My grandson, Tyler, is in the army, serving in Afghanistan. I am doing some research to assist him in choosing a scope for his Henry .30/30, H 009 rifle. We live in Eastern Tennessee & he will mostly be hunting deer. Shots of greater than 100 yards would be rare. So far, some of the features i've seen that I believe important is light gathering ability, clarity, maybe quick focus would be of benefit. I would like to see opinions for best eye relief, magnification, etc. Price is also a consideration. As I said, he his in the military so money is tight. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the shooter's forum, glad you joined us.

There are a lot of good quality scope out there, but some run into some serious bucks. For scopes in the 300 dollar range I'd look at Leupold or Nikon both have decent glass and unbeatable warranties. One thing I'd avoid is going with too much magnafaction. 2-7 power would be the most I'd recommend and less would be better. One of the best ways to judge scopes is to visit a dealer that stocks the ones you are considering. I'd stop in about dusk and step outside and see which ones deliver the best image in fading light. Remember all scopes look clear and bright inside the store.
Good luck with your search and let us know which one you decide on.

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For that firearm/chambering, a fixed low power scope will be most suitable and you will get a better quality item for equal value of the variable power ones. My recommendation would be for a nice 2.5X or 4X. A 36mm or 42mm objective lens will be as large as needed, plus will mount lower on the action for best sight picture. As mentioned, the Leupold, Nikon, Burris, Redfield models will work fine.

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Weaver K series fixed power scopes have very good glass for the money and won't break the bank.

Weaver Grand Slam is available in a 1.5-5 or something like that. It'd be a good choice for your 30-30. Have recommended this scope to others with a 30-30 in the past. Ones that bought it replied being very happy with it.

Thanks everyone for the "no-nonsense" advice. After discussing your responses with my grandson I will let y'all know the direction we will go. I especially liked the tip of visiting the store at dusk & step outside with the scope. They all perform well under "bright light" don't they. Thanks again. Pete 1

A second for the Weaver K series 4x fixed. You can probably pick one up for $120 or less after the holidays. Very bright glass for the money and all the scope you'd ever need on a 30-30.

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My personal feeling is 4x is way too much. Back when they first start letting deer off the Ark if GA (I'm talking a long time ago), my first real deer rifle was a Marlin 336C 30-30. I put a Weaver 4x scope on it and when I saw my very first deer I was easing through a fairly thick stand of youg, volunteer pines when a monster buck came walking through about 30 yards away. When I pulled up to shoot, I never did find him in the scope. I shoot with both eyes open and just pull the scope up in front of my eye while stairing at the target, but I never did find him, the growth was thick enough and he was so close, there just was not enough field of view. I had that to happen again a few days later. The 4x came off after that one.

Most of the time hunting with a 30-30, people are usually in the woods since that's not known as a long range rifle. If I was going to scope it, I would go with a 1.5-5x and absolutely no more than a 2.5-7.