Question about your main go to rifle.

kombi1976 said:
I'd like to pose the question....what exactly do people mean when they say a "go to rifle"?
I believe it has a huge influence on this question.
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it's a gun that you'd grab everytime. for example everytime i go hunting i always have something differentr to start with, but in the end i always end up lugging around the same battered bubba SMLE becasue i know it's accurate and reliable. it's my go to gun
 
Gatehouse said:
Well, not only htat, but the scope is a better aiming device than any iron sight.

Better long, better at distance. They are better, faster and easier to use.
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I find with irons I can shoot faster and more accurate then with any scope for quick moving targets. I also find irons to be much quicker when taking quick snapshots at brief targets. For distance it is nice to have a scope, but under 150 yards or in the woods, a scope can be a pain in the a$$. I do like scopes don't get me wrong, but I do also enjoy the traditional marksmanship of Irons.
 
I Like both on my go to gun. My .308 BLR has a scope with med height see thru mounts. Its handi as I find irons to be super quick compared to scopes. Especially when you change terrain and forget to dail the scope back down to a low power. Pull up on a deer at less than 15 yards with the scope cranked right up and you can count the number of hairs. You just dont know where them hairs are located.
I originally hade high rise see thrus but they were just to high and alkward, med are still high but manageable.
 
mdbuckle said:
I find with irons I can shoot faster and more accurate then with any scope for quick moving targets. I also find irons to be much quicker when taking quick snapshots at brief targets. For distance it is nice to have a scope, but under 150 yards or in the woods, a scope can be a pain in the a$$. I do like scopes don't get me wrong, but I do also enjoy the traditional marksmanship of Irons.
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If you practice with a scope, I bet you will find that you can hit faster with it than irons. The scope puts your aiming device on the same plane as the target, so you need only slap it on and pull the tirgger.
 
Other than my Marlin 1895, none of my other rifles have iron sights. Never use the iron sight on the Marlin.

I always bring a backup rifle on any hunt.

Danny
 
Gatehouse said:
Well, not only htat, but the scope is a better aiming device than any iron sight.

Better long, better at short distance. They are better, faster and easier to use.
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I agree, but you will not see a 3-9 variable on my .58 Hawken, .Snider, or Martini any sooner than you will see a or an inline anything, in my gun rack!!:eek:

I do have a magnum, but it is a single purpose target rifle and weighs
about 14 pounds!
It comes down to WHAT you want to shoot, not what is best, I guess...
Cat
 
My go to rifle has both scope and irons . but I carry a back up rifle when I am going for more than the day . and it pays. 2 of us at moose camp last year ended up hunting with our backups. I am trying to hunt with iron sights and interesting rifles now, because I hear from so many older guys that their eyesite just can't handle irons anymore. so I want to use them now while I still have my 20/20. but when it is time to quite pissin around and make meat I grab my Marlin and it wears a 1.75-5 .
 
Gatehouse said:
Well, not only htat, but the scope is a better aiming device than any iron sight.

Better long, better at short distance. They are better, faster and easier to use.
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Mmmm, that's a big call, Gatey and I'd have to disagree really.
Otherwise professional shotgunners would also use some sort of scope.
If I was hunting dangerous game I'd much rather have a ghost ring if I had a buffalo or elephant bearing down on me.
I've also found the 6x40 on my main .22lr hunting rifle a hinderence.
If anything it measurably slowed my target acquisition at short distances.
As such any close shooting is really more suited to some sort of iron sights.
Mind you being able to put a cross hair on a target and KNOW that is the point of impact is very reassuring.
There is certainly more margin or error with iron sights and they require much more familiarity with them to shoot well.
But scopes aren't the be all and end all......or are you deliberately tugging our chain?!:p
 
Mmmm, that's a big call, Gatey and I'd have to disagree really.
Otherwise professional shotgunners would also use some sort of scope.
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A shotgun is pointed, not really aimed. However, I bet if someone wanted to, they could score high with some sort of scope, perhaps a red dot or similar


If I was hunting dangerous game I'd much rather have a ghost ring if I had a buffalo or elephant bearing down on me.
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Why? What makes the irons faster, in your opinion?


