Red dot on a Marlin 336, compromise?

[dak0ta]

Hi,

My Marlin 336 came with a fixed 4x tasco scope. It was alright, but it was heavy and bulky, and I couldn't carry the rifle at it's balance point (receiver). I played with the idea of getting Skinner, XS, Williams GRS, but I can't see them in the dark, dusk. So, I am thinking of plopping a Bushnell TRS-25 on which will be good for close-150 yard engagements on deer in forested parts of the Pacific NW. Does this sound like it would work? I feel it's a compromise between the fast handling of GRS, but you also get some of the benefits of an optic. Thoughts?

Pictures I pulled from the web:

 

[Abel]

How does a 4x scope keep you from carrying at the receiver? Do you mean that you can't wrap your hand over the top? I have a 2-7x32mm scope on my 336 and I carry it at the receiver, on the bottom side. I would never trade in my scope for a red dot.

 

[greyling22]

I'm falling less and less in love with red dots the longer I use them. on all guns. Maybe it's something with my eyes, but they tend to be fuzzy and always have parallax issues. I wish they would make a super compact 2x scope. In the meantime I really like the peep sights with a fiber optic front post. I have no buisness shooting in the dark.

 

[Dr. A]

I've been hunting with Marlins for most of my life, and have never worried about the balance point being taken by the scope. I guess I have a large hand. The red dot's are great for some folks, but count me in on preferring a scope. Our shots get out way to far for me to trust myself to shot placement without magnification. Your needs are definitely different.


Shot at 175 yards


Shot at 290 yards.

The last two animals I shot were both when it was getting close to evening, and the scope enabled me to make the shots right where I aimed, and with greater confidence. I use a simple 2-7X Leupold. The 308 Marlin I shoot was meant for longer distance shooting.

 

[dak0ta]

Alright, I'll keep the 4x Tasco on, rather not spend more money.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Red dots are great for close in and shooting steel.. not really a precision instrument. I used a 2-7x on my 30-30 forever. Left it on 4 x most of the time.

 

[TexAg]

I tried a couple of different scopes on my 336 and found they made the gun much more awkward handling than say my Model 7 with a scope (or just about any scoped bolt gun I had). Without a scope I love the way a 336 carries and handles, but I'm not too great with the stock irons, so I added a Fastfire II and love it. Seems much more precise than the irons, better in darker conditions, plenty bright in daylight and so light that it doesn't change the handling at all.

 

[TexAg]

Almost forgot, I only count on using it for 150 yds and closer. I've got other scoped guns with cartridges that have a flatter trajectory for other uses.

 

[jmr40]

I've found that a 1-4X or 2-7X is a much better choice depnding on the rifle. A 1-4X weighs around 8 oz and would be my choice on a 30-30. On 1X they are just as fast as a dot sight and on 4X offer all the magnification a 30-30 will ever need.

Another positive is that a scope helps in low light much better than a dot sight. You can see the dot in low light, but not the target.