Scope or no Scope

[powhs]

Me and some of the guys at the Fire house are planning to walk up some hogs this hunting season and I expect most of our shots to be at moving targets. I therefore need to buy a new rifle right. I have been looking for a Marlin .35 rem. and considering if a low power scope would work. What do you think?

[Land_Owner]

You guys planning on just stomping through the woods?  If you stalk instead, and use the wind in your favor, you can get real close to those hogs and not have to take running shots.  I would recommend shots of less than 100 yards with that rifle, and that is achievable with those near sighted beasts.  They hear and can smell very well.  In packs, they are always wary so tread lightly.

A 4x fixed power scope is quite sufficient.  I would also recommend a mono-pod, bi-pod or tripod shooting sticks as a steady rest.  Shoot 'em in the neck and they never take another step.  No chase, no gamy meat taste from all that adrenalin, easier on you.  Use the "X" between the ears and the eye as a target.  The brain is just below the skull cap there.  Even a near miss in that location is devastating and will drop them.

[NYH1]

In the last few years there have been quite a few established wild boar herds popping up in Central New York.  The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as well as the local farmers in the area are pushing hard for hunters to take as many wild boar as possible.  There is no bag limit or season on them in NY.  All you need to hunt them is a hunting licence.  I can't wait to hunt them in the warmer months. 

I have a Marlin 35 Rem.  I'm not that good with iron or peep sights so for anything past 50 yards I use a scope.  I'm going to put a Nikon 2-7x32mm Prostaff Shotgun Scope on it.  I like shotgun scopes for carbine type brush guns, just me.  I won't shoot at anything if I'm not as sure as I can be about a good hit.  I haven't shot at any  moving targets yet.  Not that I wouldn't, just that when I've had the opportunity to do so, I wasn't confident at taking the shoot.

         

[Game_Stalker]

I have a Win 94 in .44 Mag that I bought soley for hogs. I then bought an XS scout mount for it and put a simple Barska Red Dot scope on it. Talk about a lot of fun there. 

[Mikey]

New York Hunter - I would love to find myself somewhere in the central NY region to hunt hog.  Can you provide any insights as to where I might find them or who might know where they could be located.  I have never seen any EnCon information on hogs so I doubt they would have any limits established. 

pohs:  the 35 Remington would be an excellent choice for hog.  A low power scope would also benefit you if you can get close without spooking them into running or hiding.  I use the Bushnell Banner 1.5-4.5x Dawn to Dusk scopes on my 444s and they work extremely well.

If you can find a hog in the open or if you can get a clear shot at a still target, put the slug right behind the head and don't lose any meat.  If they go to ground or find a deadfall to hide under you have to find a hole in the brush to place the slug through.  I have been charged by boar hog coming out of a deadfall and that ain't fun.  However, when they go back into hiding and you can see that leetle teeny tiny spot through the brush right behind the head and know that if you put your crosshairs right there you will have pork steak that night then you know the scope was worth the effort.  They always work for me.  HTH.  Mikey.

[chutesnreloads]

For stalking in thick brush here in Tx.,I like a M-48 mauser with a 2.5x scout scope mounted where the rear sight used to be.I need the scope because these eyes don't focus on the front ,rear sights and target all at the same time.Besides ,with the sling set up on the side rather than the bottom.I can carry it with the sling at full length like I carried an M-60 in the army.You have both hands free to help work through the brush and can shoulder and fire with the sling still around your shoulders.Kinda handy.

[45LCshoooter]

Here is a second endorsement for a Winchester with the XS scope mount. I have a 2-7 power pistol scope on mine with decent sized glass (i keep it on low magnification most of the time). Mine is a Trapper in 45 Colt. At it's lowest setting, it shoots like a red dot (both eyes open, fast pointing) and it is a lightweight set-up.

[bigjeepman]

If you're going to scope that .35 Rem Marlin and as said before, I would go with a Bushnell Banner in 1.5-4.5. I just recently put one on my 336cs Marlin 30-30. I used a one piece Weaver base (#63B) and Weaver Quad Lock Rings. This setup was recommended to me by other Marlin owners and it is all I need. The scope was around $63.00 from Midway at the time and the base/rings came from Walmart for less than $15.00. I had never scoped one of my lever actions before but I got excellent advice from guys that knew what they were talking about.

bjm

[Castaway]

Personally, if hunting close and fast, I prefer open sights, and more specifically, an aperture.  Makes the rifle handy to carry and offers an excellent sight picture.  Even my over 50 eyes can focus on the target using the tang sight I have mounted on my lever gun.

[kevthebassman]

Personally, if hunting close and fast, I prefer open sights, and more specifically, an aperture.  Makes the rifle handy to carry and offers an excellent sight picture.  Even my over 50 eyes can focus on the target using the tang sight I have mounted on my lever gun.

Make that another vote for a peep sight.  With most of them, you can take the aperture out and use the ghost ring for close-in work.

[Castaway]

Towards evening light, I remove the aperture to get more light.  The proper size of the aperture is a function of the size of the pupil.  Low light means a bigger pupil means a bigger hole.  In bright light use a smaller aperture.

[BUTCHER45]

     I was hunting boar last Oct from a treestand and a boar approached within about 12 yards.  Target acquisition with the fixed 4X was more difficult than I liked and I could only make out most of the boars head.  Before I go back in May, I will have a 2X7 instead, and keep it set on 2.

[qajaq59]

I use a 3 x 9 variable scope. But it just sits at 3x all the time for hogs.

[jmayton]

I hunt in central Texas and the shots on hogs can vary a lot.  I shot one in the brush a few weeks ago with a Mosin Nagant with a 2-7 scout scope so close I didn't even have time to raise the gun to my shoulder...she was about 6 feet from the muzzle.  And last year I killed one with a .223 at 280 yards in the open.  Everything I carry on my hog hunts wears a variable power scope.  But, that doesn't mean that it's absolutely necessary, it just allows me the freedom to take a long shot if one presents itself.  If I didn't have those opportunities and hunted in deep brush, then I might not have a scope and just use aperture sights.