Weaning yourself off of optics?

[trapoholic]

I've always been and iron sight shooter and advocate. Even in the early days with a mod 70 and a scope, I've dropped animals but found it to be less sporting with the use of (sometimes massive) optics. Most of the huntng i do is in the bush and often don't get the opportunity for 300 + yard shots.


Being a milsurp shooter this is perfect... or should be until the eyes get older. Not sure how many more years i can still shoot with irons but its getting less and less.


175 yard heart shot:




80 yard heart shot



50 yard heart shot

Love it! Only real men shoot peeps/irons! I use a Williams WGRS on my 760, 2 clips, I SAID DIE!!...But i can't help but ask, Is that moose hangin by his bag? I know he's dead and all but jeeze

 

[Mutt58]

Just ordered peeps for my Ruger#1 in 45/70.
I like the idea of simplicity with this firearm.
It just seems wrong to scope some rifles

 

[Canuck Bob]

I have 4 centerfires, 32 Special, 32-20, 444, and 303, 3 as levers. All have receiver sights. I scoped my 444 years ago with a 2.5X scope that performed well enough. It lasted one season because I hated the way my rifle hand carried. I'm a lever gunner and the traditional styled levers just carry so perfect with irons.

I put a receiver sight on a 7MM Mag Rem 700 years ago and it was a dandy rifle except the stock geometry was off and it slapped pretty good. I also added one to my 375 H&H Ruger Tropical, sure wish I still had that one! The Ruger Gunsite would make a real dandy iron sighted rifle. If it was me I'd throw the goofy rail in the bush. A modern LE No.5 to my eye.

 

[The Kurgan]

I have resisted scoping my Sako Bavarian Carbine, as the sights work so great, and the rifle is so light and easy pointing.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Not all provinces require blaze orange while hunting and not all people in the woods during hunting season are hunting or dressed accordingly, regardless of the provincial regs.

rral is in Saskatchewan, where blaze/red/white with a blaze hat is mandatory. As for not everyone in the woods wearing blaze, that's obvious. But anyone that uses their scope to identify a potential target should be nut-kicked. Repeatedly.

Sorry for the delay in getting to this...I've been on vacation for the last few weeks.

 

[tylerjwitty]

rral is in Saskatchewan, where blaze/red/white with a blaze hat is mandatory. As for not everyone in the woods wearing blaze, that's obvious. But anyone that uses their scope to identify a potential target should be nut-kicked. Repeatedly.

Sorry for the delay in getting to this...I've been on vacation for the last few weeks.

whats wrong with that??

 

[rral22]

What about white tail vs mule deer identification. More than once I have determined I was about to make a mistake like that as I looked through the scope.

What about, is that a shoulder or a rump and he's looking back at me over it? Realized that once too because of a scope.

What about antlers or not? More than once in my career I spotted spikes on what I thought was a doe. What about all those in failing light, or early morning. There are lots of "identifications" that are helped considerably with a scope that do not involve identifying blaze suits. I do not deliberately use my scope to identify any target, but a scope has, several times over the years, shown me something at the last second that prevented a mistake. Anyone who hunts much will understand that it happens.

One experience I will not forget, ever, occurred as I was getting ready to shoot a mule deer and I caught just a flash of orange (it was Saskatchewan) deep in the bush about 40-50 meters behind the buck. I stopped and waited a few seconds, and caught another flash. I stopped the shot and before I could get the binoculars into play, the animal ran from the unknown hunter who became obvious to my naked eye about 20 seconds later. With iron sights I would have never seen those flashes. The truth is, there was enough angle that I doubt the shot would have hit him, but I bet that guy would have had some concerns about it. It scared me for sure.

Humans hunt with eyesight. Scopes improve that advantage to provide the very best accuracy from any gun for humane kills; help with identification of targets; and provide safety improvements over iron sights. Most importantly to me, they also allow people over 60 (like me) to compensate for failing focus flexibility that is necessary to get the most from iron sights.

I like scopes. Only one rifle I own does not wear one.

 

[sobo4303]

But anyone that uses their scope to identify a potential target should be nut-kicked. Repeatedly.

X2 on that point!

Fine binoculars are what I use to hunt with exclusively. Scopes are to line up the game for the kill shot. There simply is no excuse other than dangerous laziness to use your scope to double as a binocular. I know there are plenty of morons whom do that, so at the peak of hunting season so I stay near my truck. That way there is not way to be mistaken by some twitchy fingered goof looking through a scope.

Ya, one year near Rocky Mtn House I was decorated in orange. Hat, coat and pants. Bugling for elk...and not once or twice...but THREE times that morning, in my binoculars I spotted some three different goofs looking at me eyeball to eyeball through their scopes. Unnerving feeling to say the least, especially when they all had fingers on trigger!

