What, are iron sights diseased or something?

[Archangel14]

I'm looking to pick up a new bolt action for service as a "TOGG". That's "That One Good Gun" to those of you in Manhattan. Not to get all "end of the world here", but I do think I need a good, solid rifle that I rely upon to put meat on the table and defend my loved ones with. Just got through reading one of Colonel Cooper's books and am pretty convinced that a man with one good long arm and a few rounds who KNOWS how to use it is way better off than a guy with an AR who doesn't know how to put a bullet on target. Hence, my search for that one good gun. I've been thinking that a bolt action will do.

Now, I thought my TOGG in my safe. But I realized that should my scope go down for some reason my rifle would be rendered pretty useless in that it has no iron sights. Thus, I began my quest for a good bolt gun with iron sights. I am amazed at how few new production bolt guns with iron sights are out there. I'm so disappointed that I'm thinking about getting a BLR in .308. Any suggestions? :banghead:

 

[viking499]

An laser 700 BDL will be a great shooter and have sights. Plenty of parts available too if ever needed.

 

[sappyg]

An laser 700 BDL will be a great shooter and have sights. Plenty of parts available too if ever needed.

There's that.... Or there are quite a few ARs that come with iron sights.

But, you have to know how to use them.

 

[back40]

Or there are quite a few ARs that come with iron sights

i believe he's looking for a bolt action.

you can always do the ruger GSR, or savage scout. there's also the win m70 alaskan, the ruger guide gun, and the various safari variants.

if it were me, and i really wanted irons, i look at having a nice set installed after the fact.

 

[rbernie]

Any suggestions?

Get a better scope. Seriously - there are more than a few optics that have 'been there and back' and can be trusted to work under any circumstance short of destruction of the rifle itself.

Barring that, Ruger makes several variants within the Hawkeye series with iron sights.

 

[frankenstein406]

Enfield

 

[sappyg]

i believe he's looking for a Bolt action.

Agh.... Yes.... Found it.

Doesn't Remington still make the model 7 with irons? Ruger still makes the RSI and I think CZ has at least one or more with iron sights.... That 550 FS looks like a winner.

 

[back40]

yep, the cz 550 fs would be a fine choice.

 

[BCRider]

I gotta agree that Lee Enfield No.4 MkI or MkI* would not be a bad way to go. Peep style battle sights that are old guy eyeball friendly, rugged as all get out and a slick and reliable bolt system. Couple that with the 10 round magazine and you pretty much have a winner.

Don't like the weight of the full on military version? There's LOTS of sporterized options floating around.

Otherwise I have to agree with one of the posts above that suggested you simply buy whatever rifle you like regardless of sights and then have irons installed at some extra cost. If this is a long term ownership sort of thing then you should get the base barrel and action you want and then turn it into the gun you want it to be rather than compromising by only selecting from models that come with iron sights.

I REALLY suggest you look at the idea of a receiver mounted peep or ghost ring style sight. They sure are fuzzy eyeball friendly and far quicker to get a good sight picture than the mid barrel mounted rear notch style sights IME.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

If you are a fan of the Col, then you might want to check out Ruger's neat GSR. It was made to cover the exact role you describe. It's light, compact, and handy, yet accurate and powerful enough to take the fight out of something at any practical range, and it comes with iron sights. You'd have to spend about $4K in ARs and upper receivers to get the versility of the GSR.

Mossberg also came out with their bolt action, detachable mag .308, the MVP, IIRC. And Savage has a couple similar models, most notably in their hog hunting line up. If I was going to get a Remington, I'd take a look at the M7600 pump action in .308 Win.

 

[ThomasT]

archangel I agree with you. I like to have backup sights on my rifles too. I have a couple of remington ADLs with the factory sights on them. Gunbroker is full of used remingtons with the factory sights on them. And if they have been removed you can buy them on GB and ebay. Most of the rifles built 20+ years ago came with open sights so you should be able to find what you want without having to buy a heavy military rifle.

I just bought a ruger MKII 30-06 to replace the one I let a friend talk me out of several years ago. When I bought my first rifle I bought the factory sights from ruger but never installed them. I did fit the banded front sight base. The base will slip right over the muzzle of my new gun and can be tightened down with a set screw. I also bought a New England Custom Guns rear receiver site off ebay for about $45. Half the cost of a new one.

This site can be sighted in and will return to zero when reinstalled. So I can use my rifle with a scope and if I fall and hit the scope it can be removed and the peep installed and I can continue to hunt.

 

[henschman]

I agree with your premise that a guy with a bolt gun who is skilled in its use is better off than a noob with an AR, but I don't agree with your conclusion that you need to go get a good bolt gun. I would say better still is a guy with an AR who knows how to use it. Sure a bolt action will do, but if you're actually contemplating defending self and family with it, why handicap yourself like that? I'd go with a good, mil spec or better AR. It will kill pretty much anything you're going to want to eat in the lower 48, and is unparalleled as a defensive or offensive weapon. It is the ideal platform for mounting high durability optics like ACOGs and Aimpoints, and is easy to set up with irons too.

