Sighting in my 30/30

[tncatfishing]

Well I finaly sighted in my marlin 30/30 lever action rifle over the holliday season. First from about 25 yards, then 50, 75 and at 100yards hit the target dead center, must of been luck. I shot off 22 rounds, some just to get use to the gun, it was alittle louder than I thought it was gonna be but no where as loud as my cousins sks. After I got done target praticing I packed up hopped on the 4 wheeler to retrieve my target, look to my right and see 6 doe watching me. After all that racket you would think they wouldn't stick around but they did. Did watch them through my scope, one was of pretty good size and was going to shoot but the direction was towards the other field which has cattle, nothing woulda happened but did not want to chance it. Going to try again this weekend. By the way I have a savage 270 bolt action with bushnell scope coming, what do yall think of this gun.

[centralcalcat]

270 is a good all around calibur I have seen them used on everything form deer to moose, even brown bear if your shot is accurate.

[Bayoubear]

IMO id replace the bushnell with better optics. while bushnell is adequate there are others better. the 270, well, lets just say i have this funny feelin youll be putting the 30-30 up in the gun cabinet and wont be using it again. in no size shape form or fashion is a 30-30 better than the 270.

sell the 30-30, sell the bushnell scope, buy better optics for the 270.

[tncatfishing]

I like the 30/30 cause it is a lever action gun, and fun to shoot. The bushnell scope is not a cheap one, it is a very large diameter scope, I by no means am a scope expert, but the bushnell looks like it will get the job done. My next gun after I get the 270 will either be a 17 magnum rifle or a 12 gauge.

[paleocaver]

Your story is somewhat familiar.

I remember when I got my first .30-.30 (20+ years ago). My grandfather and I went out to sight it in down by the river. After we got through, we turned around and there were 2 does watching us on the road leading in. Guess they were curious.

Scott

[Bayoubear]

yes of course leverguns are fun to shoot, i have one myself in .444 however since you mentioned hunting deer with it that is the context in which my reply was to be taken. in hunting whitetails there is no contest between the two rifles. in every possible dimension the 270 is the better choice. pull up the ballistics tables and compare the two cartridges. the 30-30 is a fine gun and lots of deer killed with it for sure but its a dinosaur whose time has past. there are a vast number of choices available for deer that outperform that old gun hands down. im not saying your gun isnt any good, i am saying other guns are better. once you get your 270 and practice a bit with it im sure youll understand. if for no other reason you triple your killing range over the 30-30. sight the 270 in at 150 yards and from point blank out to 300 yards a heart shot will hit true every time.

bushnell... for the money its an okay scope. a large bell on a scope is not an indicator of quality and in a bushnell it doesnt mean it gathers more light either. ive seen crap at gun shows for fifty bucks that had 53mm bells on them. ive had three bushnells over the years and all eventually had the same problem. when you vary the power of the scope your zero will change. well, one of the defining characteristics of a "good" scope is that this will NOT happen even after years of use. im not saying every bushnell will do this but im batting three for three and thats enough. money wise the lower end leupolds are about the same as the higher end bushnells and IMO a far better deal for the same money.

[tncatfishing]

Well like I said I am no scope expert by a long shot, no pun intended :D . The 30/30 has a simmons scope on it people tell me it is an ok scope. Seems to work pretty well , but I will replace in the futue with one that has better adjustments on it. I have been told that a 30/30 is good out to 150 yards, is this true? I know from talking to people that a 270 will shoot alot further than a 30/30, but would a 270 or 30/30 have more of an impact on a deer from 150yards, don't know if I worded that correctly. I have shot alot of different guns, just haven't owned many, usualy would shoot cousins guns out at a target shoot.

[derbycitycatman]

I have a feeling youll like the added range of the 270 but I wouldnt toss the 30/30 yet. Should be a great woods gun where your shots are inside 100 yards. As for the scope Ive got a Bushnell 4x12 40mm scope on my 30-06, has kept zero for over 4 years. Now my buddies have Leopold and Nikon. Both have been back to the factory at least 3 times each. I think after shipping it cost them another 50$. They both ended up selling their scopes.
Ive had bad luck with the smaller bushnell scopes that come in packages with a rifle, but their bigger scopes have been great so far. Something thats worked for me is, once you get your scope and gun shooting good, leave it alone.

[TDawgNOk]

scopes? What ever happend to OPEN SIGHTS?

