Iron sights for hunting

[andrewdl007]

I don't do much hunting besides waterfowl and upland game birds. I do want to get into deer hunting and even work my way up to exotics like kudu. What I want to know is does anyone hunt with just iron sights or is it all scopes now. I have my dad's old 30-30 which he used for years and it only has the original iron sights (not that I would use it).

So does anyone out there hunt big game with iron sights? If so feel free to share pics.

 

[ford8nr]

For the first 30 years I hunted, I used a Win 94 with original sights. That gun accounted for a LOT of Whitetail deer. The only modification I should have done is install a rear peep sight. I love shooting iron sights and today I'll shoot iron sighted guns on the range but it's scopes for hunting.

 

[SVTOhio]

My NEF pardner pump with 18" slug barrel has killed many deer in the past ten years with iron sights. The furthest being 140 yards on an 8 point this past year.

 

[TimSr]

It is mostly a matter of your vision, and whether it is adequate for the range at which you would expect to be making your shot.

If you are mainly looking at 100 yards or less, and your vision is fair, a scope would probably get in your way and slow down your aim. If you are doing 200 yard shots, a scope might be helpful.

I hunt deer with pistol, and my effective range is limited to little beyond 100 yards, so even with poor eyesight a scope is not in the cards for me.

When shooting squirrels, at just 75 yards, I need a scope.

 

[desidog]

Definitely; I don't even use cartridges anymore either.... for the last three years I've done all of my deer hunting with a .45 H+R underhammer...

 

[jmr40]

If you want to hunt with irons just for nostalgia then go have fun. On certain rifles I prefer to leave the scope off and levers are one of them. I feel the same about muzzle loading rifles.

But from a practicality stand point a scope literally does everything better. I've even found them to be more durable and less expensive than a true quality set of irons. A low powered scope is faster to acquire the target with and works much better than irons even at close range, especially in low light.

 

[Bullseye]

From a tree stand, I have used lever guns for deer hunting but then my range of view was limited to the same distance I could make the shot with iron sites. I rather enjoy it, but it depends how far I can see whether I would use a scoped rifle or not. Depends where I am hunting.
I have a memory I'll never forget of one guy we had at the cabin shooting a deer on the run though, at a distance of 40+ yards with a 30-30 model 94 and it dropped pretty quick.
That was a very impressive shot I witnessed. I myself wouldn't even try it. All the deer I shot were standing still or barely moving.

 

[tactikel]

Don't discount the .30-30! Hunting with iron sights indeed depends on your eyesight. What range will you be hunting? Deer hunting in Wisconsin is vastly different than hunting in Montana. Iron sights are cheap, rugged/reliable, and fast. Older eyes benefit from reddot sights, for any big game routinly taken over 100 yards a good quality scope is your best bet.

 

[Captcurt]

Inside 75 yards, no problem.

I shoot scoped guns most of the time but I am so nearsighted I can't focus on sights with my glasses. To be honest most of the deer that I shoot are close enough to kill with open sights. Even for me. We have 3 point on one side rule and the optics help to distinguish a legal buck.

 

[Art Eatman]

Iron sights are a limiting feature if you hunt earliest and latest light. You also need to be extra careful that it's Bambi and not Best Buddy when the light is nearly gone, late in the evening.

 

[TimSr]

I'll just add that I do carry a small pair of binoculars when I hunt squirrel or deer, whther its iron sights or scope.

Arts post reminded me of the time I was squirrel hunting, saw movement in a tree, and checked it out with my scope to find out I was pointing my rifle at a hunter in a tree stand. I don't know if he saw me, but I was thoroughly ashamed and embarassed, and will never make that mistake again of using my scope for binoculars.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Over the past 11 years I have hunted only with iron sights. Deer, squirrel, rabbit no worries. Farthest shot was 110 yards...and I'm 52. My hunting buddy gets the deer in closer, say 50 yards or less and he too...only iron sights... You do need to put in some range time...but that's part of the fun right??

One thing about iron sights, when I am in the woods, it gets too dark to see them about 45 minutes to a hour before it's legally time to stop hunting. In a field, it gets too dark to see them right at sundown, so I've had game that I could clearly identify at say 40 yards as a buck, but when I shouldered the rifle, the sights could not be aligned so no shot. So for some folks eyes, being able to use the sights will fail before it's too dark to clearly identify the target and what's beyond.

