Had a question for the Lever Action forum.

I have a pretty nice 30-30 I put together over time. My intent when I built it was to use it for boar and deer hunting at some family property in NY state.

Candidly I don’t do much hunting and when I do I use my  .308.

I have the gun listed for sale but I have a lot of cash into it and if i can’t recoup most of it I’m going to keep it.

Below is a pic of the set up
Attached File


My question is would you guys put on a red dot optic on the scout rail?  If so does anyone have any experience with them and what would you recommend? I was thinking the Bushnel Tar-25 but have no experience with them and don’t know if they hold up to the recoil.

Or  would you use a vari-power optic like a 2x 7?

The overwhelming majority of the hunting with this gun will be under 75 yards.

Thanks for any advise you can give me

At 75 and under a good red dot will be super fast to acquire targets.

I originally had a C-More on my 1895 GS.  Nothing was wrong with the C-More (moved it to another firearm) but my eyes got older and now I use a scope.

It was amazingly fast on target.  Easy to keep both eyes open as there was no magnification.

I'm a big fan of a tang site on a lever gun.   The Marbles standard Tang sight with a Merit #3 or #4 aperture and a Lyman 17AHB front sight gives me 2 MOA accuracy in my lever guns, and doesn't screw up the lines or the handling.

I installed a RMR on my 336Y.  I’ll post photos once the rifle shows up with my house hold goods.

Leupold FX-II 4x33mm (or any quality fixed power)

Most of my hunting is done with a Ruger 77/357 topped with one.
Its a phenomenal optic... light, compact, bright, FAST, wfov, durable, and with more than enough X for proper hits at 75.

I've tried all sorts of variables over the years and always come back to fixed power, they're like an old trusty pocket knife.

Unfortunately you won't be doing any boar hunting in NY- it's illegal.

What type of terrain will you be hunting in?  If your shots fall in 100 yards or less due to dense vegetation then a red dot (or irons) all the way.  If you plan on going farther I'd put a lower powered scope on it.

While I agree with DakotaFAL as I have 2 leverguns with tang sights; a 24" Rossi 357mag and a 24" Uberti 45 Colt,





for his uses, as he already has a rail on his gun, I'd suggest that he look at a compact red dot.  His ranges aren't that far and out to about 200yds, the red dot is very useful and fast.  Something like a Burris FastFire 3, Nikon P-Tactical Spur 3, Vortex Optics Venom Red, etc.  Heck, TruGlo and Weaver make budget priced versions as well.  I like these as they are small and fit on the rail well.  They also might allow the use of the irons through them if the dot fails as they are small and mounted low on the rail.