[Whistler]

Mark, I have a range right behind the house. If you want you can come over sometime and we'll get em all done. I have a marlin 336C and a .270 as well. Gonna be zeroing my friend Bob's new muzzleloader sometime in the next few weeks. You're welcome to join us. LOL

[Whistler]

Tony, why would you want to shoot with open sights? LOL Scopes are just a bit more accurate if they are zeroed properly and if you're hunting you're a bit more assured of a clean kill, which is important to me. I will say though that open sight shooting is fun. Still gotta zero though. Even my .22 has a 3X9X40 scope on it. LOL Poor squirrels!!LOL

[CoonX]

Actually on a woods gun, why a scope but a red dot sight.
Don't have to worry about parralex.
Don't have to worry about finding the deer in the scope.
Don't have to worry about lineing up front and back sights.

Will

[Whistler]

One word........dollars. LOL

[Bayoubear]

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/comparative_ballistics_results.aspx?data=R30301*R2 70W4

here is a link to remingtons ballistics tables in which i compared the 150 grain core lokt bullets in both the 30-30 and 270. i used the same weights for the test but hunt with the 130 grain 270. run those numbers yourself for an even dramatic difference. as you can clearly see the 270 is drastically better all the way down the line. in "gun nut" speak we say "the numbers are better" meaning the figures from ballistics tables.

mr. Tdawg sir,,, you have a good point and my 444 has opens on it however the reason for scopes on these short range rifles is it provides five to ten minutes of shooting time at dawn and dusk. it can be too dark to draw a bead but light enough to responsibly harvest a deer no matter how much day glo paint is on your sights.

150 yards is arguably too far for a 30-30. my limit with one is 100 yards. yes you can kill at that range but its just in my opinion not ethically responsible.

300 yards with a 270 is no problem provided your shooting skills are sharp. with the lighter factory loads even 350 is certainly possible but be realistic in your own evaluation of skill in taking long shots. practice...practice...practice at those ranges long before deer season starts. what i do is to set up targets in the summertime off of my deer stands in my kill zones and practice that way, not just from a bench at the range. i normally discourage long distance shots but believe i put in the practice time and have the skill to humanely harvest the deer.

your question about take down power comparing the two is answered by the ballistics tables i provided the link for.

hope this helps and good luck with the new rifle.

[Bayoubear]

hey will?

you mentioned finding the deer in the scope...

heres a tip my daddy taught me as a kid to fix this problem and it works.

of course ya have to start out with the scope properly mounted to you on your rifle.

pull the bolt out or remove magazine, just be positive the thing cant fire.

put something tiny on top of your television. like a marble. while watching tv over and over again raise up on the marble. here's the thing. look at the marble and simply raise up the rifle keeping both eyes open. this is a motor skill and takes repetitive practice. you will feel silly doing this but it works.

you can even do this in the deer stand at stuff off in the distance.

what eventually happens is your body re-learns how to raise up the rifle. you never raise and find target, you find target then raise up and by doing this you never lose sight of the deer. in other words... you put the scope to your eye and not your eye to the scope.

where this technique will really pay off is on a moving target.

[Whistler]

150 yards is arguably too far for a 30-30. my limit with one is 100 yards. yes you can kill at that range but its just in my opinion not ethically responsible

Geez Chad, you're really down on the 30-30 aren't you? I think everyone who is gonna hunt should have to start out with one. I hunted for many years with one. I'll tell you what, I could consistently bullseye a target at 150 measured yards with mine. That old fashioned rifle will teach anyone that has a sincere desire to be a skilled shooter how to shoot. It will teach you how to learn and use ballistics, trajectory, proper range finding skills and a whole bunch of other skills that I think should be mandatory for big game hunting. It is no match for a .270 or any other modern cartridge that's true. But in it's own right it's a great firearm for hunting deer. In my opinion if you take a 300 yard shot at a deer, you're not really being ethical anyway. At 300 yards even if you're the best there is you're still taking an unnecessary chance at wounding an animal. I'm not saying you can't do it. Not at all. I used to practice with a 30-06 at 250 yards all the time on the personal weapon range at Fort Carson. You do it enough and you get pretty good at it. But at those ranges it doesn't take much of a mistake to ruin a shot. The 30-30 is a great rifle for deer hunting in my opinon, especially around here in fairly thick forests like we have. I hunt with a Ruger M77 .270 myself, so I'm not putting that one down at all. But to say the 30-30 isn't an ethical hunting weapon isn't being real fair to a gun that's been around for a very long time and has probably killed more deer than any other caliber. In the right hands it's as accurate within it's ranges as any other rifle out there. This is just my opinion, but there's still enough of them in use today that I'm most likely not the only one that thinks this way.

