No glass, no lasers

[Isher]

Alright, I'm an old fart.

Grew up in a different age.

Which, in its way, was a golden age.

So my question is, who here owns no scopes

Nor lasers and still manages to shoot more or less straight?

I realize this sounds like pure reverse Hubris,

But there was a day when irons ruled.

Just asking...........


isher

 

[M2 Carbine]

I'm 72. The center lens of my tri focals is focused at front sight distance. This is good for all daylight iron sight shooting and I still regularly shoot from arm's length (5 yards) to 52+ yards, standing using small handguns.

But also being open minded I have found that such as gun mounted lasers, Red Dot sights and scopes beat the heck out of iron sights in some cases.
So, I use it all.


Sometimes I shoot without my glasses. Even though the sights are nothing more than a blur I mostly do surprisingly well.
But then sometimes I shoot with my eyes close and still do surprisingly well. So I don't know what to make out of that.

 

[Zoidberg523]

Though I have scoped rifles (and use them), I prefer to hunt deer with irons because of the dense underbrush where I hunt - finding a good sight picture with a scope can sometimes be difficult. (I am college age, however.)

 

[jhco50]

I'm 61 and have been nearsited for years. Now I have medicine for this and that which really messes with my eyes. Still, I can out-shoot the son-in-laws (all but one, darn he's good), brother-in-laws, and grand kids with open sights. They all use iron sights as well. I teach in the old way. too. Irons still rule in my roost.

 

[jr_roosa]

I have one scope on a Winchester 94 and I'm thinking of swapping it for a rear peep sight. Everything else is glass free. No batteries either.

Do spotting scopes count? I have one of those too. Otherwise I can't see the holes at 50 yards and further out.

I have a friend who complains that he can't shoot good groups with his M4gery, and he wants an Eotech so he can get better groups. The whole time he's telling me this, I'm shooting my garand prone next to him and getting the same groups at 100yds that he's getting off the bench at 50.

Oh, and I'm 35, so it's not an age thing.

That being said, if I picked up a bolt action .30-06 it would get a scope for sure.

 

[cleardiddion]

20 years old and I've only got one thing with a scope: A Marlin Model 60. Why? Because it came with one when I bought it.

Otherwise, I'm more than happy to be sending lead downrange with good old fashioned irons. I'm a bit near sighted and I don't like to wear my glasses so things get blurry around the 150yd line onwards but I can shoot just fine with any of the milsurps I have and whatnot.

 

[Hold My Own]

I'm of a young age, and I've never fired a gun without using the iron sights.

 

[SMMAssociates]

Isher:

Lasers and night sights on my two EDC 1911's, not much on the others. I don't depend on them, but they can be useful, and the laser is a superb training aid.

The only scope is on a junk .22, just for fun. I don't hunt, so it's kind of irrelevant. (If you want to hunt, though, that's fine with me.)

Regards,

 

[GunsAreGood]

I do own a laser for a pistol but rarely shoot with it. Everything else is all iron sights. Simplicity is a good thing in my book. I like to know that my sight picture is always right.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I'll be 50 in less than a week and I've been wearing glasses for nearsightedness since the 3rd grade. I run irons and scopes on my rifles and carbine, irons on my pistols except my edc xd40sc also has a Crimson Trace.

I see (pun?) no reason to not at least be able to use them all.

.02

 

[hso]

I own optics, but don't shoot with them unless I'm shooting beyond 100 yds.

 

[TexasBill]

Nary a scope or laser in the house other than a spotting scope.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

No scopes or optics now. With my AK I can usually outshoot the guys with fancy shmansy AR's and thousand dollar optics, because they have failed to properly secure them to their rifle.

 

[inherentical]

Reading through this thread I can suggest one piece of gear for those of you choosing to go completely optics free.

 

[wishin]

I'm just short of 70 and can't shoot a rifle without a scope these days. If I wear corrective glasses in order to use the iron sights, the target is blurred; if I don't, the sights are blurred. A scope is a Godsend.

 

[HighStrung]

I can honestly say that I don't currently have anything with optic's or batteries on it. That being said, I do plan on putting something on my SKS but that is more of a plinker than anything I'll ever plan on using in the field. I was taught to be reliable with iron's on every weapon I own, optics/lasers aren't always an option, so I can't say that I'm comfortable relying on them.

 

[Flintknapper]

I simply use whichever is appropriate for the circumstance.

Sometimes that means "iron sights", other times optics or even a laser.

I am fairly old too (55), but I do embrace technology.

How many of the "iron sighter's" here... still have a rotary phone?

Use what works best for you...and be supportive of the choices of others.

Good shooting and be safe.

Flint.

 

[ar10]

I have one scope for my CZ and took it off about a year ago. So from BB gun to handguns I shoot open or peep sights, that is until about 3 weeks ago when I couldn't see the target at 25'. Guess I'll "see" how it goes after the cataract surgeries starting next week.

 

[bhk]

I have optics on many of my hunting rifles because I can definately shoot better with them. They extend shooting time in the morning and evening, and help pick clear bullet paths through the brush.

That said, my lever actions wear peep sights and always will. They are among my most fun guns to shoot.

 

[doc540]

I shoot my Colt snub and compact 9mm with irons because that's the way I carry them.

My wife, however, uses lasers on her home defense handguns because she can shoot more accurately and confidently with them due to her eyesight.

 

[Sav .250]

Hand guns........iron sights. Shotgun..........iron sights.

Rifle..................

 

[preachnhunt]

Like 76shuvlinoff I will be 50 in less than a week. I use scopes and lasers where I need them, but it's still fun to shoot with iron sights when I can see the target. BTW the 44 mag. I hope I get from my lovely wife for the half century birthday will have open sights.

 

[ArthurDent]

So far I've used iron sights.

I'm still learning to shoot (less than 2 years into this) and all of the best advice I've gotten indicates that irons are the best way to learn. I've been on an epic quest for accuracy which I wrote about in [thread="485317"]this earlier thread[/thread]. So far I seem to be able to hit no better than 6 MOA with irons, even from the bench. (I'm in my mid 40's.) I get very frustrated because it seems that everyone is claiming to easily get sub-MOA while shooting offhand.

I went to an Appleseed shoot a few weekends ago, and wound up one-on-one with a really great teacher. His cheap rifle that he let me borrow had a Nikon prostaff scope, and it allowed me to put several through the same hole. It was a revelation!

Sooo... this weekend I bought a scope. I've mounted it, but I haven't made it to the range to try it yet. The scope should eliminate any vision limitations from the system so that I can work on the other parts of my technique. It should also let me assess how accurate my rifle is (as opposed to the shooter.)

Iron sights seem more elegant, simple, and historically valid, though, so I plan to get back to iron sights as soon as I can.

 

[browningguy]

But there was a day when irons ruled.

That was long long ago, in a galaxy far far away.

While I still shoot my 1891 Mauser and Browning 1885 with peep sights all of my other rifles wear optics. Most of my pistols have irons except for a couple of target pistols, but fiberoptic front sights, lasers, and lights are in abundance.

I'm getting on in years myself and do not look back fondly to the days of iron sights only. I hardly ever shoot some of my older pistols, the black on black sights are next to useless to me now.

 

[NMGonzo]

i need a spotting scope