POLL: How many practice with open sights (just in case)

[Seabass]

My 1942 Lee Enfield, peep sight. Still a killer.

My Rem 870, open sights Used for buckshoting deer.

My Winchester 30-30, open sights.

My Marlin 1894 45colt has "Skinner' peep sights. In brass, too, looks sharp.

My Marlin 1895 45/70 has 2-7 leupold with quick relase scews with factory sights as backup. The set up always returns to zero and hold up to heavy recoiling loads. The reason I use quick release screws is that here on the BC coast it rains hard and a scope becomes usless.


So yes, I practice a lot with open sights.

 

[Boomer]

Regardless of the big game you are hunting, the redundancy of irons on a hunting rifle should not be ignored. Take a fall, or drop your rifle and the scope could be out of business. Now it is possible to carry a second scope, but I'll bet that on any given day during the hunt your back up scope is in camp and with your primary scope damaged you've lost the remainer of the day. But if you choose to carry a rifle with irons, you should at least periodically shoot with those irons to maintain a degree of proficiency.

 

[BigUglyMan]

I've got a few "irons-only" hunting rifles (#1H 458 Win, 1885 45-70, 1895 45-70. M98 9.3x62 and a 94/22) so I make sure to shoot them to keep in practice. Plus I've got an SKS and a ghost-ringed 870 for the zombipocalypse, so it's only right to stay in practice.

 

[migrant hunter]

My scoped rifles don"t have irons, but my .50 flintlock and my .32 win special do.
Unfortunately my right eye is"nt as good as my left, so I can"t shoot well much beyond 100yds with irons, but that"s fine for a .50 and a .32 anyway.
If I get my doe tags, I"ll be using those guns this year.

 

[Gatehouse]

I can use iron sights just fine, although my .375 Ruger Alaskan is the only scoped rifle I hunt with that has them installed. I do have a 45 COlt Mdl94 I bought recently and installed XS peep sights on it, but I probbaly won't hutn too much with this rifle.

 

[Onagoth]

i find shooting with open sights more interesting

x2, and more challenging.

 

[promac]

I did my Sharon Gun Club range 4 qualification using iron sights so I had the option of using iron or optics. IMO, if you can use iron sights, you have a good grasp on the fundamentals of long-range shooting.

 

[todbartell]

I have open sights on my 1894 44Mag and Rem 700 8mm Mag (w/ QD rings & 3.5-10x scope)

 

[Calum]

Most of my rifles have iron sights only, and as time goes on I'm finding scopes more and more of a problem then a solution.

I also resent the majority of gun makers jamming out in not including iron sights on their rifles, some say this is market demand but I say BS, it's jamming out and dumping the responsibility back on the consumer who is practically still paying for the price of the sights anyway given the inflated cost of Rifles these days.

At one time all rifles came with primary or back up iron sights, and even some gems came with aperture sights.

Mind you back then a gun was also expected to shoot well out of the box and not need gunsmithing tweaks and expensive add-ons.

 

[Gatehouse]

]

Most of my rifles have iron sights only, and as time goes on I'm finding scopes more and more of a problem then a solution.

I also resent the majority of gun makers jamming out in not including iron sights on their rifles, some say this is market demand but I say BS, it's jamming out and dumping the responsibility back on the consumer who is practically still paying for the price of the sights anyway given the inflated cost of Rifles these days.

At one time all rifles came with primary or back up iron sights, and even some gems came with aperture sights.

On the other hand, I'm happy that most factory bolt actions don't come with iron sights. I don't want or need them on most rifles, and if I id want them, i'd want to buy the ones of my preference rather than get saddled with some crappy "buckhorn" contraption.

Mind you back then a gun was also expected to shoot well out of the box and not need gunsmithing tweaks and expensive add-ons.

It seems to me that most modern factory rifles shoot quite accurately. I'd say every rifle I have played with in recent times shot pretty well out of the box. When bedded and triggers smoothed up, they shot even better.

When I read old articles, like Jack O'Connor, he seemed quite happy with 1.5-2" groups at 100 yards. Nowadays we want sub MOA before we think it shoots well...

Even garbage rifles like the 710 seem to shoot pretty good.

 

[cobra_on_speed]

I'm too poor for optics

 

[curtmg]

I'm pretty new to the whole game. I only own new, modern firearms. I'm quite happy with scopes. I tried the irons on my 10/22, I'm WAY better with the 5MOA dot, on the Tasco Reddot. All three of my rifles wear glass, heck, I'd just as soon mount a scope on a couple of my handguns while I'm at it. Much easier, to remember how many clicks you need to come up, than how high you need to hold a sight, at varying distances. Irons are good for those who like them, I'd rather make 1 inch groups at 200y, than have trouble seeing what I'm shooting at 50 yards (my experience only, YMMV)

 

[CptnBlues63]

I also grew up with a pair of eyes that I had full use of for the first 45 years of my life.

Now with three score & counting candles vying for standing room on the birthday cake I can shoot only certain kinds of iron sights.

The world has become a fuzzier, dimmer place.

You were luckier than me then. I had 20/20 right up until around my 36th birthday and then had to get reading glasses. Two years later it was bifocals on the reading glasses. I'm still luckier than my oldest brother and my sister though, they had glasses before they started school so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Now at 46, my distance vision is still bang on perfect, it's the close up stuff I can't do well anymore. I don't wear my glasses (or need to) when driving or sighting through a scope and that's another reason I like scopes. I've gotten so used to the stupid things I completely forgot about them when responding the first time........LOL.

I do notice it's not as easy to sight with handguns and iron sights without them on. It's not too bad bad yet considering I am holding the handguns out at arms length and can focus ok at that distance....but I'm thinking another 4 or 5 years and I just might need the "reading glasses" to shoot pistols too.

 

[ENIGMATIC1]

I practice with them, to be proficient with them.

 

[ROY-alty33]

On my primary hunting rig I use a set of see thru scope mounts, so if the scope does crap out i'm covered either way. Its a bit of a compramise as it makes for an un-natural, uncomfortable shooting position, but in the thick stuff were any magnification hurts you its a no brainer. And as awkward as it is I've only missed once with it.

 

[Calum]

]

It seems to me that most modern factory rifles shoot quite accurately. I'd say every rifle I have played with in recent times shot pretty well out of the box. When bedded and triggers smoothed up, they shot even better.

Clearly you haven't been paying attention, QC in most modern rifles sucks hard these days.

 

[TGC]

I jave to use open sights, my eyes and bad neck don't go well with a scope, like a rifle with the rear sight at the back like the enfield etc

 

[Vimy Ridge]

Most of the time I just use irons, but ALL my guns have them.

 

[greywolf]

1/2 my rifles have scopes and 1/2 don't . At 50 wearing glasses anyway, I can still shoot well with irons or scope. The problem is, even with the glasses, everything goes wonky up close, and my prescription can only be SORT OF fixed with bifocals, so for working on the rifles it's becoming increasingly difficult.... glasses on , glasses off , bah ! i hate aging I want it to stop now

 

[migrant hunter]

I forgot about my M14! Shot it today, 2"-3" at 100yds, just about could keep them on the paper at 200!
With the scope mounted that would be 3"-4" at 200, but the irons are fun!