[derbycitycatman]

Ive got a red dot scope and so far I dont like em. Always having to change batteries and having extra on hand while hunting is too much to worry about. I used to hunt open sights but the scope is much better for me. Extra shooting time as well as seeing just how big or small that deer is. Also with a good scope you can check out your targets without a spotting scope or running to check your target.

[Bayoubear]

bryan, youre absolutely right on 90% of that and the remaining ten percent is a difference of opinion only. the old 30-30 is an excellent starter gun for the reasons you listed for sure however.... to reply to the original posters questions i stand by my 100 yard comment. not knowing and understanding the numbers of this cartridge and with only basically one box shot thru it i do not see anything over 100 yards a good shot choice. practice and learn then yes the 150 yarder is fine but anything over that no way. too much energy is lost and the trajectory is that of an artillery shell. bryan youre right i dont like the 30-30 is why i now have a 444 instead. if hunting a stand with shots over 100 yards why take the 30-30 anyway? ive had to help track others deer too many times shot too far with a 30-30. in practiced hands IMO 150 yards is the max. handloads notwithstanding of course but thats a whole nother thread.

the longer shots with modern calibers?
im 35 years old, been hunting since i was old enough to carry a gun and in all that time ive shot one deer i couldnt find. (80 yards with a slug) out of a lifetime of 90 to 100 deer id say thats pretty good. i shoot year round, practice from my stands as well as the range and used to shoot some benchrest competition. im fully aware that many are not capable of the accuracy that some us are and whenever i post about long shots i try to always mention how much i practice and how important it is to burn powder on a consistent basis. i do not take long distance offhand shots and most of my stands are permanent boxes with benchrests built into them. bear in mind too that feeders and corn is legal here in louisiana so most shots are at deer standing still eating while broadside to me.

that all being said,
bryan i do realize something while ive been typing this and that is that while myself and others here do have the skill, ability, and conditions to routinely make shots in the 300 range there are others that lack such experience and seeing it discussed so commonly may encourage those that shouldnt to do so.
ill attempt to discourage such practice unless the thread specifically involves it. (see my 30-378 wby mag thread under guns)

truce?
hahahahahha

[Whistler]

Yep, that's a good post I think we said just about the same thing, just in different ways. LOL Doesn't matter what caliber you use, you have to know how it works to be safe and effective with it.

[cook]

For all of you getting rid of your ancient,old fashion 30-30's,I will pay shipping if you want me to "dispose" them for you.:)

[bigfatcat]

i use a bushnell 4x 32mm on my muzzleloader and its been on target for two years and its on my muzzleloader that can reach out to 100 if it had to

[Bayoubear]

bushnell:

before i get sued by bushnell let me say this. ive owned three, ive had three go bad. all three eventually lost zero when changing power and one also fogged up and never got clear. my best cheap scope is a redfield, ive one that works great and ive had one that went bad. for something close range IMHO id go with a fixed power scope. muzzleloader, 30-30, etc etc and if i put one on my 444 will be a fixed too. if not a fixed then id suggest finding a zero and do not change the power setting. on a short range gun you dont need it anyway.

i base my comments on bushnell scopes based upon personal field experience with them and the performance i expect from my optics. out of three bushnell scopes i could not consistently obtain sub-MOA groups at 300. (using handloads, factory ammo cant do this anyway) the best way to make this point here is that if one doesnt know what that means... then a bushnell scope is fine but if it does matter... the go with a leupold vx3, swarovski, or zeiss. you can zero even the cheapest wal mart tasco scope but will it hold the zero over time? have you ever been absolutely sure your rifle was perfect zero only to gut shoot a deer at 100 yards? so what you can shoot sub minute groups? if the rifle cant be put in its case and taken out hunting and still shoot the same then what good is the scope? oh, and i do have a bad Leo, somewhere in a cabinet at the camp??? nothings perfect



any system is only as good as its weakest component. use quality ammo in a well made and clean firearm with good optics... the rest is up to the shooter.

[gofish]

For all of you getting rid of your ancient,old fashion 30-30's,I will pay shipping if you want me to "dispose" them for you.:)




AMEN! :thumbsup:

If you run out of places to put them, I have some storage space...LOL

[derbycitycatman]

I would much rather pay $50 for something thats not perfect than pay $300 for something that aint perfect. But thats just me. I do gotta agree though that the best bet for most hunting situations is a fixed power scope or just leave your scope alone once its zeroed. Im looking for a fixed power scope for my muzzleloader now that my Tasco has crapped out on me. If you want to talk bad scopes, tasco is it. It came with my muzzleloader.

