The necessity of irons on a general purpose bolt action rifle.

[citizensoldier16]

Gotcha. I kind of figured that's what you were talking about, but I just wanted to make sure.

I'm a member over on MarlinOwners.com (same user name) and I recently saw a thread posted by a guy who actually converted his to a straight bottom model by just cutting down the stock. It looked pretty good.

Good luck in your search.

[titsonritz]

I agree, the straight grip on the lever gun is where it’s at.

[RyanB]

A fixed four power in good mounts would be ideal. Having the ability to remove the scope and use iron sights is an unnecessary complication.

I'd only use iron sights on rifles that recoil so much that a scope is impractical.

[okie john]

I have jumped through this hoop several times over the years. It hurts me to say it because I grew up shooting iron sights, but I've finally given it up for a couple of reasons.

First, there's no reason to switch from a servicable scope to irons. A scope just beats irons hands down under any conditions, including driving rain. I didn't believe that until I started hunting in western Washington, but with good scope caps you're golden. (If the scope is damaged, then it's better to replace it with a back-up scope/rings combo that's already zeroed.)

Second, when you do switch from a scope to irons, the stock weld is different enough to cause major problems if you need to make a fast shot. I learned this by shooting over the back of the biggest blacktail buck I've ever seen, and I did it ten years ago in front of a witness who still busts my balls over it. The range on that shot, for the record, was about 25m.

Third, adding back-up irons to a bolt gun costs about as much as a used fixed-power Leupold in rings, which is a way better choice all around. Get a 2.5x if you live in brushy country, a 6x if you live on the plains, or a 4x if you can't make up your mind.


Okie John

[mark5pt56]

What did your 336 cost you? Seems like an average condition 336 costs $350 and up out here. I can handle the cost, but I've kind of held off because I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted to this project and all the 336's I have encountered are pistol grip. I much prefer the straight gripped marlins. Maybe I'll find one someday.

If you find a decent 336 with the pistol grip, grab it and find a straight grip stock.