my first lever action was a Red Ryder BB gun 50 years ago! Picked up a cheap Rossi .22 lever action and had it threaded a couple years ago. I've killed a bunch of squirrels with it and it's stupid quiet with CCI sub-sonics and accurate.
Liked the little Rossi so much I picked up a Rossi R95 30-30 about a month ago. It's no Marlin or Winchester but it's a beautiful rifle and fit n finish is very good. I would love to leave it scopeless however, at 60 years old, a scope makes sense and will also afford me some low light advantages. Can't wait to climb a tree with it.
I’m 65, and I still use a peep on my model 94.
It is really good in the close woods with shots “long distance” at 100 yds.
Last year almost to the day, today, I was hunting with my Father In-law, and Brother In-law. I was using my Model 94 with a Williams peep sight and a .125 apreature on it. With all the snow in the forecast, and what we actually hunted in, had I brought my scoped rifle I would have spent a majority of time cleaning out my lenses to be able to see.
My Father in-law shot a Doe around four-ish, and with him being 84 we decided to forgo our last few minutes to go help him with his deer.
We located the deer and my Brother In-law went back to the truck to get the four wheeler to get the deer, and my Father In-law, out of the woods.
I decided to wait it out on the trail the Doe came in on in hopes that maybe a Buck might be following her from where she came.
With about ten minutes of legal shooting time left I see movement from the trail, and see another Doe coming along. Without a Doe tag I just watch her, but knowing that it is really low light, I wanted to see about my sight picture, and to see what it looked like under the circumstances.
I was able to see well enough with the .125 aperture and the low light conditions that I could have taken a shot had it been a Buck.
Another option would be to take the aperture out and used the opening as a ghost sight, but with the .125 aperture it was good enough to see still with them minutes of legal shooting left.
I will pick up a .15 aperture this year when I get to it just to have.
This picture of the .125 aperture on my 94.
