Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Open sight fear

For years the standard open sight is all I ever used, and I never really found them to be as useless as everyone says they are. I've made good shots up to and just over 200 yards with the standard Marbles rear with a bead up front, never felt they were all that inadequate. But these days I hear nothing but scorn. What's up with that? People just too afraid of learning how to use a basic sight?

I think that some of the reluctance to utilize open sights is generated by the fear of being consigned to hell for wounding an animal. Given that, I believe most people opt for glass, feeling that it enhances their chance for a clean kill.

We can't all be superior riflemen.

I use glass because my eyes aren't as good as they once were, and I can hunt in low light when blacktails are most likely to be moving.

You have think how many people these days started out on scopes without ever even using open sights.

I think it's more a case of people not needing to bother. Just no reason for many new shooters to spend much time with them, considering the rifles they are buying likely don't even have open sights. Why use an inferior system if you don't have to? I still shop open sights on a couple guns but prefer a nice peep sight.

I going the other way myself. Starting to use open sights more and more, just for the challenge of it. Kind of like using a bow I guess. Killed a couple of deer the past two years with open sight rifles. My brother and I have been challenging one another. Lately, we can both shoot 3 shot groups about 1.5 inches at 100 yards. My 50 year old eyes can't do much better than that.

Every kid shoot be taught to use and hunt with iron sights before hunting with a scope . Iron sight is what learns you how to shoot and how to hunt .

I like irons and used them for years shooting NRA service rifle and CMP Garand match's. With the advent of cataracts and decreasing vision i had to stop using them. I just had cataract surgery and will be going back to irons after i replenish rifles i previously sold due to failing vision.

Same here. I bought CZ .22 a couple of years ago and my eyes couldn't focus properly using the sights. Sold it short time later.

Hunting with Iron sights is like driving a vehicle with a manual transmission. It would be good if all new hunters learned to do it that way, but the convenience of an automatic transmission and a telescopic sight are just too good to pass up. (For many)

Glad you got good eyesight. Wish I could trade you my eyesight for yours. Then you would see why I use a scope.

Presbyopia.

Even with age, you can use irons, you simply have to have the glasses corrected...

And most don't understand that with irons you can only focus on one focal plane at a time.

Hence the most important thing is front sight. It helps to have the target clear and the rear clear to, but its not needed.

I had to shoot without correction with pistols becasue my eye could and would focus on the target paper at 25 yards, and gave horrible groups, NEEDED the target to stay blurry.

When in doubt put a peep on the rear, and even an aperture in the front.

As to success... lets just say paper targets you get used to, but with game, I've shot stuff so far away that most would call you a liar, luckily my longest shot with irons on small deer was witnessed by at least 3 others in the truck at the time..

YOu have to have the desire though, especially with irons, to learn how to use them, whats important and how to trust the sights and your eyes. Your eyes are capable of MUCH more than most give them credit for.

And before someone claims I have good vision, I had to have correction in my teens, and its never gotten better, only worse, and I didn't start shooting a LOT of irons until I was in my 30s, and carried on until appx 42 with irons in competition.
Having shot same with folks in their 70s plus, its still possible even as eyes age.

And as noted, once you learn irons, scopes seem like cheating... which isn't a bad thing...

I use irons, though in the form of a receiver sight, on my ARs, M1 Garands, and lever rifles.

I have found a receiver sight to be far better than the old "semi-buckhorn" type. With the target uncovered and the longer sight radius, accuracy, both field and target, are much improved.

When I do use a scope, I generally prefer lower power.

I think too many people are hooked on the long range fad. They all think you need a 24x scope and are all convinced that 500 yards is a chip shot.

I cleared the 440 yard chickens at my local range with a sporterized enfield. I will never admit to how many shots it took to get the sights verified though....

I have a scoped SRH and several unscoped pistols. I find that I can't shoot the scoped pistol much, if any better than the collection of Smith's I have.

I might try open sights if they were a flat top blade front, and a flat top, square notch rear. Like a 45's set of BoMars, but on the rifle.

Buckhorn or v-top rears with u-notches, and/or bead fronts do nothing for me.

The 'kiddies' were never taught how to use aperture or buckhorn sights! Chances are....their 'mentors' never used them either! And then there is always COMMERCIALISM!! Grab up any one of these kids that have and are shooting on their high schools air rifle team or shooting .22 smallbore however....and they'll show you a thing or two concerning iron sight usage!!