Bill -- Esshup won't steer you wrong. He knows guns and projectiles better than anybody else I know.
You sure caught my attention with this:
a 1956 Lever Action 30 30 (This one has only had 3 rounds fired thru it)
Buy your brother a cheap gun and take that one home.
I have a Winchester Model 94 30-30 carbine. It is the third one I've owned. It is my most favorite all around gun for serious and effective shooting at a distance, from ground hogs to deer.
As my eye glasses have changed over the years I have had to go with scopes on everything because I can only focus on the rear sight, the front sight, or the target -- but never all three.
Since mine is a Winchester it ejects from the top. The vintage Marlin equivalents also do. I have an offset scope using a commercial off-set mount that looks like this.
My post-1965 30-30 was drilled and tapped for this purpose. I believe most of the Marlins were also factory drilled and tapped. If yours isn't drilled, and most pre-1965 models weren't, I wouldn't drill it. It will drop the value of the gun. But, I believe most were drilled for peep sights that will go over the iron sights. I can still used a peep sight.
With a scope, the old (or new) 30-30s are very accurate and repeatable. They are light. They are rugged as a rhino. The cartridges are inexpensive. A box of 20 either 150 or 170 grain, on sale, runs $12-$15.