Besides dont Leo and Bushnell have lifetime warranty's. Ill send my $50 scope away while someone else sends their $300 scope away. Like you said, "Nothings Perfect". If I have to send my scope away once every five years for the rest of my life, that $50 was money well spent.

I look at it like this. My $250 savage shoots just as well as any $1000 rifle straight from the factory. My $50 bushnell scope kills deer just as well and at long ranges as any $300 scope. So what good does it do to spend all that extra money?

And Oh Yeah, if there are any old decrepit homeless 30/30's I will give them a loving home where they will be used for a long long time. :D

[Bayoubear]

point well taken, yhea nothings perfect however my zeiss has never messed up and ive yet to afford a swarovski but thats next on my list. of the zeiss and swarv. ive never heard a complaint amongst those i know that have them.

keep in mind too that only a small percentage of shooters even care about sub-minute differences in groups. another consideration is location. here in louisiana it can be 30 degrees at sunrise and 75 at sunset, 99 percent humidity and may or may not be raining during deer season. with such weather extremes quality optics are crucial. yes im sure that to some degree one pays for a name brand however in the higher cost of some scopes the machining standards of the parts is also important. high performance parts wont make anyone a better shooter but a better shooter can certainly benefit from such. i like my equipment to be as accurate as possible leaving little room for error. if i miss a ten point buck at 300 yards i want it to be cause i missed it, me messed up, hey, it happens to us all, but not due to bad equipment,,, to me this is unacceptable.

transfer this line of thinking to the range... with an 'okay' rifle and an 'okay' scope and factory ammo... not counting the occasional flyer a three inch group at a hundred is about as good as its going to get on average burning up a few boxes. this is perfectly acceptable for shorter range stuff but take it out another hundred yards and see what happens, ditto out to three hundred. kinda discouraging in shooting practice when you cant keep it in the ten ring.
not to mention a fifty dollar bottle of scotch riding on a five shot group. range conditions are ideal, a deer stand is not. that deer one is about to shoot is fixing to give its life for someone's supper table. my own personal ethos is for me to do everything i possibly can to ensure that the first bullet is the only bullet and the animal will be dead before it drops to the ground.

this is my entire justification for not liking the 30-30 or cheap optics. yhea they work, yhea they kill deer, but i demand more efficient consistent performance under the conditions upon which i harvest my deer. im certainly not trying to sound elitist or to make any of you feel inferior for your own personal choices. i hunt in harsh conditions, i take very long shots, and im anal about accuracy. it is certainly not my intent to offend anyone at all, am simply trying to pass along a bit of info ive learned the hard way that may save someone a little bit of grief down the road.

peace.....

[dafin]

Haveing hunted a few yrs (some where over 50) I will say that sub MOA groups are something that are not necessary . Groups of ONE are what is important. If it takes more than one shot to hit what you are shooting at you need more practice before hunting. Practice shooting with out a bench . If you are going to hunt in the west you won't have a shooting box to hunt out of.
As for what cal to hunt with use what you can shoot with out flinching .

[derbycitycatman]

I reload my own shells now, and I dont consider a savage an okay rifle. Just cause it costs less than weatherby, remington, or others doesnt mean a thing. In fact ive read many magazines that the savage is the most accurate rifle out of the box. Which is why I bought a savage. If you want a more accurate rifle I would say you need to have one custom made.IMO

Your dead on about the factory ammo. But even factory ammo should be able to give you better than 3in groups at 100yds, or at least mine did.

I guess youve never hunted in Kentucky. Our conditions arent always the greatest either. It can be snowing in the morning and 70 and swimming weather by 3pm during deer season. Dont get me started about humidity in the Ohio River Valley. The buck in my avatar was taken in November and was at least 70 degrees out. Next day was below freezing.

I get your thoughts alot from the local gun range, when I used to go. But if I want to shoot long range I want longer than 300yds. Ive shot at distances of 600-800 yards with my 30-06 that were in 4-5in groups with handloads. Though I would never try to take a deer any longer than 200-250yds. Shooting from a benchrest doesnt help when your tracking a deer and have a 80 yard off hand shot. For my hunting conditions its best to not rely on a rest.

