Early Season Woods Rifle

[airedale]

When one starts to get a little age on them you tend to start looking and thinking light weight. I picked up this little Marlin 44mag a few years ago, it has the 16 1/2 inch ported barrel. It is amazingly accurate with some ammo I purchased about 20yrs ago put out by an outfit called Top Notch. 300 gr Noslers that will all group touching at fifty yards. I had a Williams receiver sight on it and I had no problem putting them in there on target in decent daylight. But I had it out hunting a couple of years ago and had a doe meandering around in front of me at about sixty yards when the daylight was fading early with all the leaves still on the trees. With no intention of shooting I lined her up in the sights and had a very hard time seeing her clear enough where I would take a shot. If that had been the big one in her place I would have been in trouble.

 

Now I really loved that receiver sight because it contributed to the overall handiness of the rifle but I had to get real, I knew that I needed a scope in the above conditions. So keeping with the theme of the rifle I looked up the lightest most compact scope that Leupold makes and found their Vari 2 2,5 lightweight. I also got some quick detachable Leupold rings and got this gun set up right I think and hopefully will get a chance to try her out and kill one this coming fall.

 

Al

 

Edited March 10, 2016 by airedale

[Pygmy]

Sweet little rig, Airedale..

 

I like aperture sights  too,  but I have noticed that they are tough to see through in low light.  When I hunt my Garand with the issue battle sights I have to give up some prime time at dawn and dusk, especially in the hemlocks.

 

That short, light, low power Leupy should be just the ticket  on your carbine !

[hunter]

yeah, I had a similar experience with my Marlin in .41mag. Put a peep sight on and had to switch to a low power scope too. Still haven't taken any game with it but maybe this year. Good luck.

[thphtm]

Bought a Marlin  336  in 30 -30 ,with a scope mounted on it this year. the old eyes are not as good as they were 60 + years ago.

[airedale]

That little Leupold really makes this rig right, it fits the gun, it does not weigh hardly anything and has huge eye relief and nice big field of view. I picked it up used on ebay and saved $70, from the looks I do not think it was ever mounted. That being said I still liked that receiver sight an awful lot.

 

Al

[grampy]

I like the looks of that scope on that gun! Very cool! And functional too. Win - Win!

[airedale]

Thanks for the compliments guys, one more thing I can't wait to give those Leupold quick detachable rings a try to see how they hold zero. Always used conventional type rings this is my first set of this kind and I have always wondered how well they would work.

 

Al

Edited March 10, 2016 by airedale

[MACHINIST]

I am super jealous!!!!! I have always wanted a short trapper 44 mag.When I do see them for sale I'm not in the position to buy one.Nice rig!!

 

[BizCT]

Cool gun. When I went mt lion hunting in Arizona I carried a trapper 44mag. Thing was so old the stock was taped up and you had to hold the lever a certain way just to get the gun to fire! Cool nonetheless, and perfect for carrying around.

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[NFA-ADK]

Great setup for long hikes and still hunting thick woods.  Good luck with it! 

[Lawdwaz]

Great little scope there.........one thing to remember though, that scope has a 20mm objective.  Certainly much better in low light than a peep sight but it'll still lag behind a 27mm 2x7 or 33mm, 40 mm or even a (I detest them) 50mm 3x9. 

 

On my Sako 375 H&H I have a Leupold Varix III 1.5x5 with a 20mm objective.  Like your scope it is a wonderful addition but just not super bright in the lowest of light conditions.

 

Enjoy your new glass!

 

 

[DirtTime]

Looks like a great set-up. Hope you knock down a brute this fall with it.

[GreeneHunter]

Love Levers ...... that's all I can say !

[Jaeger]

Great little rig there airedale!

 

I have a similar set up with a Puma/Rossi '92 lever in 454 Casull in the 16" bbl. with a peep fitted into the bolt.

 

Very fast, accurate, handy and light.  I do have a factory fire-sight on the front so that helps a little in the dim/dusk but not as much as one would think.

 

The fire sights are brilliant and glowing in direct light but dull down to plain black in the dim light.

