Mickey the Dragon
Ultimate Member
I bought a Marlin 1895 for my first deer season this year and I love the rifle to death. I put on a pair of XS ghost ring sights and had great accuracy with it at the range both from the bench and shooting off-hand. Then, as you can probably guess, I took it out in the woods with me and missed the two shots I took. As it turns out, I am far less accurate with my handy little ghost rings when I've been sitting in the rain for three hours, I'm leaning up against a maple tree, and I'm using a small sapling as a foot brace to keep myself from sliding down the hill. Shocking, I know. So, long story short, I'm looking for opinions on how best to overcome my own personal shortfalls through the injudicious use of money to procure optics. As I see it, I have three options with several subcategories.
1) Iron sights.
1a) Keep the XS Ghost Rings and train more.
1b) Keep the XS Ghost Rings but get a smaller rear aperature.
1c) Get completely different set of sights
2) Red Dot
2a) Get a low mount for my Aimpoint T1 and move it from my AR to my 1895 during the lead-up to deer season.
2b) Get a new Aimpoint/Eotech/Other
3) Scope
3a) 1-4 variable to keep the clean woods gun looks and minimize bulk/weight
3b) 2-7 or 3-9 variable to give myself better low-light performance and magnification
3c) Fixed power of some sort
The more thought I put into this whole process (and I have about 300 days to think about those two missed shots), the more I am currently leaning towards a 1-4 or 3-9. However, I wanted to seek the opinions of The Intenet to see what other thoughts are out there. Hunting area is hardwood hills along the Ohio River, max shots of 100 yards. Budgeting is fairly flexible, because I have time to save up. I understand the sentiment of paying as much for the optic as you do for the rifle, but I'm also unsure of the marginal benefits a $600 scope will provide on a rifle intended for shots under 100 yards when compared to something like a Leupold 1-4 or 3-9 which costs $299 plus mounting hardware.
1) Iron sights.
1a) Keep the XS Ghost Rings and train more.
1b) Keep the XS Ghost Rings but get a smaller rear aperature.
1c) Get completely different set of sights
2) Red Dot
2a) Get a low mount for my Aimpoint T1 and move it from my AR to my 1895 during the lead-up to deer season.
2b) Get a new Aimpoint/Eotech/Other
3) Scope
3a) 1-4 variable to keep the clean woods gun looks and minimize bulk/weight
3b) 2-7 or 3-9 variable to give myself better low-light performance and magnification
3c) Fixed power of some sort
The more thought I put into this whole process (and I have about 300 days to think about those two missed shots), the more I am currently leaning towards a 1-4 or 3-9. However, I wanted to seek the opinions of The Intenet to see what other thoughts are out there. Hunting area is hardwood hills along the Ohio River, max shots of 100 yards. Budgeting is fairly flexible, because I have time to save up. I understand the sentiment of paying as much for the optic as you do for the rifle, but I'm also unsure of the marginal benefits a $600 scope will provide on a rifle intended for shots under 100 yards when compared to something like a Leupold 1-4 or 3-9 which costs $299 plus mounting hardware.