If I ever bought one of those fancy scopes that cost more than my gun I would be scared to hunt with it. Just imagining my $1000 Swaz. scope getting the lens scratched would give me a heart attack. I think theres fancy gun range equipment and then theres rugged hunting equipment. Each has its time and place. Im not trying to say bushnell is the greatest scope ever made, Ive had the smaller one that came with my gun crap out on me. The 4x12 is still going after 4 years of shooting and hunting. You dont have to spend the most to have a reliable weapon.

[bigfatcat]

where i hunt it rains alot ive hunted plenty of times with my bushnell in the rain and it has not fogged up once and it still on target from the first deer i killed this year to the 5th deer ive killed this year so i dont see how buying a 300 doller scope helps in the rain or differnt tempatures becuase my 60 doller scope works fine in both of those conditions and i only go with fixed power i dont like the fixed powers they get off target if you switch it

[tncatfishing]

Well when I finaly did get my scope sighted in on my outdated 30/30 it shot alot better than 3 inch groups at 100 yards, maybe I don't know what I am doing. So if a rifle that is fairly accurate to 150 yards a 30/30 for instance but is said to be outdated or not as good as a 270 that shoots 300 yards or more, than would a 270 be considered out dated when compared to a sniper rifle that is capable of shooting considerably farther. I may be over stating things, but I believe to each his own. I mean awhile back I watched a hunting show where they were hunting dear with a 44 magnum with a scope :confused:

[tncatfishing]

Hey whistler I will take you up on the invite, let me know when you might be sighting in some guns maybe I will have my savage 270 by then.

[Whistler]

Mark,I think we're gonna try it this coming weekend. I'll let you know by Thursday.

[tncatfishing]

Ok , thanks a bunch.

[klemsontigers7]

I don't see how you can say that the .270 is better than the 30/30 in all categories. The 30/30's ballistic tables don't compare to the .270 on long range, but out to 150 or 200 yards they are pretty close. Here's the charts for a 150 grain Core Lokt bullet out of both guns. With the 30/30 sighted in dead on at 100 yards, it will drop 2.4 inches at 150 yards, and 7.6 inches at 200 yards. The .270 sighted in dead on at 150 yards, it will drop 2.4 inches at 200 yards. With the 30/30 sighted in dead on at 150 yards, it will hit 4.3 inches low at 200 yards, only 1.9 inches lower than the .270. Since you have both guns, I'm sure you will want to use both because the 30/30 is such a good gun for hunting in the woods, because you can shoot through brush. If the .270 bullet hits anything, and i mean anything, the bullet will fragment since it is travelling so fast. Use both and you'll be happy.

[centralcalcat]

Bushnell is a good scope for the money, especially down here in the lower 48 states where you are not dealing with weather and extended stays in the field do not happen a lot (by extended I mean a week or more with no raod and no people to assist you if you get in trouble) Then Bushnell is not a bad way to go.

When I hunted ALaska where weather changes quickly and our hunting trip often meant being dropped in the woods by a float plane then being picked up 9-12 days later i stuck with Leupold for my optics and never had to worry.

[tncatfishing]

What about a simmons scope, are they worth a darn? Just curious as to what yall think.

[Bayoubear]

I don't see how you can say that the .270 is better than the 30/30 in all categories. Use both and you'll be happy.

i compd the 150 grains in each for simplicity in the post, reaslistically the 130 grain or lighter is the real-world primary hunting choice. those numbers significantly better.

of the three main parameters bullet drop perhaps the least indicative of performance. velocity and energy being the better judge for which these two calibers arent even in the same league. read the fine print before quoting my own posts back to me to contradict my point.

the original post had a valid question which myself and others tried to answer as best we could. this thread has a lot of good info in it but has turned into a petty argument which ive grown weary of. we all have our own opinions and ideas, some based upon experience and fact some based on less. me, personally, chad, dont like the 30-30 for reasons ive made clear. ive owned one, ive killed deer with one, but prefer other calibers. ive a 270 too and same same. i prefer a 444 for heavy brush close range and an '06 or a 300 winmag as a primary. nothin to do with nothin.

what makes the BOC so cool is that between all of us brothers here a question gets answered by many people with different ideas. take the data given and boil it down,,, im tired of repeating myself here in that my post is my opinion and why. becasue some here own 30-30's with bushnell scopes thats great. more power to you. i like something else. trying to give someone an alternative viewpoint or experience based information to use in forming their own decisions was and is and wont be an attempt to start an argument. look at all sides of the coin and form own opinions.