 

I may have to follow your lead, but my '92 would require a "scout" scope type mount and I've tried that on other guns and don't like it, ugly to boot.

 

So for the heavy woods and dark I'll use the tikka compact lite with the 20" at abt. 7lbs scoped.

 

Big advantage to Marlins and later '94's, the ability to add a scope when needed.

 

Hope you get (to see!!) a big one with the modified rig!!

[nyantler]

I love the Marlin rifles... that one is a dandy! I carry a New England Arms "Handy Rifle" 30-06 which is barely 36" from butt to barrel end. Great for big woods hunting if you don't mind a single shot...

[Buckmaster7600]

Be careful with pistol cartridge carbines if you have 2 in the safe they have been known to breed like rabbits and before you know if you end up with a collection like mine!

From top down

Henry big loop carbine 44mag

Rossi 454 carbine

JM marlin 44mag

Ruger carbine 44mag

Ruger carbine 44 mag

Ruger 77/44

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[dbHunterNY]

Winchester Model 94 chambered in 30/30 Win with side mounted tasco 3-9x30 scope.  setup hasn't changed in 40 years, as my dad used it at 16 and then my brother and I after that.  I did add a hammer extension back when I was 16 and used it.  hasn't changed in as long.
 

nice gun airdale.

 

[Larry]

I love my marlin I shoot the 44’s big brother the 444 marlin. The gun shoots anything I put though it from 180’s to 300’s. But I’ve settle on the Hornady 265 fp I think it’s the best bullet out to 150yd’s. The thing is a bone crusher.

[NYBuckHunter27]

If you dont mind me asking, how much did the scope and rings cost you? everyone seems very pleased with Leupold products.

[airedale]

The scope normally sells for around $270 the rings can be found on Amazon for just under $60. I purchased the scope off ebay for $200 used. You will never go wrong with Leupold products, the scopes have a lifetime guarantee, even if you buy a used one you are covered.

 

Al

[airedale]

I finally got around to sight the little Marlin 44 mag in with the same 300 gr Noslers used with the receiver sight. Bore sighted first and was shooting low, walked them up to center and she grouped about the same as with the receiver sight. The thing is the scope will work for my eyes in dim-low lighting conditions where the receiver sight was very poor in getting a sight picture, really pleased with the 2.5 Leupold compact scope, field of view, eye clearance and clear sight picture are superb.

Also the Leupold quick release rings which are a first for me work very well, took the scope off twice and fired a shot and both printed right back to the point of aim. So if the scope ever happened to fail which I highly doubt because it is a "Leupold", I still do have the open sights to fall back on. It will not be long before I will give her an early season try where most shots would be well under 100 yards.

50 yards

Edited September 26, 2016 by airedale

[wildcat junkie]

On 3/11/2016 at 4:43 PM, airedale said:

The scope normally sells for around $270 the rings can be found on Amazon for just under $60. I purchased the scope off ebay for $200 used. You will never go wrong with Leupold products, the scopes have a lifetime guarantee, even if you buy a used one you are covered.

 

Al

There's no risk buying a "used" Leupold scope. They will warranty is it no matter how or where you bought it.

Rugar also has a similar warranty on their firearms.

[Lawdwaz]

21 hours ago, wildcat junkie said:

There's no risk buying a "used" Leupold scope. They will warranty is it no matter how or where you bought it.

Just make sure it isn't a counterfeit.........seems to me I've seen some people make mention that eBay has had some listed in the past couple years. 

Other than that, I'm 110% in agreement.

[airedale]

An update on the little Marlin 44 mag, drew a 6K DMP this year and on my second day out got it filled with an average Doe. Everything went pretty much as expected, a 60 yard shot with the 300 grain HP Noslers, one behind the front shoulder, a couple of jumps and down, the Nosler made a complete pass through causing severe internal damage. 

Spent the rest of the season trying to kill a pretty nice Buck hanging in the same area with another rifle I have not had the chance to take anything with yet, my Dad's old Winchester 88 284. No luck getting a shot at that guy, he is a smart one that lays low during the daylight hours, maybe next year. 

Al