Mounting a 1-4X20 on a lever action

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Peakbagger46

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I’m looking to mount a Leupold 1-4X20 on my Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. Would good quality aluminum bases and rings be OK with this rifle, or will I need to go with steel? The scope is only around 9oz so I’m trying to keep mounts light as well.

Here’s a link to the EGW base I’m looking at. Open to opinions on this base and also suggestions on low rings.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/767766/egw-1-piece-picatinny-style-base

Please don’t suggest I go with a peep sight. This rifle is going to be used for hunting and my confidence is about ten times greater using a scope. I also like to be able to pick up branches before shooting.
 
Here’s a picture of the mounting holes. This rifle was made in the late 50’s, is it the same setup as modern Marlin 336s?


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yes, it will have the same hole pattern. The thing with marlins is that they are not designed to scope. There is too much drop in the comb, so you will want the scope to go as low as possible, but then you run into hammer clearance issues. Aluminum would probably be fine for rings. in fact, here is a direct quote from rcmodel
"Aluminum scope rings are lighter.
That's good.

And they are as strong, or probably stronger then the aluminum scope tube they are clamped around.
So that's good too!

And as chicharrones mentioned, that won't rust.
And that's great!

I don't see a downside!

rc" https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/scope-rings-aluminum-vs-steel.725674/


couple things to note, the warne mounts are about 3/16" lower than egw or cheap picatinny mounts, so that may be helpful to you. Also, when I put a leupold fx2 2.5x20 on my 1894 the eye relief was so great that I had to push the scope further forward than convention mounts would allow and had to get a scout mount. All that to say, you may have to test fit a few different options to get what you want. Good luck!


marlin 1894c with fx2 2.5x20 chopped down scout mount and leupold rifleman vertical split rings.
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marlin 336 with burris timberline 2-7x26 in a warne mount with burris zee low rings.
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Skip the egw and go with warne one piece base. As stated above they are a lot lower. I use the warne base and low Burris z rings on my marlin 1895 with a 33mm scope and no issues. This helped get a decent cheek weld which is hard with lever guns.
 
My face/body is such that I generally need sights higher. That is the main reason I have to scope most rifles I shoot. Can’t get my eye low enough on the irons.

For me, a standard Weaver base with low Warne rings did the trick with a Leupold 1.5-5x20.
 
Any standard Weaver, or Weaver style base will be just fine. No need for a rail type base. No need for steel rings either. That rifle is already 7 lbs + Adding even a lightweight scope to it will push weight close to, if not over 8 lbs. I'd try to keep the weight to a minimum. Steel bases and rings could end up weighing as much as the scope and push your finished weight closer to 8 1/2 lbs. Just for reference all of my bolt rifles, with scopes mounted weigh between 6 1/4 to 7 3/4 lbs. If you're not careful mounting a scope on a lever gun can change it from a compact carbine to a heavy pig to have to lug around.

The basic Weaver bases and Weaver 4X4 rings sold at Walmart are inexpensive, lightweight and more than strong enough, even for magnum level rifle recoil. Not the most aesthetically pleasing. For something nicer looking the same Weaver bases with Burris Z rings would be my pick. Those are steel rings, but are a very compact design that are not too heavy.
 
Lovely rifle 22250, but for my dollar I'd still recommend the warne mount to get the scope lower. You have a lot of clearance on the hammer and for me, I need the scope as low as it will go.
 
For reference, my 336 Texan with Weaver base and low Warne rings with Leupold VX-3 1.5-5x20 weighs 8 lbs 1.5oz fully loaded.

Edit: This has the 20” barrel as well.
 
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Thanks all. I ordered the aluminum Warne weaver one piece base and Leupold low aluminum weaver rings. Looking forward to getting the scope mounted and shooting this old beast!

Looks like I’ll be around 7.5# scoped, about perfect for my preferences.


916FA5A8-9469-4424-9423-9D51328E06CA.jpeg 95D5AD99-E9D6-4211-8527-461667CD2C77.jpeg
 
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