I have a Marlin 336 30-30 that I bought the first of the year. It had a Simmons 3-9x32 scope on it that looks brand new, but I think it has something internally wrong. Initially I thought that it might just be that the scope was getting knocked off by recoil, but I threw it on my 22 last night and was spraying all over the place with it too.

So, I want to get a scope that will stand up to a 30-30, but I don't want to spend a huge amount of money on it. I am probably looking in the $80-$100 range. Any suggestions? I think Walmart has a couple around there. I am just using it for deer hunting, but want it to be reliable enough not to have to put boxes of shells through it every time I want to hunt to zero it in.

Also if I am too low in price range to get something reliable let me know that too. I can shoot it pretty good open sight, but it sure makes it easier with a scope.

 

I've never had a problem with a Simmons. I think you may have been unlucky and got a bad one. Could be your scope mounts also. But for what you want to spend I'd say another Simmons or a Bushnell (Not a Banner Series) would be your best bet. Stick with the 3x9 or even a 2x7

 

Well, I did buy the rifle used from a pawn shop, so I'm not too surprised that the scope is bad. It has Weaver rings on the 30-30 but I had to change them to put it on my 22, so I think I have eliminated that from the equation.

I might try to trade them the scope back. I think they just throw them on there to make it look better on the shelf. Price was good enough on the rifle to not worry about it too much though.

Walmart has Barska, BSA, Bushnell, Centerpoint (Crosman) and Simmons all in that range. I've only heard of Bushnell and Simmons before, but I know pretty much nothing about scopes. Good bad on any of these?

Thanks!

 

I have seen where guys would take off the MOA screw caps from a Tasco scope and replace them with Simmons caps and sell them as a Simmons.

I put a 4x16 BSA on my 7mm rem mag to try and prove a point to a friend that BSA's werent that bad. The BSA held up great to the shock and I may have left it on if the glass quality were better. Things got a little blurry on the higher power settings.. All the other scopes that were mentioned I might put on a pellet gun or a airsoft gun if I couldn't afford anything else.

 

"Wald",you might want to go to "SWFA" and look at the sample list, they are at reduced prices.

 

Ok, you lost me there. What is SWFA?

 

This one is definately a simmons. Has it on the front of the scope with the power and has the model stamped in red on the underside. So you are saying that BSA, Bushnell and Simmons are ok, but the rest are not up to the task, right?

 

For a 30-30 I would suggest a fixed powered scope with 4x magnification. That would be plenty scope for deer out to 200 yds which is about the max range for the 30-30. I am not sure on prices but fixed power are usually cheaper than variable. With a cheap scope you generally get what you pay for as far as the glass clarity. Check out swfa.com they have tons of scopes to look at and very good prices. I have used them before without any problems.
Bruce

 

From the personal experience that I've had with each of those scopes listed. Yes, then again this is just my opinion. As suggested SWFA.com is great for scopes. I purchased my Leopold VX2 at a much cheaper rate than a big named retail chain ( BPS)

 

I would agree with Bruce03. I have a Marlin 30-30 with a Leupold 4X fixed and I love it. You don't want to over scope a 30-30. Marine snipers used to use a 10X fixed for shots exceeding 1000 yards.

 

Agree on above. Especially with a lever, if you need to take a 2nd shot, you want a smaller reticle and power to get a quicker sight picture since you break sight alignment every shot. Also a Redfield might be worth looking at in your price range, have fun.

 

Try sending that scope back to Simmons. They have been around a while and would probably replace it. Better to have you posting about customer service than a lackluster product!

Kurt

 

Simmons has always=boat anchor to me. Maybe its just been bad luck.....I wouldn't put anything on a .30-.30. A halo sight at most.

 

Leupold 3-9x IMO.

Marlin FTW.

 

I've got a Marlin 336 with a Simmons 3-9 x 32 with tip-off mounts on it, so its got the best of both worlds. Its always been great and held its zero even when the mounts have been rolled back and forth many times.

I've had this rifle for about 16 or so years and never had to realign it. A few times in the past I've thought about getting a bigger or more powerful rifle but I've grown to love the .30-30. For what I hunt around here I'll probably never need anything more.