No excuse!

 

[BobWalls]

rral is in Saskatchewan, where blaze/red/white with a blaze hat is mandatory. As for not everyone in the woods wearing blaze, that's obvious. But anyone that uses their scope to identify a potential target should be nut-kicked. Repeatedly.

Sorry for the delay in getting to this...I've been on vacation for the last few weeks.

Right on! What are binoculars for eh?

 

[Woodsman]

A good 1.5x variable wide angle scope is miles better than any irons for hunting under most circumstances close or far. The weather would have to be absolutely crappy for it to be any different in which case irons are easier to keep clean.

Irons work. Scopes are better. Misuse of the wrong scope (and even misuse of the right one) for the job is common.

If you're fine with being at a disadvantage with irons and don't mind passing up opportunities of a lifetime, go right ahead. You lie to yourself if you believe any different. There are just some circumstances where irons just don't cut the mustard, especially at dusk and dawn in the bush.

 

[Ltbull01]

I lean towards 'seeing' this as an ethical choice. Whatever you do, you need to be absolutely 100% sure that you make a clean, humane kill shot. With optics, your chances are way better that you'll make cleaner shots IMHO. In close country, to 50 yards, where shots are quick, open sights may have an advantage, but a 2 - 7 x scope is pretty good in those circumstances too. Just ensure you make a clean shot and don't take it if you can't be sure that you will. It would be pretty disgusting to wound an animal so that you can get your kicks from going iron. Shoot straight!!

 

[captonion]

A good 1.5x variable wide angle scope is miles better than any irons for hunting under most circumstances close or far.

Irons work. Scopes are better.

I concur to a certain degree...I have never been able to shoot well with conventional open sights..I switched to low powered variable scopes early on in my hunting years, and have become very efficient with one....

Later on I started using a peep on some of my rifles..I find a peep every bit as quick (maybe quicker) to aquire in close quarters...Where the peep is better IMO, is when you are walking/chasing through thick stuff...Even more so when everything is hanging with snow, or rain...A rifle even carries better without optics...

 

[rral22]

X2 on that point!

Fine binoculars are what I use to hunt with exclusively. Scopes are to line up the game for the kill shot. There simply is no excuse other than dangerous laziness to use your scope to double as a binocular. I know there are plenty of morons whom do that, so at the peak of hunting season so I stay near my truck. That way there is not way to be mistaken by some twitchy fingered goof looking through a scope.

Ya, one year near Rocky Mtn House I was decorated in orange. Hat, coat and pants. Bugling for elk...and not once or twice...but THREE times that morning, in my binoculars I spotted some three different goofs looking at me eyeball to eyeball through their scopes. Unnerving feeling to say the least, especially when they all had fingers on trigger!

No excuse!

Right. Lots of times, just as I peek over a ridge and a deer that is sleeping on the other side busts out of its bed and starts running through the bush, I grab my binoculars to identify it. If I see horns I start counting, and if it has a big enough rack, and if it's the right species, I put down the binoculars and raise my gun and find the running animal in the field of view and then shoot. Lots of times.

Right.

I'm sorry you are afraid to leave your truck. I'm sorry some idiots scoped you. But to say you "exclusively" identify and evaluate game with binoculars is to admit you seldom hunt far from the truck.

If I don't KNOW what something is, I use binoculars. If I know it is a game animal of some kind, there will be many circumstances where time is critical, and I will use my scope to make the final decision about whether or not to follow through. If I have time to crank it up, my scopes actually have more ability to count tines etc. than my regular carry binoculars. The 12X Pentax binos in the truck get lots of work when I'm driving.

Using a scope to look at a hunter or his truck, or any other "odd thing" out there is moronic. But there are, in truth, many hunting circumstances where a good scope is a major aid in "identifying" whether or not a shot is appropriate, or even possible. No sighting system is more accurate when the shot is finally attempted. That is a big advantage over iron sights.

 

[tylerjwitty]

X2 on that point!

Fine binoculars are what I use to hunt with exclusively. Scopes are to line up the game for the kill shot. There simply is no excuse other than dangerous laziness to use your scope to double as a binocular. I know there are plenty of morons whom do that, so at the peak of hunting season so I stay near my truck. That way there is not way to be mistaken by some twitchy fingered goof looking through a scope.

Ya, one year near Rocky Mtn House I was decorated in orange. Hat, coat and pants. Bugling for elk...and not once or twice...but THREE times that morning, in my binoculars I spotted some three different goofs looking at me eyeball to eyeball through their scopes. Unnerving feeling to say the least, especially when they all had fingers on trigger!

No excuse!

Whats camo for....??