 

[I6turbo]

Not hard to find at all. CZ, for one, makes about 15-20 different models with nice iron sights, and most in several different calibers.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

I'm in your same shoes, my route will be filled with a FNH produced Winchester 70 with aftermarket front and rear sights, stripper clip cut-out, and a sling.

 

[chicharrones]

I'm looking to pick up a new bolt action for service as a "TOGG". That's "That One Good Gun" to those of you in Manhattan. Not to get all "end of the world here", but I do think I need a good, solid rifle that I rely upon to put meat on the table and defend my loved ones with.

Would this be a city rifle or for away from the city?

For a city rifle, I'd be thinking semi-auto if I could own one.

 

[itsa pain]

I agree with your premise that a guy with a bolt gun who is skilled in its use is better off than a noob with an AR, but I don't agree with your conclusion that you need to go get a good bolt gun. I would say better still is a guy with an AR who knows how to use it. Sure a bolt action will do, but if you're actually contemplating defending self and family with it, why handicap yourself like that? I'd go with a good, mil spec or better AR. It will kill pretty much anything you're going to want to eat in the lower 48, and is unparalleled as a defensive or offensive weapon. It is the ideal platform for mounting high durability optics like ACOGs and Aimpoints, and is easy to set up with irons too.

It is amazing what a 55 grain bullet from an AR can do even defying the laws of physics lol. I am surprised the navy has not replaced their torpedoes with a 5.56 round

 

[itsa pain]

I'm in your same shoes, my route will be filled with a FNH produced Winchester 70 with aftermarket front and rear sights, stripper clip cut-out, and a sling.

PB that would be great set up but very expensive. Would not the Ruger scout be cheaper with real good sites? Unless you do not want .308 rifle

 

[Welding Rod]

Whoops

 

[Welding Rod]

I agree with your premise that a guy with a bolt gun who is skilled in its use is better off than a noob with an AR, but I don't agree with your conclusion that you need to go get a good bolt gun. I would say better still is a guy with an AR who knows how to use it. Sure a bolt action will do, but if you're actually contemplating defending self and family with it, why handicap yourself like that? I'd go with a good, mil spec or better AR. It will kill pretty much anything you're going to want to eat in the lower 48, and is unparalleled as a defensive or offensive weapon. It is the ideal platform for mounting high durability optics like ACOGs and Aimpoints, and is easy to set up with irons too.

My vote for most rational post of the day.

Nothing wrong with a good bolt gun, but personal defense is not its strong suit comparatively speaking.

 

[HoosierQ]

Also take a look at Ruger's 77/44 or 77/357. Very handy rifles, conventional iron sights, built like tanks. The .44 mag will be a serious short/moderate range game-getter and the .357 will be no slouch in that arena. Certainly no 30-06 but inside 150 yards...

 

[Temp430]

Iron sights are fine close in. But when it comes to deer hunting many States have no spike horn rules meaning any buck you shoot must have at least one fork at least 1 inch long. Estimating the length of a fork on a buck's antlers while he's walking through the woods at dusk or pre-dawn at some distance over 50 yards is kind of hard to do by eye sight alone and pretty much requires deer hunters to have a scope on their rifle.

 

[anothernewb]

Ruger #1 comes to mind, not a bolt, but has sights

 

[CB900F]

Archangel14;

To answer your original question: Of course they are, you didn't know!? It's not a rapid progression, but the older you get the more they degrade your eyes. For most people, sometime around age 50 they ruin your eyes to the point that the eyes no longer work with them. You've noticed that our benevolent government has, without fanfare or media blitz, gotten most domestic manufacturers to withdraw the nasty things from their products.

Sarcasm switch turned off.

Seriously, haunt the used racks if a bolt gun with irons is what you want. Most 50's-60's era guns came with some sort of them. Mind you, they were pretty basic but they were there. Occasionally you can come up with a bolt gun that somebody put a nice peep sight setup on, but you've really got to look to find one. Whether or not it's going to be in the caliber you want is bucking some fairly long odds. Are you willing to rebarrel?

Honestly, that Ruger GSR is probably your best bet in today's market.

900F

 

[BullSlinger]

Bolt Gun, for putting food on table, proven and will outlast you and those behind you.
Iron sights. Mosin Negant.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I am amazed at how few new production bolt guns with iron sights are out there.

I'm not. It's a matter of what sells and what doesn't. I know if I buy a rifle used and it has open sights, the first thing I do is yank em off. Not saying my way is the best way, don't get me wrong. Just saying there are many out there just like me.

Just got through reading one of Colonel Cooper's books and am pretty convinced that a man with one good long arm and a few rounds who KNOWS how to use it is way better off than a guy with an AR who doesn't know how to put a bullet on target.

If that's the logic we're going to use, wouldn't it stand to reason that a guy with an AR that DOES know how to use it would be better off than the guy with the bolt? That sounds a little like Mr Cooper is of the opinion that everyone with an AR is incompetent.