Author Topic: Scoping my 39  (Read 596 times)

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Offline pathfinder

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Scoping my 39
« on: April 17, 2005, 12:43:32 PM »
Hello,
I have just purchased a new to me Marlin 39 and as much as I hate to scope a pretty lever gun my eyes require it.

I'm looking for:
-compact & lightweight
-enough eye relief I don't have to mount the scope way back over the hammer or slide my cheek forward unnaturally.
-Targets will be from 10 meters, 50 feet and 50 meters mostly with the occasional gong ringing out to 100-200 meters.
-Quality
-sit fairly low on the reciever
-I'd like to spend less than $250 if possible.

I have a Leupold VX-II 3-9x by 33 with AO on my CZ that I like a lot but I think it would look too big on the Marlin.

I have an Simmons compact 4x28 on my Papoose that looks good but Im not very impressed with it.

I like the idea of the Leupold VX-I 2-7x or the 4x but wonder how they'll do at 10 meters without AO. I think Burris might have a few scopes that fit the bill with AO but might be over $250.

Any suggestions, insights, wisdom, convincing lies or random thoughts about this topic would be much appreciated.

Offline firstshot

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Scoping my 39
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2005, 02:23:15 PM »
pathfinder

I'm in the same boat as you with the eye sight and was finally forced to put a scope on my 1807CL.  I originally had a Marbles tang sight and a Lyman front globe sight on it.

In addition to hunting, I like to punch paper a lot with mine so I put a Burris 4-12x32 compact w/ AO & target knobs on mine.  The compacts size looks good on the 1897CL.  i.e not too big.

When hunting I leave it on 4X almost all the time, except when I want or need to get real up close and personal.

firstshot
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Make your first shot count!
Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun !!

Offline Rustyinfla

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scopes
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2005, 02:32:38 PM »
I put a scope on my M39 because mine is used mostly at night on skunks and possums. I needed the light gathering ability of the scope. I use a Simmons that was intended for a shotgun. It's a little shorter than most of the other scopes I have. A true compact is only about 3/4" shorter and costs another $150 more than what I paid for this one.
  I'm also thinking about switching to a Williams peep sight though.
                      Rusty <><
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Offline pathfinder

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Scoping my 39
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2005, 05:18:39 PM »
Shotgun scope... good idea.  I'll look into that.

Offline Bullseye

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Scoping my 39
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2005, 07:53:19 AM »
I have a VX1 2x7x33 on my 39A and my pump 22.  I like the size.  I have never had a problem with parallax even at the shorter distances.  Leupold used to make a statement in their catalog that parallax is not an issue with medium power scopes at typical ranges if the scopes are designed right.  Now I do not know if this is a true statement or not, but I use regular rifle scopes on everything from rimfire to shotguns to high powered rifles and I have just never had a parrallax problem.  Again, I am talking scopes in the 1-9x range at diatances from 10 yards to 200 yards.

Offline Jason

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Scoping my 39
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2005, 09:53:05 AM »
Just a tip here.. I use my 39a in smallbore cowboy silhouette competition and always thought it was pretty accurate. When I mounted a scope on it (actually, three over the course of a few weeks) and shot it off my competition benchrest equipment, it wasn't accurate at all, even with $10+ per box of 50 match ammo. After weeks of trying and being ready to either rebarrel the thing or just get rid of it, I stumbled onto the solution. The gun is VERY hold sensitive. If I rested the foreend of the gun on the front rest out near the front end, the gun shot absolutely horrible groups. If I brought the front rest in to right by the receiver, the groups went from 3" or more at 50yds to under an inch. Luckily for me, that's where I support the gun in silhouette matches, which is also why I thought it was accurate from shooting it from matches before.

As has been said, if you stick with lower powers (4 or less), you really shouldn't have much care for parallax as long as you are shooting 10 meters or more with a rimfire. If you move that up to 9 power, you will get some loss of accuracy even as close as 25yds if you use a typical scope designed for a centerfire rifle, because most of those are designed to be parallax free at 100 or even 150yds. That's just the way scopes work, regardless of what any manufacturer tries to say. The only way a scope can be parallax free at all ranges is for it to have no magnification whatsoever. Whether the error induced by parallax is enough for you to care about is another matter, though. No one can make that decision but you. If you are using a 4X scope and need it to be "minute of squirrel head" accurate out to 40 or 50yds, then there's no sense in spending the extra money and dealing with the extra size and weight of an adjustable objective scope (which is how you eliminate parallax and different ranges). That extra cash would be better spent on getting better lenses (inc. their coatings) and a more solid adjustment system.

If you do want a small, adjustable objective scope without spending a ton of money, the Simmons 1022T is excellent for the price ($110 or less on sale). It's a 3-9x32AO with very good lenses and is very small and light. It also should not really be associated with the rest of the Simmons 22Mag line, as they are utter crap compared to the 1022T. To get better quality in a small, lightweight adjustable objective scope, you're probably going to have to spend $250 to $300.

Offline pathfinder

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Scoping my 39
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2005, 01:17:27 PM »
Thanks Jason for the tips!  I can see how a two piece stock would be hold sensitive.   I know from my airgun experience that hold can make a difference.