Please help me scope my new Marlin 980 22lr

N

NXMR

New member
Hello all,

I just bought a Marlin 980 22lr.

I'm quite a newbie and this will be the first rifle that I've put a scope on :o

Would some kind soul please take me under their wing and tell me what I need to do? From the rings to scope and whatever else I might need - feel free to pour out your knowledge. I'm new and don't have an ego about this :)

I'd like to get scoped up decently for around $100-$125 if possible. If that's not enough money, it's not a show-stopper, I'll just have to wait a bit longer to save up. Of course, you know, I don't want to pour $500 bucks into a scope set up - hope y'all get my drift here :)

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Nice rifle you got there. Bushnell makes alot of decent scopes around that price range. They are a very well known reputable mfg of optics! Good Luck!
 
Scope recommendation

"burris" makes a line of both fixed & variable powers that enhance the cartridge performance perimeters for the .22lr. They are not cheap, but you will never need another one for your lifetime !!!!

Guru1911
 
I can tell you the guys that posted replies before me are not wrong.
I subscribe to Gun Test Magazine and they did a test on low cost 22 scopes. The Simmons 3-9 AO came out the winner at a cost of about $55 to $65 ballpark. I bought four of them in addition to a couple fixed powers without AO. Bushnell is no stranger to me. I've had good luck with many and trouble with only one. Leupold rimfire rings along with Burris are very good.
It is possible you could get along fine with some cheaper rings. In my case, my drawers are full of take-offs. It is also true some of my rifles are fitted with cheaper rings and they seem to work just fine.
I prefer a Torx or Hex screwhead. Not a big fan of Phillips or slotted.
Some slotted are made pretty beefy and they can work OK.
I use Loctite 222 (purple). It is formulated for small threads. I also suggest you wipe the screws with acetone or Goof-Off before applying the thread locker.
 
Thanks a bunch, guys!

I do appreciate it. I know there's lots of threads on this type of thing, and I am reading them but I tend to get overwhelmed.

One of you got me looking at the Bushnell - sorry I don't remember when I'm typing this and I like that.

I also like the price range of the Simmons. I don't want to be a cheapwad but I need to stretch my dollars as we aren't exactly well off.

I've been concerned a lot about what rings to get and the info on the Leopold or Burris with loctite is great!
 
Here's a dumb follow-up question:

Do I need to put a weaver rail on my rifle to mount the rings on?

What is the purpose of a weaver rail and how would this help? Is it something I can do myself, etc....

Sorry for all the questions - thanks for your patience all.
 
Marlin 980

My wife has the same rifle with a scope. Its a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40 mounted with Burris 420072 rings.

You will find your new rifle to be -VERY- accurate.


This is link to a photo of her Marlin

You can see that with these rings, nothing more is required to mount the scope.

The rear iron sight was removed in this process.
 
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Another thought

I keep thinking about your new rifle. And I'm starting to recall why we went with that scope and those rings. The bolt knob would be limited in rearward movement when removing the bolt, by the scopes eyepiece on a few scopes we tried. With the model scope and rings pictured, the knob has enough clearance for the bolt to be removed for barrel cleaning.

With this setup, there is a space of about 0.187 inches between the bolts knob lever and the scopes eyepiece. The eyepiece is about 1.558 inch in diameter. If you use the Burris rings mentioned above, you could most likely use any scope with a eyepiece of that diameter or smaller.

Good luck, and let us know how your project works out.
 
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Thanks GlenF!

I'll probably copy-cat that exact setup. Rings, scope, whole nine yards. I'm excited to get up and going.
 
Lots of great advice here!

Weaver rail: you don't need a Weaver rail since you have a 3/8" dovetail, which will work fine. A Weaver rail opens up options for the type of rings, and lets you standardize if you have lots of rifles. rings and scope you like to switch around. But, the dovetail mount is clean and looks good on a .22. If you add a Weaver rail, use Loctite.

Rings: Dovetail or Weaver the critical part is the height. You want it high enough so the objective bell clears the barrel, the bolt handle clears the eyepiece and the ejected brass doesn't hit the scope. You want it low enough so you get a good "cheekweld" without raising your head to see through the scope. For a 32 or 40 mm objective you'll probably want "medium" rings, but this can vary with manufacturer.

Scope: for a .22 the parallax is important. This is basically the range where the scope is focused and doesn't cause loss of accuracy if your head isn't in the exact right position. Most rifle scopes are set at 150 yards. Most .22 scopes are at 75 yards...but a dedicated .22 scope will either be cheap and poor quality or out of your desired price range. What I always do is get a scope with an adjustable objective (AO) so you can dial in your range and the parallax is good to go. You can also get a Leupold, send it to the factory and get the parallax adjusted for what ever you want for free.

You also need to decide if you want a silver colored scope and rings or a black scope and rings. Either look great to me.

OK, my $0.02:
My favorite scope for all around .22:
http://www.opticsplanet.net/bush-rs-bnr-714124.html

Good dovetail rings:
http://www.opticsplanet.net/burris-airgun-rimfire-1-22-rings.html

You may need to remove your rear sight for clearance. If you do that, you may want to remove your front sight to make it all sleek. If these are attached with screws you can fill the hole with plug screws. A gunsmith will be able to give you these or you can buy them something like this:
http://www.brownells.com/1/1/9533-plug-screw-kit-positive-stop-refill-pak-6-48-blue-1-dozen-brownells.html

Congrats on your rifle, sounds like great fun!
 
Hi Niner4Tango,

Thank you for all the info - especially the weaver rail clarification.

I sure like the price of that scope better than I do the Leupold I was looking at with GlenF's setup. Goes without saying my wife will like it better too :)

Y'all have been real helpful. Glad I signed up here.
 
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