LD

 

[ScrapMetalSlug]

I hunt with mojo peep sights and tech sights. I prefer aperture sights for hunting. Keep in mind, most new bolt guns don't come with iron sights. If you want to hunt with iron sights, I think most new lever guns have sights. Other wise, mojo, tech sights, and Williams make a variety of aftermarket iron sights to fit milsurp and some modern guns.

 

[fragout]

Elk was taken at 164 yards with iron sights. M14S with Arms 18 mount. Also hunt with the M1A A1 next to it in first pic. ( M1A A1 has been used for deer and hogs only so far, and it is my back up rifle on big game hunts.)

Ammo = 165gr fed sierra game kings
Results = DRT with exit wound

Some of the best iron sights ever put on a rifle, as most other rifles that have iron sights don't even compare to these.

 

[fragout]

Both below were taken with iron sights via the M14S inside of 100 yards. Ammo = same as with the elk pictured above. Results were the same as well. DRT with exit wounds.

 

[newfalguy101]

Irons for me up till the last two years, my eyes are just not good enough to shoot at a living critter anymore

 

[fragout]

A few hogs. 146gr South African and MAL FMJ with iron sights

 

[Choctaw]

I use irons but glass with binoculars, as I'm sure you all do.

 

[ldlfh7]

30-30 with iron sights is what I use for deer hunting 90% of the time.

 

[jrdolall]

Ahhh the good old days when I could shoot at 200 yards with iron sights. Now I can't shoot at 20 yards with a 22LR bolt gun in my backyard because my eyes will not focus on both sights and the target.
I hunted with a 30-30 Marlin for many years with iron sights and killed many deer. As Art mentioned, low light conditions are a limiting factor for iron sights. Seeing front and rear sights AND being able to shoot at a spot on a deer while there is minimal light is not easy. Can you see the deer? Yes but shooting at his heart in those conditions isn't easy and I don't like just shooting at an animal.

 

[Sunray]

It is mostly a matter of the time of day. Irons get hard to see in low light for anybody. However, peep sights are way better than any factory iron sight. The manufacturers know most hunting rifles will be scoped, so only lower end kit even gets irons. Irons on lever actions are most there due to tradition. Iron lever action sights are just as poor as the one Remington, etc used in the old days.

 

[fragout]

Not big game, but this one was taken at 147yards via iron sights ...... which work even better when there's snow on the ground. Especially during dusk or dawn.
I can use them at night if there is a full moon and snow, but my 3gen NVS mounted on the rifles ARMS mount works much better and has no limitations

 

[fragout]

Of all the different M14 iron sights, my favorite set up is a Std rear sight aperture in combination with an SEI gas lock front sight. The H&K style circle lines up well with the rear sight aperture allowing for fast acquisition of a hog on the run for example. The front sight post is well protected and allows for precise shooting out to my max effective range with iron sights. The pics below show what I mean from the muzzle end. 2nd pic shows a Std front sight on left next to the gas lock front sight.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Irons get hard to see in low light for anybody. However, peep sights are way better than any factory iron sight.

Peep sights allow less light into the eye and so are more influenced by low light than the standard iron sight, so just before it's too dim for me to use my iron sights a peep sight will have failed...while peeps are more accurate when in normal daylight than standard iron sights, when properly made and adjusted.


LD

 

[MCgunner]

Scopes give you an advantage in heavy woods especially at dawn and dusk when movement is often seen. I've shot more'n one with irons, but my eyes ain't getting any better with age, so I really prefer optics.

However, peep sights are way better than any factory iron sight.

Amen and amen IF that's a ghost ring aperture. Those target peeps are pretty worthless for hunting. A ghost ring is the iron I prefer, though I used the standard issue sight on my SKS a few years back to take a decent 9 point on my place in Calhoun County. No woods there, just heavy grass and mots of scrub oak and it wasn't quite dusk, yet, when he came along. Too, the range was only about 30 years, that helps. LOL Been thinkin' about a tech sight for that gun, though.