scope setup for Marlin 1894c?

I

idek

New member
I've owned my Marlin 1894c for a couple years now. Shortly after I bought it, I added Skinner aperture sights. I like the looks of them and the fact that they don't add much weight, but I really have never shot particularly well with them (for whatever reason, I've had better success with Williams and Tech-Sights apertures).

I'm considering trying some short range deer hunting with the gun (with either Buffalo Bore ammo or hot handloads), and I'd feel better if I had a low-powered scope. I don't want to add a lot of weight and I'd still like the gun to look decent. I realize I'll want to raise the comb for a decent cheek weld, but I already had to do that to use the Skinner sights and have what I need to raise it a little more.

I have a Weaver scope bases, but I'm considering this DNZ all-in-one base instead. Based on specs and measurements, this would actually be a slightly lower setup than my Weaver base and low rings. I also think it looks better. One drawback is that I would have no QD options, and it seems I'd have to take the scope out of the rings to remove the base.

As for scopes, I'm thinking maybe a Leupold VX-1 1-4x20mm... possibly the shotgun version since its parallax setting (75 yards compared to 150 yard for CF, I think) is probably more suitable for distances I'd be shooting at.

If anyone has any thoughts about this setup or suggestions for something else, I'd appreciate it.
 
Last edited:
don't get the leupold. I went that route with a 9mm and the thing was just absolute garbage. I traded to my older brother and it took him over 100 rounds to zero it on a 357 carbine. personally I would go with a low zoom vortex diamondback or nikon prostaff. I would go with see through rings so you can still use the iron sights in the event that it's raining, snowing, or in thick brush where you need rapid target acquisition.
 
I wouldn't worry about buying the Leupold, I've had good luck with their products and they have excellent customer service.

As a possible alternative to the Leupold is the Weaver 1-3x20. If you watch the sales and rebates on Midway, sometimes you can get one for around $150. It's an excellent scope.

On my 1894cl, I used a Warne maxima one piece base with the old cheap Weaver top mount low rings. This is the absolute lowest setup I could find, and the Warne base is low enough that the iron sights can just be seen over the top of it with the scope removed.

I think you'll find that see thru rings would be too high by far. The DNZ base is great, but you're not going to remove it easily in the field. Of course that's only a consideration if you want it to be.
 
I had a Bushnelll Trophy 1.5x-4.5x mounted on the last 1894C I owned.

It worked well for me.

M1894Cbt.jpg
 
I would scout scope it with A proper scout scope QRW rings and put A receiver sight on it.
 

Attachments

  • Shorty.jpg
    Shorty.jpg
    79.7 KB · Views: 51
1-4x

About 4000 posts ago, I used rather smugly comment "no scopes on your lever carbine" along with "no white spacers". I believed it too.......until about a 1-2 year or so ago when my eyes turned the corner far enough that I could not make out the front sight as clearly through the the XS's and Williams peeps on my rifles.

So I've found myself adding optics to my rifles , and one candidate (eating crow now) is my Marlin '94 in .357. I've considered the Leupold 2.5x lightweight but have not committed. Bamaboy and I run a Leupold 1-4x shotgun scope ( a V-II or VariX-II, ? older scope) on a Mini-30, and its been shot quite a bit by that scope trasher in the rough and tumble of our local outlaw 3 gun league. The Leupold V (?)-II has held up fine on the mini, which has a rep as a scope trasher.

The limited reach of the 357/.44 class cartridges would suit the shorter parallax setting of the shotgun scope certainly. I would not put anything bigger than a fixed 4x on the carbine, maybe a Burris Timberline 4x, kind of tidy I think. We happen to like the German #1 reticle in these short range rifles. Big, bold, easy to see, and fast to paste on target. Leupold will still put one in most of their scopes for about $60 bucks and a two week wait.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. The scout option is something I hadn't considered, but I would want to go as light as possible. Seems like the forward weight could potentially mess up the handling that makes these guns nice to begin with.