[Whistler]

My scope of choice is a Bushnell Dusk to Dawn 3x9x40. Gathers light like an expensive scope and costs about 100 bucks. It holds it's zero well and I can drive tacks with it on my Ruger .270 and have been for about 10 years with it. Bottom line here is does it work for you? If so then that's what's important. I have a Simmons Deerfield scope on my 30-30. Cost me 39 bucks I think, same scope was on my Hawken. I've killed many deer with them. I have a friend that had to own a Browning rifle because it was a far superior rifle. That may be, but he kills about the same number of deer each year now as he did with his Remington 700. The gun is a tool. The user is what makes it work. Doesn't matter if it's an expensive rifle or a bargain priced no frills rifle. If it's zeroed and used by a skilled shooter it will do the exact same job for just as long IF it's taken care of properly. Like Bayoubear says: "Do what works for you and stick with it". At least that's my interpretation of his words. LOL Experience and knowlege come with time. Trial and error is what teaches. I'm a pratical person I guess. If I can spend less and achieve the same end results, then I'm happy. Someone said that the 30-30 is a great brush gun. I read an article one time by a very well-known gun expert who's name escapes me right now. He did many, many tests on just about all calibers for Field and Stream. His findings about shooting through brush were surprising to say the least. According to what he did there really isn't a good caliber for shooting through brush. The 30-30 deflected just as easily as the 30-06 or 7mm Mag. What makes the old 30-30 a great brush gun is that it's short, easy to carry and use in tight areas. That's what he says anyway.

[gofish]

What about a simmons scope, are they worth a darn? Just curious as to what yall think.


I have a Simmons 2.5 X 10 X 50 on my .270. I like it a lot. I've had it for a few years and haven't had any trouble out of it. I don't do a whole lot of long range shooting and I don't have much to compare it to. I will say that I can hit what I'm aiming at when it's 200 yards or less away. I have a 3 X 9 X 40 Charles Dailey on my muzzle loader and I don't really like it all that much. It gets the job done but I think the Simmons gives a clearer picture and better eye relief.

I have a Bushnell 4 X 32 on my 30-30 and also on my .22. They have been through hell! Banged and dropped and carried through mud and water and....well, used. IMO, they are one of the best cheap reliable scopes you can buy. I can also shoot better than 3-4 inch groups at 100 yards with factory ammo with my 30-30 set up. I will agree that somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 yards should be the max for the 30-30 unless you are intimately familiar with your weapon and the load. I say that because the bullet can be effective beyond that but you have to know what you are doing.

I don't want to argue with anyone but I will continue to use my 30-30 for many years to come. For shots of 100 yards or less, it's tops in my book. The small, light weight of the lever gun is a joy to carry around and it's just plain fun to shoot. The bullets are cheap. The recoil is minimal. And the 30-30 probably has killed more deer than all of the other calibers combined. Not the best gun for all situations but excellent in it's place. I think I'll keep mine. :cool:

[gofish]

LOL

Bryan, did we just say the same thing at the same time? :p

[centralcalcat]

Gear whether it be fishing or hunting bears down to one thing what works for you. If you shoot a Bushnell scope and have for years without having issues then by all means stick by it same goes with anything for that matter. Some people have bad expieriences with certain brands and won't touch them again. I am like that with speer bullets Bayoubear has had issues with Bushnell, so I am sure that he won't touch them again.

Use what you are ocmfertable with and what works for you in your situation.

[Whistler]

Isn't the first time Joe!! LOL Probably won't be the last either. LOL

[gofish]

This is true!

Great minds....?

[Bayoubear]

about the three inches at 100 comment... notice i mentioned boxes, plural case. at 20 rounds per box, a couple or few boxes shot at the range with factory ammo... that 3 inch comment accounts for normal trajectory deviation from factory loads after many shots on average. the rare six inch "flyer" stray round not withstanding. with a sighted in rifle, clean condition, decent factory ammo, inch and a half groups are expected, one inch ideal.

[solomon]

I have to agree with the "go with what works for you". I have an old model .30 marlin with a cheap tasco scope and a ruger .270 with a leupold 3.5-10x50. Both guns are very functional to me. Killed a deer last weekend with the .270 over a long range out in the open. Perfect gun for that. Deer hit the ground and didn't get up. On the other hand, I primarily hunt in the woods. I wouldn't take anything for the marlin in the woods within a 80 yard or so range. It's a real brush buster. Shoot Core-Lok 175 grain bullets in the marlin. It's never let me down within its limits, not to mention it's short and light, and much easier to travel in the woods with than the .270.