Scope fo 44mg Carbine?

Just bought 2 "new" Weavers. NIB, 40+ years old. A K-4 duplex
and a K-6. Both have small end bells. I think I am going to put
K-6 on the 44, it's clear as a bell and sucks in the light. Not much
bigger than the K-4. It doesn't look classic but might be a good rig.
 

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Many good scope models have also gone away or are far and few between . Today its all about tacticool scopes .

BAM BAM Guess you have a hard time understanding higher power scopes cause you never walked up out of a thick bottom to a woods road to see a fine deer srolling along walking away from you 350+ yards off or even a smaller hog at 200 yards and use some shooting sticks or and shoot off your knees to make a quality heart or neck shot that might not be so quality with a 3 power scope are less .

Nothing worse than spend the next few hours tracking or waiting till morning to find an animal that someone shot badly !!

This is were I grew up hunting , The Fakahatchee Strand in south florida . A shot might be between branchs at 10 yards or step on a tram and it could be 250 to 300 yards .
That's why I liked 2.5-10 scope

Video shows a little bit of everything . Closed to hunters close to 25+ years ago , great place to grow up hunting .

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX9K-F6vmuM[/ame]
 
Another vote for a Weaver V3 1-3X variable.
I put one on a Ruger .44 Auto carbine about 30 years ago, and it's taken truckloads of deer. Short, and handy, just like the carbine.

Having worked in a few better GS's, and selling and mounting hundreds of scopes, the biggest mistakes I see people make with optics is the oft-seen decision to go cheap and too much magnification.
 
Ruger .44 Carbine

My go to scopes for the .44 carbine (whichever model) is either a 1-4X or 1.5-5X variable. The carbine is a short range affair where a wide field of view is more important than raw magnification. I only use the higher settings for sighting in. When hunting, I keep the scope at about 2X.

Lower magnifications make it easier to use a scope with both eyes open--a real plus in wooded terrain.
 
Back in the day, late '60's, one of the most popular scopes for the little Ruger .44 carbine was the old model Weaver 1.5x-4.5x with Weaver bases and rings.
I worked in a small LGS in NJ at the time. This was a very common setup for those going out of state white tail hunting in those states that allowed a semi-auto for hunting.
One of the most popular .44 mag rounds was the Winchester 240 gr. JHP.
 
I got a Ruger 77/44 a couple years ago in a trade. I am fond of revolver/carbine combinations and the 77/44 goes well with my 4" Red Hawk .44 Magnum...It came with an inexpensive 3X9 variable scope that the original owner put on it. I want to mount a more compact, low magnification scope. I had a Weaver 1.5 shotgun scope on my old 870 that stood up to lots of slug ammo.I wish I still had it but plan to get something like that...My 60+ year old eyes need it.
 
Bought a 1.5x4 30mm scope some years ago. Used a fixed 4x for some time, accounted for many deer, but magnification was a little much for many of my shots. The 1.5x4 is much better for the close range, wooded shots though.
I have had a .44 carbine, used a cheap red dot on it with some success, but with my eyesight, needed a little magnification to feel comfortable with most of the shots I was offered. The Weaver 1x3 was OK. I liked the size, but at 1x the scope gave a distorted view of the game I pursued. I have a limited budget and can't really try all the scope options I would like.
The 1.5x4 was a closeout (Burris Eurodiamond), but has great optics, and really opened my eyes to the value of QUALITY low powered optics! I can use it with both eyes open for quick shots, or dial it up to 4x with all the benefits that more magnification offers.
I have it mounted on a .308 now, and it's the cat's meow on that rifle.
I no longer have the .44 carbine, but have a .357 carbine in it's place. I feel your pain, as my .357 is a great handling carbine, that with my poor eyesight, needs a good scope to fulfill it's potential as a great woods gun for deer. Even my loved 1.4x4x30mm seems too big for it. The Weaver 1x3 seems a better fit, but I don't like the optics themselves. I put a fiber optic front coupled with an aperture rear sight for a fast handling deep woods killer!!
But I really need a good low powered optic to do help me out, and have yet to find the perfect scope for the carbine. I don't have the time OR money to search for what would do the gun justice!!! I'll keep checking out this thread to inspire me, as deer season approaches!
Small, light, low powered with good glass is all I am asking for...with a low price tag (which seems to be the killer here).
Hope you find the perfect fit, and pass it on to me!
 
Sorry to hear about the Weaver 1-3x20..... mine has been a great little scope.....I've heard it's popular the 3gunners on their ARs. On 1X mine is IMO closer to a 1.2 or 1.3X.... so slight "distortion" (??) shooting both eyes open....

Not to be a jerk... but there are some eye conditions that affect one's optimal use of a scope or red dot......I'm not an opthamologist..... and I won't try to play one here!

