mine, and they work great and are a lot of fun:

Frank

Im sure super functional and work great. Really can't get past the looks of it on a lever. Just me. Have a hard time even with the looks of scope really.

Im going for the Leupold VX F 1-4X with the pig plex and higher QD Warne rings.

I sold a lot of guns recently, and I have more I'm selling once my buddy gets down here with 4 more.

This one is worth putting good money into since itll be my only scoped lever and 44mag is what i'm planning on keeping. If I can get my hands on
what Woodsloafer recommended to try, I may do that as well, and that would really be more ideal. But if I can't get past the FOV....its not for me.

 

[Woodsloafer]

Im sure super functional and work great. Really can't get past the looks of it on a lever. Just me. Have a hard time even with the looks of scope really.

Im going for the Leupold VX F 1-4X with the pig plex and higher QD Warne rings.

I sold a lot of guns recently, and I have more I'm selling once my buddy gets down here with 4 more.

This one is worth putting good money into since itll be my only scoped lever and 44mag is what i'm planning on keeping. If I can get my hands on
what Woodsloafer recommended to try, I may do that as well, and that would really be more ideal. But if I can't get past the FOV....its not for me.

Yup, the red dots, etc. look like shit on a lever action, scopes are not quite as bad, guess it is what we are accustomed to seeing. I actually have picked up a couple nice, used Leupold fix 3X for my levers as my eyesight is not as good as it used to be for irons (I have better than 20/20 at distance but not so great close up). The straight-tubed Leupolds are very clean/sleek looking and compact IMO.

 

[Broc Tuah]

If you're not thrilled with the scout scope, you should give a red dot a try, as others have suggested. I have them on a couple of mine, and they work great and are a lot of fun:

Frank

I would be afraid of dropping, or even leaning against a tree, that top rifle.

If looking for a cheap dot, I would go with a Holosun 510. I have seen a video of someone shooting birdshot at it and being fine.

 

[KMM696]

I've got a couple milsurp rifles with scout scopes, one of which is that Vortex 2-7x you tried, the other a fixed 2.5x28 Leupold. I liked the fixed power Leupold much better, and agree that something weird is going on with that Vortex. On paper, it should be about the same as the Leupold, especially at the same power, but it just isn't as easy to use. Not terrible, but not as good as the fixed power shot side by side. I found the only time I used the 7x on the zoom Vortex was sighting in, anyway. Not sure if the difference is between fixed and variable, or between Leupold and Vortex, so the next time I scout scope a milsurp it'll have to be the Leupold variable scout just to chase this point down.

With all that said about scouts, the last time I scoped a hunting rifle I put a second focal plane Primary 1-6x with the excellent KISS reticle they used to make on a Zastava M70 Mauser. Love it - sounds like it's their version of the Leupold you settled on, sure you'll have great luck with that, too!

 

[Mark from ?]

For now....until I get everything in......I've decided to throw a red dot from my AK pistol on it. Yes its ugly...but with a hog hunt coming up end of month and me travelling next week....I wanted to get it sighted in.

The reasoning is someone wanted to buy my AK pistol for what i paid for it, even without the optic. So that works for me. The thing about living in a free state is you have to be careful about becoming Jo Jo the circus clown with gun stuff that you haven't been able to buy.

I bought the AK pistol and its loud AF. I now need a suppressor, I now have to stock another round I don't want to, and buy more mags.....etc. I don't feel like funding all that.

I also do a lot of sporting clays and that is my social event so its way more important than a range toy. And it cost money to shoot, reload and keep ammo stocked for that. I also shoot pistols indoor and outdoor once or twice a week. I shoot way more here than I did up north, but it cost more.

The AR will take place in the go bag (LOL), and I already have a ton of ammo and mags for that vs. the AK. And I don't think anyone can argue the Marlin taking a place as a truck gun.

Eventually though, I'll play some games with the Woodsloafer Leupold idea and the regular LPVO idea.....we have pretty good guys at the Sportsmans Warehouse down here and they would probably let me try both and buy the winner.

 

[pinefd]

I would be afraid of dropping, or even leaning against a tree, that top rifle.

If looking for a cheap dot, I would go with a Holosun 510. I have seen a video of someone shooting birdshot at it and being fine.

Yeah, that's just a cheapo $20 sight that I put on there more as a placeholder than anything else, on a gun (45-70) that I don't use too often. It's held up just fine so far and works great, so I haven't bothered to change to anything better yet.


Frank