Marlin 30AS setup

Yes, a very good deal. I see them in the $350 neighborhood give or take. Very good rifle and I think mechanically the same as a Model 336 in lesser grade wood.

I generally don't scope my lever guns like that but when I use a scope on my 444 Marlin I like a fixed 4X40 scope. I have a Leupold I use on my gun. Just a me thing not being into the dot scopes.

As to mounts? Depends on what you want to spend. Less expensive a Weaver base and maybe you could get by with the see through type mounts, not sure on that note and could well be wrong. Hopefully someone else has a thought.

Ron

I wouldn't use see through mounts. Levers have a lot of drop in the stock, desgned for irons. Once you mount a scope that high you have to raise your cheek well off the stock to even see through the scope. It is almost impossible to see the irons looking through the small tunnel under the scope so you end up with the worst of both irons and a scope.

Good quality peeps are a good option, but they do nothing to aid you shooting in low light. They are a little easier to fine tune when zeroing, but I don't find them much more accurate than the factory sights.

A decent red dot is not bad. Most dots are so large that any accuracy beyond 50 yards is difficult because the dot covers so much of the target. Many of the less expensive ones don't hold up well, are difficult to zero because their adjustments are so crude, and don't hold zero well after you get them zeroed. The cheapest one I've found that actually works well is the Vortex SPARC @ $200. About the same as Leupold VX-1 scope, which I'd trust much more.

I generally don't like a lever scoped, but a good scope is a much better sight for any use, close or far. Most think that just because they are shooting at close range they don't need a scope. A scopes greatest advantage is allowing you to see your target clearly in poor light where your naked eye would see nothing. This is more important at 30 yards in thick woods right at sundown than at 300 yards in good light.

I'd either use the irons that come on the gun, or mount a low powered 1-4X or 2-7X scope as low as possible. I'd use Weaver type rings and bases that come off quickly with a multi-tool screwdriver. If you need to access the irons the scope can easily come off in the field in seconds.

See thru mounts suck. Get a peep sight or get a scope. A 2-7x32mm would be perfect. I am not sure about red dot scopes; I know nothing about them.

$200 is a great price for that rifle.

30 AS Marlin

I inherited my 30 AS Marlin 10 yrs. ago from an uncle. It's the economy version 336 made for mass marketers like Wal Mart, K Mart, etc. Plain wood, no checkering, cheap looking iron sights all keep the cost down. But it's still a 336 and mine shoots as good as any 336 I've seen. You got a sweet deal if it's as nice as described. I put a Weaver base on mine and a Leupold 1-4x in Weaver rings on and it's a darn nice woods gun. I'd go for an aperture sight if you didn't want a scope on it. No way would I get caught with see-thru mounts. The Var-x II Leupold 1-4x 20mm works well because it's small and light, has a very good field of view and excellent optics. I don't like lever guns with bigger scopes because to my eye they look out of proportion. Also put studs on for a sling but I forgot who makes them. One clamps on the mag tube and the other screws into the buttstock.

I like Skinner's peeps, but I think with the 30AS, with the dovetail cut in the barrel, you will need a taller front sight.

If you want peeps and a red dot, what about the XS rail? I don't care for the look, but it will give irons and platform for a red dot or scout scope. Once again, I think you will need a taller front sight.

When Marlin made a "bargain" brand rifle, their own Glenfield line, or house brands for Sears, Western Auto, WalMart, KMart, etc., they used less expensive stock wood, sights, external finish. But inside, they were all Marlins. $200 for a Marlin 30AS in good shape is not a bad price.

While I am not a fan of see thru's they do give you an extra advantage if needed. A inexpensive 3-9x40 scope works great. I leave mine set to 75 yards at 3x.

Jim

While I am not a fan of see thru's they do give you an extra advantage if needed.

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What advantage would that be? The advantage of, in a split second's time you have to decide if you want to hold your head up high and look through the scope or if you want to try and look under (?) the scope and see the irons, which you may or may not have bothered to adjust before the see-thru mounts and "inexpensive" 3-9x40mm were attached.

See through mounts, I am convinced, are a product of crap scopes. People mount some BS mickey mouse scope and because in the back of their mind they know its junk, the rifle gets a back-up plan installed in the form of these mounts that you see through.

But, that's just a theory.

Smoking deal, you should buy the guy a coffee or something.

You might shoot what you have a bit before deciding to make changes.
I have a similar Marlin rifle that I bought last year. Intend to put an XS Ghost Ring peep on it so it matches my other lever rifles but haven't done so yet. My son likes the scope with the see through mount so I might leave it on long enough for him to hunt deer with it once.