My first deer ever was taken with a lever action in 30.30. I still marvel back to two very distinct memories about that virgin snow November opening morning in 1982. First, was my Dads uncanny ability to track a buck. Together we had hunted, fished and trapped literally everything there was to hunt, fish and trap in the state of Nebraska up to that point, except deer. I wasn’t old enough. I had been limited to canyon runner/brush beater up to this point. But, the long awaited day was upon us. My first ever Nebraska rifle deer season and it was day one.

Right away dad found a buck track and we started on it. As the trail entered a basin that topped out on a crescent shaped ridge about a quarter mile distant, dad looked forward and around and then told me to sneak over to and up the ridge while he stayed on the track. How he knew that he would be able to keep that deer moving and time it perfectly so that the buck and I would intersect on the crest of that ridge, I’ll never know. It was magical then and still is today.

The second memory that stands out so clearly is the moment when I saw the buck sneaking up and over the ridge through some scattered red cedar. Our paths were on a perpendicular collision course but the buck was too concerned about its back trail to notice me even though I was less than 50 yards away. I raised that lever gun and fired, the buck spun around and I fired again.

It was a short track and easy to follow. Later dad joking said to me “You know you don’t have to shoot them in both the heart AND the lungs. Either one of those shots would have been enough”. He also noted that from where he was it sounded like I had shot the buck with a semi auto; two shots in rapid succession. But I had a lever gun. I had practiced with it and I was on auto pilot. Anyone who has spent a lot of time with one knows exactly what I’m talking about. I’m no cowboy action shooter but I can tell you that there is something super natural about how a lever gun works and points especially when you are in the heat of it.

Well this wasn’t supposed to be a hunting story, but now you have my personal nostalgic background for talking about a lever gun/scout scope build. As fate would have it, this part will be unusually short. Normally, I do all of my own scrounging for rifle, base, rings and scope and put it together myself. This time it would be different.

I’ve been wanting a Winchester model 94 in 30-30 caliber for some time now. My plan was to put the Redfield M294 IER mount on it with a 3/4” Redfield 2x IER scope, which I normally have plenty of in inventory. I like this setup because of its compact look, high quality Redfield glass, and the fact that one clamping screw loosened and the scope slides out revealing a rear sight built into the base, so you always have the option of quickly going back to iron sights. I’ve helped many customers accomplish this scout scope setup. When folks do this it’s always for one of two reasons. Most commonly it’s “My eyes aren’t what they used to be but I still want to shoot my ‘94”. But especially lately I’ve been having folks ask for this setup because “It’s cool”.

I planned on using the build so I really didn’t want one that was collector perfect, but then I don’t necessarily like using one that has had too much trail wear. It definitely had to be pre-64 and I hoped for the 1950’s; my favorite era in guns. Low and behold I found a ‘94 built in 1957 that already had the exact setup in place! What’s more, it was way north of average condition but not so nice that I will feel bad when I scratch it. And I hope to get a chance to do so. What’s more, I think someone as OCD about these things as me had put this together. I completely expected to have to re-do the whole thing but I didn’t. The base was drilled, tapped and mounted to perfection, eye relief perfect, the non centered reticle was almost in the center (which I will fix) and the ring gaps couldn’t have been more perfect. Whoever it was even used the right sized screwdriver as the slotted heads still looked new, something that you rarely see from the 50’s. I swear gunsmithing tools came from the lawn mower tool drawer back then.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoy the photos of this build that I didn’t have to build. All I had to do is clean and purge the scope because I need it to be ready for the next 40 years, not the last 40 years. And I certainly hope to be able to go out in the fall and re-live that wonderful memory. For sure, I will enjoy shooting it this evening on the back 40 with my son. And if you are a ‘94 iron sight shooter whose eyes aren’t what they used to be, or just think it looks cool, this is a pretty neat way to go.

Winchester 94 Scout Rifle-Cool, Versatile Utility