Use Iron Sights or just a Scope/ACOG/Red Dot/etc?

[Boba Fett]

This was a good question started on this thread, but I thought it could have used a poll.

So how many of us really practice with our iron sights? Obviously a bolt gun that doesn't come with the irons is out, but on those that do come with irons (e.g. AR-15, Mosin, M1903, Garand, Socom II, 30-30, and many many others) how many of us practice with them?


For me, if it has iron sights, I probably won't put a scope on it. I like my AR sights and have never put a scope on it. The red dot/quick acquisition sights are alright, but I just prefer the irons. If I want to do precision shooting, I go to my bolt gun. I do have a scope for my 30-30, but I have shot it with and without.

I enjoy the challenge of the iron sights, but I also like a scope now and then depending on the rifle.

 

[Zerodefect]

My Ar has both. My Aimpoint sits clear of my BUIS which I can use when ever I want. If the Aimpoint fails I can instantly switch to the irons, and if it fails real bad, broken glass etc. Then I just pop the quick release on my Larue LT129 mount and toss the Aimpoint.

I train with both. I'm bigtime faster and more accurate with the Aimpoint. A tactical "run and gun" course where my time would be around 2 minutes with irons is down to 1:30-1:45 with an Aimpoint/Eotech, and with a higher hit score.


Your cutting yourself short by running Irons only on your AR.

 

[AT2]

I've hunted upland game with my trusty 870 all my life and I am just now getting into rifles. IMHO I wont let myself "out of the house" so to speak until I can get a consistent 3" group at 100 yards with irons. My goal is to take an elk with one of my milsurps (91/30, Vz24 8mm, k31). IMHO irons = braggin' rights.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Overall I'd say 10 percent with iron sights and 90 percent with optics.

 

[MrCleanOK]

Like M2, I'll use the irons about 10% of the time. Any optics on a fighting rifle are going to be backed up with irons, so I need to stay refreshed on them but focus most of my training on using optics.

 

[Hatterasguy]

I use irons, don't even have any optics really. I keep thinking about buying an Aimpoint but I just can't justify the price.

Where I live finding a range that lets you shoot further than 100 yards is tough, and at 100 yards I have no problem getting nice groups with iron sights.

I enjoy the challange to. Most optics are pretty recent, the Marines got their nickname in WW1 popping Germans with iron sights. They didn't get to mount Aimpoints on there 03's.

 

[MrWesson]

My first experience with guns was bb guns and I was a damn good shot with irons on air rifles. I did not purchase or even shoot a firearm until I was 18 and not having anyone to show me the right way to learn how to shoot I scoped my first rifle almost immediately..(another mistake was buying a semi) Because of this I am pretty dependent on glass and my eyesight has gotten worse as well. I have been shooting my mosin recently and it has forced me to realize without optics I am handicapped. I only have 1 .22 rifle and I refuse to remove the scope but I am considering a bolt action .22 to cheaply "relearn" how to shoot with irons.

 

[Old Time Hunter]

Like in the poll "Real men" use iron sights, at least until they become proficient using them. That way they learn to understand drift, trajectory, and distance. Too many paper punchers, shooting at predetermined distances proclaim the superiority of their skills using scopes...until thrown an unkown distance and their marksmanship faulters, yet they do not understand why.

 

[possum]

my work gun has only an acog.

however my personal ar, is the better set up for personal use. it has an eotech and a buis. i not only train with the red dot and irons as well i do red dot down drills, in which case i turn the dot off which simulates that the red dot died during an engagement, depending on the avalability of cover, and or distance to the threat i use the front sight post and the window of the eotech as a large rear appeture.

 

[Pony Express]

the only scope i would allow on my AR would be an ACOG. however, I dont have $900 lying around so i'll just stick with the iron sights on it.

 

[rcmodel]

If the rifle has optics, I use them exclusively and reserve the irons, if any, for back-up sights on them.

Out of all my long guns, I'm split about 40/60 on those with glass and those with irons.

I've got way more old Winchester lever-guns & pumps then common sense would dictate though.

rc

 

[inherentical]

until thrown an unkown distance and their marksmanship faulters, yet they do not understand why.

Because they don't have a laser rangefinder?

 

[2ndAmFan]

I voted 50/50. Depends on the gun and what I plan to use it for. I have some rifles that are scoped and some unscoped. I definitely favor a scope for hunting these days. When I was younger I prided myself on using iron sights but as I've gotten older, and my vision has deteriorated a bit the advantages of scopes have become apparent.

 

[SpeedAKL]

Right now I use more scoped guns, but I enjoy shooting both.

 

[CoRoMo]

I love shooting through irons sights. I also love shooting with 1x optics, but open sights are just slightly more fun.

 

[Old Time Hunter]

Because they don't have a laser rangefinder?

Because a scope alters the perception of distance and without having a tangible marked distance, your senses have to accomodate multiple criteria instead of just one. Hence the magnification of the optics + the actual distance + the perception. When shooting distances with irons, you have a known measurement between the two sights, you have a known angle of trajectory (based on your original zero), and then you have a mechanical measurement to raise or lower your rear sight to adjust for distance. The guess work as far as what the actual distance is, is easier and more accurate when you can ascertain the distance from surrounding landmarks, hard to do looking through a scope.

 

[Eightball]

I'm young and have the eyes for irons, so I use 'em.

Plus, I cannot yet afford the optic I want, so Irons it is

 

[RippinSVT]

I too am young and have good eyes, thus I prefer irons usually. I have scoped rifles, but unless I'm shooting for groups at distance or doing really precision shooting/hunting, I use irons. I just have more fun plinking with irons, plain and simple.

 

[dmazur]

I enjoy shooting the Garand, with its excellent iron sights, of course.

Other rifles have scopes, however.

 

[Maverick223]

My eyesight doesn't permit the effective use of most irons. I will practice with them occasionally to maintain proficiency if I should ever need them, and I have a few rifles that have irons only, but most of these have apertures that work better with my eyesight.

 

[possum]

if you can hit it with irons, you can hit it faster with a 1x red dot type optic.

 

[DMK]

The beautiful thing about the AR15 is you can easily have both irons and a red dot on the same rifle and use both equally without needing to remove anything. This functionality is impossible with some rifles and difficult (or expensive) with others.

I like shooting with my Bushnell Holosights. I have four of them, all on AR15s in three different calibers. It's a lot of fun to just put that pipper on the target and open fire. Both eyes open, wide field of view, focus on the target, makes me feel like a Terminator.

That said, I like shooting with iron sights too. The AR15 has great sights. I probably shoot with irons more than optics actually.

 

[navyretired 1]

I'm right handed but left eye dominate so I'm more proficiant with open sights for 200 meters or less. At longer ranges I have to use scope and close left eye , I proficiant out to about 500 meters with scope and try to try within those 2 parameters. Luckely I've always shot handguns with left eye closed and don't even think about it. Week hand makes for very slow times but high scores. I like red dots for CQ work but get confused when opening both for situational awareness. I'm training myself for MilDot so I can push range out a little further.

 

[jpwilly]

I enjoy using iron sights when practicing but will admit that the right optics make it much easier.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have really tight terrain where I hunt, so Iron Sights really work just fine with the farthest shot being maybe 120 yards, so haven't put any glass on my regular hunting guns. I have a very nice scope on my Mauser, but I don't have any place to use it as rifles are prohibited for hunting in the PRoM for the vast majority of counties, so other than the range it doesn't get used; it has backup iron sights of course.

LD