Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Who has built a open sights rifle, and hunts primarily with it?

Wow.. long topic.

Who here has built a custom rifle ( or uses a factory one ) with open sights only?

- What are your reasons?

- Are there situations you feel its a hindrance?

- Are scopes a requisite in todays hunting?

I have several that are irons only guns. Savage 99 that's too nice to drill extra holes in. Same story with my Remington M30. I built a 7x57 on a commercial FN action with a low comb stock specifically for use with a peep. My 1886 wears a peep too. All my muzzleloaders are sidelocks, both flint and percussion and none wear anything but irons.

I don't hunt with any of them exclusively but do use them quite a bit. My last 3 deer and last bear were all shot behind irons. I enjoy the nostalgia as well as the challenge, but I probably wouldn't reach for one of them to go on a fly in trip costing a couple grand. They're more for less demanding hunts that I'm not too serious about notching a tag on.

I have lever action and black powder rifles that wear open sights (rear peeps on all) and hunt with them, though not as primary rifles. I have a custom FN mauser that is currently scoped but has too much drop in the stock to work well that way. It may become an open sighted 400 Whelen in the near future...

Reasons? The ones with open sights aren't really set up for optics and I enjoy shooting them that way.

Hindrances? None, unless you don't have the patience/skill to get close. I used a Ballard 45-70 loaded with black powder and a 540 gr cast bullet on last year's mule deer. I had a blast spending all afternoon getting from 1/2 mile to 150 yards for the shot. Easily the most rewarding hunt and animal I've ever taken.

Scopes a requisite? Absolutely not...

Open sights are quite different than peep sights. I haven't hunted with open sights since I stopped hunting with my Dad's or grandfather's old 241 Remingtons in .22 Long Rifle.
Peep sights are a much different matter. My first big game rifle was a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington equipped with a peep sight.
Since then I've hunted deer, elk and alot of small game with peep sighted center fires. Rifles included two Remington 760's, one an '06 and the other a .257 Roberts, a .25-20 1894CL Marlin, and a Model 39 Marlin .22.
Scopes help in almost any hunting situation. They allow one to see better. Since game has a bad habit of not standing in well lit, open situations, a scope can help alot.
I haven't found peep sighted rifles to be much, if any a drawback at the shorter ranges, say 75 yds. and under. As far as shooting well enough, even at ranges like 200 yds., my iron sighted guns shoot very acceptable groups. At present, I'm planning to do more practicing at even longer ranges with the 760 Roberts. Might even do another big game rifle in a peep sight if that work well enough.
You might consider buying Barsess's book, Obsessions of a Rifle Loony. Good comments of using peep sights for hunting.
One thing that has stood out about good peep sights is that they are far more rugged than any scope. If your hunting rifles get knocked around much, this is nice to have. E

I had this .376 Steyr put together a couple years ago. It is not intended strictly for irons, but I spent a small fortune putting nice irons on it so at some point intend to detach the scope and hunt a bit with the irons.

That .376 is stunning! What are the details on the open sights? I may want to put those on a 9.3x62.

NECG Masterpiece rear and Holland & Holland flip up front. They weren't cheap, over $600 installed, but are top shelf.

Wow. Who installed them and how did they do it? The rears cost about $120 and the non banded front is around $75-100. They attach with one 6x48 screw each. Unless he's putting them on with Voodoo magic I think you may have been taken for a ride.

NECG did the work. They had to be "fitted" somewhat to the contour and I figured it was best to let the experts who sell the sights do the work, rather than take a chance on ordering the wrong sights and trusting some local 'smith not to F it up.

Always best to err on the safe side. Just seemed like alot of labor cost. Looks like they did a good job.

I would not exactly call it open sights, but i have a springfield 1903 with the lyman m48 with gold front post. I absolutely love this gun. Still trying to talk myself into making it a .308 or .358 norma mag. I believe it is an old nra rifle, but it handles and shoots like a dream

When I built my 400 Whelen I knew I wanted to incorporate a Lyman 48 in the build. I have hunted it with a scope and am hunting it this year with the Lyman.



This old Krag gets hunted once in a while but not as often as it should. It has taken a couple of mule deer does.

Pre war model 70 in 30govt06, redfield model 70 sight. Don't see any reason for a scope.

A few years back, I decided I needed one iron sighted carbine in the collection. It is not really much of a build, but a bit of custom gunsmithing to a boat paddle M77 MK II.

I started with the purchase of a new Mk II all weather in 260.
I installed an NECG aperture in the factory scope base fittings
Then I took it to a reputable 'Smith for a good trigger tune and installation of a flat post front sight. It turned out that the barrel profile matched a Remington take off ramp in the shop, so the barrel was drilled and tapped to accept the ramp.
I then purchased a factory laminate stock and bedded the action into it.

It makes a very nice handling saddle carbine, and is exactly what I envisioned when purchasing the rifle. Except it never met my accuracy expectations with irons or scope.
One caveat is, the NECG aperture for the Ruger receiver is rather tall, which necessitates a very tall blade at the end of the barrel. If I were to do it over, I would probably choose an alternate sight system.

It has been carried on a couple of deer hunts with the knowledge that all shots would have to be limited to less than 200 yds. But has so far never killed anything but paper.

It is now sitting in the back of the safe waiting for its turn to get a new barrel. It might end up as a 6.5=284.

I didn't build it, but my muzzleloader has open sights, and I have hunted on several occasions without a scope. Colorado elk muzzleloader season is a good way to get a tag, but the rules are loose powder (no pellet powder), no sabots, and no scopes. I have taken a couple of elk that way.

I have some time behind an M-16 with open sights. Of course, if I am using the sights with that rifle I do intend to hit where I am aiming, but I'm not as concerned if it requires more than one shot. No extra points awarded for saving bullets.

I do prefer a scope when legal.

Mart, i love that krag. I have been hunting for one as a project for a while. And yes, it will wear a lyman as well

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How about this old pig?

.303 British....

Do muzzleloaders count?

I got dis: