Marlin 336 mounting a scope and Receiver sight

[Gareth Holland]

Marlin 336 mounting a scope and Receiver sight
All, I need some help and advice from across the pond, when I don’t know I ask. And who better to ask than those in the land of the lever action.
I have a 336 30-30 which I use for woodland Deer management with a 3-12x50 30mm tube scope, on APEL swing off mounts. This is used at first and last light (we may shoot Deer 1 hr before sunrise and 1 hr after sunset in the UK).
Now I would like to use a small game / vermin load in the same rifle, I am ok with data for this. Plane A was to fit a receiver site a Lyman 66la for the small game loads as this would be better that the existing iron sights (I have replaced the rear site with a folding rear site because of the size of the scope objective lens). I had the bright idea of moving the rear scope base forward and drilling and tapping 2 new screw holes. Plenty of room on top of the receiver for this, all ok so far thinks I. Wrong the metal in the forward position is too thin to tap threads ( have a look from inside). We are now looking at plan B, what about moving the receiver site forward to a point midway between the site bases?
My questions are first would this work, I realise I may have to increase the aperture size. Second could I use a good adhesive instead of drilling and taping the receiver? I realise this may not look to pretty but this is a working rifle and as I am a game keeper and deer manager vermin control is a vital part of my job and it is a case of using what is in your hand at the time when you see a Squirrel or Rat under a feed hopper as we have over 200 in use. Thanks Gareth

[junkwrencher]

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tech_no ... tes.htm/17

[junkwrencher]

Gareth, try the link I posted, this rifle is almost the same as yours if it is drilled and tapped from the factory for a receiver sight. Over here the weaver-type base is available for about $10 American. The Williams 5D is available here for less than $50 and you can avoid drilling your gun full of holes. At the least this will give you some ideas.

[AJMD429]

I mount my Williams FP-336's in the FRONT holes anyway because I just think the gun 'carries better' that way.

As far as having BOTH a scope and an aperture sight perhaps the easiest would be a 'scout' mount and use the rear two holes for the peep.

OTOH I have used a see-thru set of rings that use Marlin mount holes and an aperture sight all the way up in the barrel dovetail. The peep in that case was a Millet flip-up rear sight with an aperture blade instead of a notch one. These are sold as "Ruger Ranch Rifle" replacement rear sights. Harder to adjust ('drift' method) than a receiver sight but truly worked well.

Another option of that sort would be use those see thru mount/rings and a Marbles 'Bullseye' sight in the barrel dovetail. Again they adjust by ramp and drift like factory rear sights do, but they are FAST and I find I can shoot very accurately with them.

I have seen ads for scope rings with built-in peep in a 'see-thru' format but never tried one.

[Pete44ru]

.

Welcome abaord, Gareth !

You might consider changing your scope-mounting setup, to a newer one (such as the XS) that features a built-in peep sight - just QD the scope to use the peep. ( Modern Qd scope mounts return very close to zero after R&R)

http://www.xssights.com/index.php?nID=s ... copemounts




.

[Gareth Holland]

All, I do not intend to start drilling any holes, hence asking you guys for help and advice. My 336 may be a working rifle but all my guns get looked after to the best of my ability. I am more than fond of my 336 and the 30-30 round, these rifles kind of get to you as you all know so I will not preach to the converted. When you are sat right on top of a problem it is more often than not a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees as we say down in the west country. Thanks to all for your time and trouble keep the idea's coming please thanks Gareth.

[oldgerboy]

At one time there was a company in Florida (I think) called One Ragged Hole. They made an aperture that replaced the open sight on the barrel. I have used that concept for almost 40 years and have found it accurate and easy to use. With a little work you could modify your folding sight by brazing or welding a flat plate to it and then drilling a hole somewhere around 1/4 to 3/8 inch (sorry, didn't convert to metric) works great.

