Iron sights

Yup but Verniers or peeps. Can’t see buck horns or the like anymore.

Usually yes, where I hunt if it’s too far away to line up irons on, it’s probably off the property.

I hunt almost exclusively with a muzzle loader. All of my muzzle loaders have either barrel mounted iron sights or tang mounted peep sights. Where I hunt, a 75 yard shot is a long one, and most of the deer I see are within 40 yards. Never felt handicapped using iron sights or a muzzle loader. One shot is all I need.

txcookie said:

I have never really hunted with them before. I have 3 rifles that are dedicated irron sights. yugo m48, Mosin 9130, and a ROSSIE RIO IN 30.30. Planning on using them this year for my normal hunting. Any of you choose to use irons?

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I killed my first deer with a tang-sighted Winchester .30-30... Lyman #2 and a 150gr CoreLokt at ~100yds.

I don't own a single rifle with a scope. Don't need one and have no interest in getting one.

Bill Raby said:

I don't own a single rifle with a scope. Don't need one and have no interest in getting one.

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^^^^^ I thought I was the only one......

txcookie said:

I have never really hunted with them before. I have 3 rifles that are dedicated irron sights. yugo m48, Mosin 9130, and a ROSSIE RIO IN 30.30. Planning on using them this year for my normal hunting. Any of you choose to use irons?

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Have Aperture sights on:

- Mini-14
- Ruger Hawkeye 6.5x55
- Ruger 77/357
- M1 Rifle

If you consider < 250 yards from field positions and an 8" Dia. circle your target?

Train and shoot with confidence.




GR

I enjoy shooting irons and all of my lever guns are scopeless. In good light iron sights are surprisingly accurate. I wouldn't have any problems hitting a deer size target with the iron sights on my rifles out to at least 200 yards. Some of the better sights would work even farther.

The key words are "in good light". The odds of getting a shot at a game animal are far greater in the 30 minutes prior to sunrise and the 30 minutes after sunset. Legal shooting hours almost everywhere. In some places those times are an hour prior to and after sunrise/sunset.

Irons are a pretty heavy handicap when you can't see them, or the target. While I enjoy shooting irons at targets, I'm not willing to place that handicap on myself while hunting.

txcookie said:

... Any of you choose to use irons?

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I have shot over irons for my entire life. Only in the last decade have I glassed a few of my rifles (worsening presbyopia ).

tark said:

^^^^^ I thought I was the only one......

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Nope, another here.....

U.S. Model of 1917 Remington, the only rifle I have used for nearly the past thirty years of deer huntin'. Peeps on it.

I have probably said this before, but snow and rain does not mess with my sight picture...

I just put a set of Williams 94fp receiver sights on my pre-64 Win94 30-30 and I'll never go back to buckhorns. Gun is deadly accurate out to 200 yards for me now. Cant wait to get it into the field this deer seaon.

I suppose I'm in the middle of the road. All my lever guns wear open sights, and so do a couple of my rimfires. My main deer rifle is a Remington 700 in 30-06 and it wears a Williams 5D reciever sight. On the other hand, my 25-06 and 270 wear scopes, and so do the 2/3rds of my rimfires. My eyes are good to about 150 yards for deer, and about 75 for smaller game. For squirrels I almost have to have a scope as they're getting harder to spot in advancing age. Having said all that, for all round plinking and woods tramping I prefer iron sights. They're easier for me to acquire quickly. In good light, out to about 50 yards I'm pretty deadly. And maybe more importantly, they're much more fun when popping cans and bouncing empty 12 gauge hulls around the yard.

Mac

My first ten deer or so were taken with 100% unaltered milsurp 1903A3 and a SMLE Lee-Enfield. That was in the late 60’s. Other than a few rimfires a long time ago every rifle I own has a scope.

Optics get you hits faster and require less training time. Magnifying optics help identifying targets.

If you’re really good with irons you’ll be even better with the right optic.

BSW

I've heard iron sights described as the stick shift... you know, manual transmission... of the gun world. Some of us can drive a stick and enjoy it. Same with a good set of irons.

After refusing to mount a scope on my first muzzleloader and instead opting for a Williams peep, I missed a very nice buck that I could otherwise see until I looked for him through the aperture. The hard-headed teen I was realized quickly that the times deer are most active are early and late.

Like @jmr40 I've chosen not to handicap myself in the woods.

I've been using peep sights on all my hunting rifles for years, ghost rings actually, with a front fiber optics post. The only exception was a .17 HMR: to shoot tiny things from afar, a scope does have advantages...

For everything else, the rifle balances and handles so much better without a scope, and is much faster for quick shots. If the shot is too long, git closer... I really enjoy stalking an animal, getting as close as possible without him knowing. The whole game, tracking, following, finding, making a plan according to terrain, weather, wind, time of the day; then taking all the time needed to get close up, in as perfect a shot position as you can. That's hunting.

Irons it is.

Skylerbone said:

After refusing to mount a scope on my first muzzleloader and instead opting for a Williams peep, I missed a very nice buck that I could otherwise see until I looked for him through the aperture. The hard-headed teen I was realized quickly that the times deer are most active are early and late.

Like @jmr40 I've chosen not to handicap myself in the woods.

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Scope on a muzzleloader? Just go to the grocery store and buy meat. That will reduce your handicap even further.

Bill Raby said:

Scope on a muzzleloader? Just go to the grocery store and buy meat. That will reduce your handicap even further.

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And your flint tipped spear is where in all of this? There is no moral superiority in shooting irons only.

Yes I like the XS sights on my 45-70.