I'll look further into the different suggestions in the next day or two. I might also try a different front sight just to see if maybe I can get by with the aperture sights (I really hate to spoil the gun's looks and handling unless I HAVE to).
 
My 1894c is set up like Badlanders, except I've got a Weaver 1-4x scope on it. The balance is fine, and the QR rings give you the option of using the scope or peeps.
 
try this

One thing that helped me...a bit...was to decrease the aperture size. I had everything set up as ghost rings, and had taken the inserts out of the Williams sights as well.

Putting the fine peep apertures back in those sights pulled the front sight back into focus. Lost a bit in low light ability, but could see the bead/blade better.
 
DNZ is a good system. I used them on some rifle until Talley came out with their two piece integral base/ring system. In my opinion, Talley is superior to DNZ in every aspect. Lighter, stronger, better quality machine work, roughly the same price. I recently put a Vortex Diamondback 2-7 x 35 on 336 and absolutely love it. It has minor edge distortion at 2 power, but it is gone by 3 power. The field of view at 2 power is so huge, you will never notice it unless you look for it. The only reason I looked for it is someone had mentioned it in an online review.
 
This is an old topic, but I figured I'd post an update since people were kind enough to share their time and thoughts.

I ended up getting a Leupold FX-II 2.5x20mm scope. This is the very lightest scope I am aware of (listed at 6.5 ounces). Like, dwwhite, I used a Warne scope base and Weaver Top Mount low rings.

It's my first Leupold scope, and based on the price and all the praise I hear about them, I expected a little better optical quality, but that may have more to do with the small 20mm objective than it does with the brand.

Overall, I like the setup, and the scope looks pretty natural on the gun (or as natural as a scope can look on a lever gun). The 2.5x (actually 2.3) magnification seems adequate considering a .357's effective range, and I can see a noticeable improvement in my offhand shooting.

I also replaced the factory open sights with Williams Firesights, in the event I want or need to go without the scope (I can easily see over the scope base with the scope removed). They certainly make sight alignment easy, but they are almost too bright in some conditions and seem to flare a bit, but that might just be my eyes.


***regarding changing aperture sizes, I have tried a smaller size in my Skinner sight, and it didn't really help. Might just be another thing that is specific to my eyes.
 
Last edited:
Leupold is a rock solid scope throughout its line, but the optics quality is average (at best)on their lower to mid tier scopes. You will only see high end lenses in their upper tier scopes.
 
My wife wanted a scope on her Marlin 336, and after some trial and error, I found a combination that works pretty well. I would think this set up would work well on any lever action.

A Leupold FX-II 2.5x20 Ultralight scope, with a Weaver 63B Aluminum base, with Leupold aluminum Rifleman low-height rings. The total weight of scope, base, and rings is 9.5 ounces according to my scale. This is not enough weight to screw up the handling of the rifle. The 2.5X fixed magnification scope is fast on target, and has a lot of eye relief.

Optical clarity is excellent on this scope.


jim
 
Different strokes for different folks for sure. I use a Simmons Red Dot on my 1894C at times and a Leupold VX-2 1-4X at other times. I like the Leupold. With the VX-2 there are distinct clicks when changing horizontal and vertical settings. I do not think this is true with the shotgun scope. You might check that out.
 
Strange that no-one has mentioned a dot scope.
At the short ranges mentioned, that might be a good choice.
Small and light, about as fast on target as open sights, and no need for stock modifications.
Eh?
 
Hook, I could be wrong, but I think date of manufacture determines whether or not a Leupold clicks or not. None of my old ones click. All my newer ones click.
 
My shooting buddy has an ultradot sight on his Winchester 30-30, which is his brush gun for white tails. I have shot it and I like it. So yes that is another good option.
 
I would scout scope it with A proper scout scope QRW rings and put A receiver sight on it.
Click to expand...

+1

A scout scope is lightning fast and you don't need more than 2.5x at the ranges a 44 mag is suited to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top