at that point
You reach a point where even a peep sight cannot save your iron sight shooting, and a scope begins to like like a viable option. Ask me how I know. For some time when I first joined this forum, I would taunt...... "no scopes, no white line spacers on your lever carbine". I still don't like white line spacers, on any firearm for that matter, but I'm at the point that a scope really helps my shooting.
I've got a Marlin '94 in .357, and have shot and carried it a bunch, and installed a Williams peep early on, which helped my shooting even in the good years. But now even the peep does not help with picking up the front sight like I should/could.
Okay, so to scope your Marlin you need a base. Bases are sold by specific model, and finding one to fit the Marlin will not be difficult. The base will attach to the receiver of the carbine via the pre-drilled and tapped holes mentioned. Obtain a proper fitting screwdriver for those screws, remove same. The base may be one or two pieces, and will have holes in the base corresponding to those in the receiver. There will also be the appropriate length screws w/ the base to correctly mount it on the receiver. You don't want this to come loose, so a drop of moderate threadlocker ( I use nail polish, cheap) on the base screws will keep the base secure. Snug the scres up, but don't get carried away and strip them, they are not big threads. Firm finger tight w/ the threadlock, is plenty.
Now you need rings. Rings are made in a wide variety, but the dia will need to match your scope, and the best look is to match finish to your rifle. One inch rings will match same sized scope tubes, and I like blued rings on blued receivers (like the Marlin"s) Rings come in a wide variety of configurations, and personally I think "vertically split rings ( as opposed to horizontal) look more appropriate. on a vintage style carbine like the Marlin. This is me, you may like conventional horizontal split. Leupold and Nikon sell affordable vertical split rings, in their "Rifleman" line. Millets are a bit more, and then there are others that cost even more. What ever rings you purchase, they need to work with your base, and near all rings these days for centerfire are of the "Weaver" pattern.
Weaver does indeed make rings themselves, but my reference here is to the crossbar and slot locking system that the company developed (I guess) and has been standardized. Watch out for rings that are intended for mounting on .22's and will be lableled "dovetailed" as they will not work. While I'm at it, the Weaver "Topmount" rings are my most hated. I cannot ever get the things to tighten up square,and have to fiddle with them a great deal. And, I do not like the big lock nut on the side, which seems unsightly, and can hang things. Strong, yes, affordable, yes, but clunky and awkward to install.
Good rings come in matched pairs, do not jumble the pieces or their orientation, keep them as matched pairs. I'm not going to try and describe the ring install, too long. YouTube may well have a tutorial on such.
You've got your rings/bases, now the scope. The Marlin is a tidy little carbine, and it needs a tidy scope. The Leupold 2.5x mentioned is indeed small, and will not overly clutter your rifle. The eye relief is around 5 inches, that's a bunch in the scope world. I ran one this year on a .44 carbine myslelf, and was entirely satisfied. The magnification level is not high at all, more like 2x I suspect. In use, the view seems near normal, except your reticle is out there as an aiming point. A step up from the Leupold 2.5x would be the 1-4x, also as mentioned. It is bigger than the fixed 2.5 by a noticeable amount, but not overly so. The AR crowd must be buying these, as used ones get snapped up about as soon as they appear.
These are $200-300 depending on where and how you do business. A slightly more affordable option may be the Weaver 1-3x, which can be had for under $200. No experience with same, but widely available on line.
Good luck with your project.
