This week I took a good friend of mine, who lives a long ways away, shooting at the range. He has hunted all his life. Over the past 40 years or so, he has used a scoped rifle and taken a lot of game with that rifle, including Moose, many Elk, deer and bear. Having hunted with that same rifle for so many years, he has become very good with it.
This week at the range, I introduced him to four of my old rifles, a Springfield Model 1888, an original Winchester Model 1876, an original Winchester Model 1873 and an old Winchester Model 1894. All four were well over 100 years old and all of them had iron sights.
Only once or twice in the past 8 years have I ever seen another person using iron sights at my range, and I have not shot with anyone who is proficient with these old guns, so I had no idea what is normal. I was very surprised at how difficult it was for my friend to get anything resembling a group, given how consistently good he is with his scoped rifle of 40 years running. For him, it was a whole different kind of shooting. To my amazement, I was able to shoot significantly better offhand at 100 yards than he was able to shoot from a rest with the same rifle. He asked me if I had ever considered competing, but I was embarrassed at the suggestion and told him no and I never would want to. I don't consider myself anything more than a half-decent shot. Rather, I'm sure it was his 40 some years away from the good old iron sights that made such a contrast between our targets.
I think he's hooked now and I'm sure he will see rapid improvement as he practices with an old iron sighted Model 1894 over the next few months. All this got me to thinking as I was reading some threads by fellows who were discussing what were the best scoped rifles, etc. What I am thinking is that shooting old guns with iron sights must be a whole different world of shooting that I think a lot of fellows would enjoy if they decided to really get half decent at it. Judging from my good friend, who is normally very good with his scoped, flat shooting rifle, shooting with iron sights is a more challenging sport that many might find even more enjoyable and satisfying than shooting with a scope, once they get half decent at it. In a forum like this, probably most of us shoot with iron sights but for you fellows who have been letting your iron sighted guns gather dust, or maybe don't even have an iron sighted gun, I'd encourage you to dust it off and commit yourself to becoming very good with it over the next year or so. Getting half-decent with iron sights at 100 or 200 yards can provide a lot of enjoyment.
This week at the range, I introduced him to four of my old rifles, a Springfield Model 1888, an original Winchester Model 1876, an original Winchester Model 1873 and an old Winchester Model 1894. All four were well over 100 years old and all of them had iron sights.
Only once or twice in the past 8 years have I ever seen another person using iron sights at my range, and I have not shot with anyone who is proficient with these old guns, so I had no idea what is normal. I was very surprised at how difficult it was for my friend to get anything resembling a group, given how consistently good he is with his scoped rifle of 40 years running. For him, it was a whole different kind of shooting. To my amazement, I was able to shoot significantly better offhand at 100 yards than he was able to shoot from a rest with the same rifle. He asked me if I had ever considered competing, but I was embarrassed at the suggestion and told him no and I never would want to. I don't consider myself anything more than a half-decent shot. Rather, I'm sure it was his 40 some years away from the good old iron sights that made such a contrast between our targets.
I think he's hooked now and I'm sure he will see rapid improvement as he practices with an old iron sighted Model 1894 over the next few months. All this got me to thinking as I was reading some threads by fellows who were discussing what were the best scoped rifles, etc. What I am thinking is that shooting old guns with iron sights must be a whole different world of shooting that I think a lot of fellows would enjoy if they decided to really get half decent at it. Judging from my good friend, who is normally very good with his scoped, flat shooting rifle, shooting with iron sights is a more challenging sport that many might find even more enjoyable and satisfying than shooting with a scope, once they get half decent at it. In a forum like this, probably most of us shoot with iron sights but for you fellows who have been letting your iron sighted guns gather dust, or maybe don't even have an iron sighted gun, I'd encourage you to dust it off and commit yourself to becoming very good with it over the next year or so. Getting half-decent with iron sights at 100 or 200 yards can provide a lot of enjoyment.