[Pete44ru]

All, I do not intend to start drilling any holes, hence asking you guys for help and advice. My 336 may be a working rifle but all my guns get looked after to the best of my ability. I am more than fond of my 336 and the 30-30 round, these rifles kind of get to you as you all know so I will not preach to the converted. When you are sat right on top of a problem it is more often than not a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees as we say down in the west country. Thanks to all for your time and trouble keep the idea's coming please thanks Gareth.

FWIW, Gareth - the XS Leverscout rail w/peep sight doesn't involve drilling/tapping any holes - since it's a "no gunsmithing" mount, it uses the existing factory scope mount holes in the receiver top and the rear barrel sight dovetail slot.
All that's needed is a screwdriver, some Loc-Tite (thread locker) and determination - the instructions are included with the mount.


.

[AJMD429]

This is a picture of the Ruger rear sight and my see-thru mounts with scope. It's on a Marlin, but an 1894 instead of 336 - same concept, though.





The photos can't really show it, but with that nice fine gold-bead front sight, the aperture is GREAT, and allows precision shooting. The only drawback is that it relies on 'drift' type adjustment for windage, and 'loosen screw and slide insert' type adjustment for elevation. You will have a pleasant afternoon at the range dialing it in. BUT when it is dialed in finally, it will STAY dialed in.

The Weaver (I think) brand mounts/rings are probably less than twenty bucks, and MidwayUSA sells the Ruger rear sight like that for ten bucks or so. Before spending big bucks on something else, consider just trying out this system.

Here's a picture through a Marble's Bullseye - another 'aperture' or 'ghost ring' type sight that mounts in the barrel dovetail. Notice the WIDE field of view vs. what you'd have with a traditional 'open' sight.


I've never used a Marble's Bullseye like the Ruger Ranch Rifle sight - i.e. with see-through rings, but I suppose it could be done. You would not have the huge wide and open field of view of course, but that is a tradeoff you'll face with every option other than a Quick Detach mount for a scope that you're confident will keep its zero. THAT is of course a good option though.

[3leggedturtle]

Gareth; I used JB Weld to affix a Williams peep sight on my Henry 22 Mag lever. Its been on since '08 I roughed the finish up with 320grit sandpaper and wiped it clean 3 times with lacquer thinner. After I mixed the JB up, I attached the sight and didn't touch it for a week.

[Gareth Holland]

Thanks to all the help you have given On this matter on one of the links supplied. http://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/Gun_ ... Sights.asp New England Custom Gun Service, Ltd.
741 Main Street. I found the following

Peep Sight for EAW Bases

Designed for use with the well known EAW "Quick-Loc" scope mounting system, this peep sight locks securely into the "Quick-Loc" rear base, providing the hunter or shooter with the option of scope or peep sight should the circumstances warrant. It comes supplied with two apertures: .93" & .125". These are the mounts I have on my rifle and would be perfect. My Gun Shop has contacted the New England Custom Gun Service, Ltd to see if they will export to the Uk, so we are on a wing and a prayer at the moment. I have developed 2 loads 1 with a .311 round ball and 1 with a.308 Hornady 100gr plinker. Both loads shoot 2"low and 1" left at 25yds so the scope is out of the question I am afraid. They are both accurate with the 100gr semi jacket coming out on top, noise is about that of a .22rf. If anybody knows the guy's at New England Custom Gun Service Ltd put in a good word for me regarding exporting. We take delivery of just over 3500 7 week old pheasants in 2 weeks and every thing with teeth and claws will come crawling out of the wood work. I will keep the posted as to what happens thanks again Gareth.

[EdinCT]

You could mount a Marbles Tange sight and Weaver quick detachable mounts, if you don't mind laying your thumb alongside the tange. The added sight radius is not a bad thing either.

[El Chivo]

Brockman's makes a pop-up receiver sight that fits under the scope and pops up when you remove the scope:

http://www.brockmansrifles.com/sight_options.asp



their sights are good.

It looks like one of them would work with a variety of scope mounts.


I had a tang sight put on my 336 for the same reason; remove the scope and I have iron sights. No interference with a tang sight.