I've also found the 6x40 on my main .22lr hunting rifle a hinderence.
If anything it measurably slowed my target acquisition at short distances.
As such any close shooting is really more suited to some sort of iron sights.
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Again, WHY do you think this? Scopes *are* faster, even at close range, unless you have too much magnification, and this is the fault of the magnification, not the scope as an aiming device.

For example, Not long ago, I was shooting falling plate targets with some friends at my club. We were using 22's with aperature (ghost ring) sights at 25 and 50 yards. We would have to carefully line up and squeeze the trigger, even form prone, to get hits.

I switched out to my 4x scoped .22 and it was bang-clank-bang-clank-bang-clank....Not only faste,r but MUCH faster.

You simply place the reticle on the target and squeeze, no need for the eye to play the game of target/front sight/rear sight/ squeeze..


But scopes aren't the be all and end all......or are you deliberately tugging our chain?!:p
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Not pulling your chain, just sayng it like it is. As an aiming device, even for fast acquisition at close range, scopes are faster and superior to iron sights.

Teh trick is using the correct magnification, and learnign how to use the scope. Most people use a scope by getting a steady rest, squinting one eye, griping th rifle tightly, and making minute adjustments, attempting to put the x hair in the perfect place, finding it slow and difficult, because with irons they can just "slap the bead on the front part of the deer let fly'

Well, certaily in long dstance shooting you want to have a steady rest and you may want to close an eye etc..But for close, fast shots, you just have your magnification down low, and use the same technique you do with your irons. Keep both eyes open, plop the x hairs on the target , and squeeze the trigger.

I can guarantee that virtually anyone that takes the time to practice with a scope in this manner will find themselves faster than with irons.:)
 
Gatehouse said:
Why? What makes the irons faster, in your opinion?
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up close and fast, good irons are faster because your eye picks up the front sight as it comes up, and you settle the rear sight behind it and slap the trigger as it all comes together.

with a scope, you see nothing until your eye picks up the view in the scope (i've seen it termed the 'ocular box'), which is very large for some scopes, very small in others.

In other words, with irons, you see the front sight, rear sights and target from the time the gun is coming up to your shoulder to the time you shoot, totally un-interuppted. with a scope, you see the target, then nothing, then you see the target again through the scope.

horses for courses. This isn't absolute, but neither is the statement that a scope is always faster.
 
when dealing with 3 focal planes in an iron sighted gun, one of them is always going to be blurry

a good low power rifle scope with a big field of view is faster, as you only have 2 things to line up. :)
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QUOTE=rgv]up close and fast, good irons are faster because your eye picks up the front sight as it comes up, and you settle the rear sight behind it and slap the trigger as it all comes together.

with a scope, you see nothing until your eye picks up the view in the scope (i've seen it termed the 'ocular box'), which is very large for some scopes, very small in others.


In other words, with irons, you see the front sight, rear sights and target from the time the gun is coming up to your shoulder to the time you shoot, totally un-interuppted. with a scope, you see the target, then nothing, then you see the target again through the scope.
horses for courses. This isn't absolute, but neither is the statement that a scope is always faster.
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[/QUOTE]

If you keep both eyes open, the target is in view the whole time. And you don't need to line up front site, rear site, target, you only need to line up target and sight.

A guy that practices shooting fast with a scope will probably find that he can beat his times with irons.:)

Actually, I suggest that anyone that hunts with a scoped rifle learn to shoot fast at close range with it, in case he has to engage in............BEAR DEFENSE:D :D ;)
 
I use both, I would never think of putting a scope on my win 94 or any of my revolvers, but thats only because I don't think it would look right.

I prefer scopes but practice with both,

everything here about the low magnification or proper magnification is correct, and they are faster. You just have to learn how to snap shoot with a scope.
 
If you've practiced shouldering your rifle enough, it is simply a matter of staring at your target with both eyes open and bringing rifle to shoulder. Your aim point is now on dinner and bang, get the tag out. A scope gets me on target quicker than irons because that's all I shoot with and am very comfortable with my snap shooting.
 
Gatehouse said:
If you practice with a scope, I bet you will find that you can hit faster with it than irons. The scope puts your aiming device on the same plane as the target, so you need only slap it on and pull the tirgger.
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Not this guy, I will forever be slower with a scope. Even when I'm finally forced to use one all the time due to failing eyesight. (I hope it's a long way off)
 
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