Look at the Leupolds 1-4x20 not much bigger than the Weaver; mine were all under $250....not a cheap scope.... but not expensive for a good...... and mine (4-5) now have all been good scopes.
 
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As I recall, (it's been a while now, and my memory sure ain't what it used to be...)the Weaver image at 3x was fine. I just had trouble with the low powered setting. I don't have the same problem with the Burris at any magnification. My eyesight is very, very bad. Have had corrective glasses since 3rd grade, and with the red dots I have used, I have never been fully satisfied with their performance. BUT, I have never spent the money to get a quality red dot sight. When looking through the Holosight options in the store, they seem to be great optics, but I never bought one. Optics can be a very personal decision, I just wish there was a way to try them ALL before buying!!
As for the Leupolds 1x4x20, I have never tried one. The price looks good, and I have been satisfied with all the other Leupolds I have used. Most places around here have the higher powered optics, but finding the low powered optics to look through is a bit tougher. I have a Leupold 2.5x8, that is a great scope, but really put a dent in my budget.
Thanks for the Info on the 1x4x scopes, I am going to start looking for one to check out. I like the size of the Weaver 1x3x and If the Leupolds are close, you have peeked my interest!! Thanks!
 
BAM BAM Guess you have a hard time understanding higher power scopes cause you never walked up out of a thick bottom to a woods road to see a fine deer srolling along walking away from you 350+ yards off or even a smaller hog at 200 yards and use some shooting sticks or and shoot off your knees to make a quality heart or neck shot that might not be so quality with a 3 power scope are less .

Nothing worse than spend the next few hours tracking or waiting till morning to find an animal that someone shot badly !!

A shot might be between branchs at 10 yards or step on a tram and it could be 250 to 300 yards .
That's why I liked 2.5-10 scope

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FWIW.......

First we are taking about a .44 pistol caliber carbine here......no 350yds shots.

Second OP wanted to spend less than $330 IIRC...... don't think 2.5-10s are either small or fit his price range.

Third "for me" where I hunt in Penn's Woods...... that's Pennsylvania for those of you from Rio Linda Fla. (just joshing)..... I can only think of one spot that I might.......safely...... have the opportunity to take a shot at 350yds..... ..........there are some spots where I can glass deer up to two miles away........ but that's shooting hill to hill on active farms with no good backstop......

What I see a lot are the guys with 6-12 power scopes in Pa. treestands often where the longest shot might be 50-75 yds...... even in a few fields 5-7 acres the ground "rolls" enough to limit sight and shots to 100-150yds.


Buddy of mine took a snap shot at a nice 10 point last year......later in the day I was able to track it......it came to within 25-30 yds of me (I was in a ground stand where 3 trails cross..... the deer did a 90 degree turn off the trail and got into the pines......... because of the lay of the land .... I heard it but never saw it...........

Now I want to watch the video.....looks cool.
 
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In talking to a variety of hunters over the years I have come to a
conclusion as to why so many deer hunters put pretty large variable
scopes on short range woods rifles. I think the blunt truth is that
many casual hunters simply lack confidence in their shooting ability
and they believe that a higher power scope will help them make a
good shot. More power=more accuracy is their thinking. Also many
yearly deer hunters just don't want to spend much money for a scope.
The big box stores cater to the casual hunter and are full of cheap
higher power variables so it's much easier to buy one than a quality
small scope that costs five times as much. 4X-12X cheap variables
are common on muzzle loaders and lever actions. The good old net is
usually where quality low power scopes are found. I bought my last
Leupold 1X-4X VX-1 with heavy duplex on GB from a regular seller
there for just under $200 and low shipping to boot.
 
any quality scope made for a shot gun or muzzle loader will do . you need a scope with a parallax set for 50yds. also if you are going to shoot anything over 125yds. you better "know" your load because the 44 starts dropping pretty fast after that..
 
Drm, I have been using a Leupold Compact 4X on my Marlin .44 with 16" barrel and a Redfield 4X on another little pistol caliber carbine I have. I'd as soon have a 2X on both, but I had the 4X scopes and just used what I had. My favorite scope set up for carbines is the Leupold M8-2X that is forward mounted on another little rifle. I believe the M8-2X has been out of production for some time now though...
 
1-3 Weaver, 2 1/2 Leupold, 1-4 Leupold, 1.5-4.5 Bushnell Daylight to Dark. All are within budget and the Bushnell is way under budget.

I'll get on my podium here. Scopes are aiming devices. If you want more power to look the game over, carry a decent binocular. I have killed more than one deer at over 400 yards while using a 4X scope on a bolt gun.

I have a couple of older 3X scopes and love them for my lever guns.

Jack
 
For the guy that never going to hunt long range you can get a good 1-6 power scope from Primary Arms under 300 bucks thru amazon . Good scope for the bucks

Want do some looking at most scope companies Go to SWFA
Riflescopes | SWFA
 
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