Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Scopes and field positions

Had an interesting range session yesterday. I've got a pre-64, M70 with peep sights that I've been playing with. I've noticed many times that I shoot it as well from field positions when in a hurry as I do my four other, scope sighted rifles..... Yesterday, I did the same exercise at 200 yds. Same result. I am quite surprised at this. I mean I sort of expected it at 50-100 yd. ranges, but 200 yds. ? The field position was sitting with a Safari Ching Sling. Four rounds. Three in 4 inches, the fourth, called, opened the group to about 7 inches. I don't do any better than that unless I'm shooting something with a 26 inch barrel and over 10 lbs. And then not by much, unless I really take my time. Thoughts ? E

Optics don’t help you shoot better, they help you see better by magnifying and by reducing the number of objects your eyes have to focus on.

I find that less magnification when shooting in field positions assists in good marksmanship through reduced wobble in the sight. This allows me to focus more on fundamentals rather than on stabilizing the rifle.

Yep. Same reason a 4x is better than 9x when shooting from field positions. Where it becomes a problem is when the front bead/post has to contrast with a dull colored animal vs a distinct paper target without limbs and shadows. As much as I love irons I prefer 4x for this reason...and it’s good enough to keep me in the non-conformist camp in reference to modern optic trends.

I like my 20x Nightforce personally. Shoot off a pack for long shots, if need be... Started off with a 3-9x40 on my 30-06 when I was 12 and learned to shoot with both eyes open on running jacks. Most times I shot from the offhand position on about 5x, but never had a problem shooting running critters, even at close range on 9x. Close being 30 yards and closer. To each his own..... My preference is still a good ol 3-9x40 rifle scope for my main hunting rifles... My dominant eyesight sucks, so I have to shoot from the weak shoulder with irons.....





You just got to know your limitations...

Question for the OP. Erimicus? Did you ever participate in the Carl Ross positional match here? That's a great test of your "field shooting" abilities.There are some guys that swear they can shoot as good with irons as they can with a scope. Scotty steelhead was one such tool, I'm still waiting for him to post up his targets. And by all means, if you don't know what that was, dig a little and look it up. It was interesting how that went down... Formidulus, deflave, Pat Sinclair (scenarshooter) submitted a partial target that didn't score, Carl Ross, and a few others (including myself) shot that one and I guarantee you, no one was using a 4 power scope or irons.... Targets were these:

....and I don't believe there was a score that touched that target... I may be wrong, but I doubt it..

I carried a pre 64 M70 SG with Lyman rear and sourdough/partridge front for 30 years and never felt limited for distance
on moose and bears.

There's a time in your life that works but as you get older, I'm 72, irons may not do it for you. I've gotten to the point that if I focus the rear sight, the front is so fuzzy I can barely make it out, much less draw a fine bead. I'm not to proud to admit it, I need a scope. A scope not only focuses the target but puts it in a perspective where I can shoot and hit the target. Without it I'm lost. I think it happens to all of us sooner if not later. For hunting I like 3-9s, however believe it or not, I've almost out grown that. I really am liking 4-12s and 4.5 to 14s. Objective size is less important. 40mm will do, although I do like my 4 4.5-14s. If I can hold there for another 10 years I'll probably be too old to worry about it.

Thanks for the comments, guys. Just for the record, I have and have used scoped sighted and peep sighted deer rifles for 63 yrs. I'm turning 76 next month. Yes, you need to be able to see the front sight clearly against the target when using a peep sight. BTW, the comparisons were done with the inserts of the rear sight removed, ala ghost ring style.
What I'm looking to use is a rifle that I can get on a moving target quickly, in bright sunlight between 25 and 200 yds. In close second place, is something I can carry all day with ease. It also needs to able to make a 300 shot on a standing target.
I've got and have used four other rifles. All of them wear scopes. So, what I'm trying to do is find the combination that give me the best chance to hit a running buck as he dodges through the Ironwood Washes. I know from experience I'll have very little time to get on him and shoot. The faster I can do this, the better my chance to tag him.
The rifle needs to be of medium weight, say 8 lbs. or a little more, it needs to settle down quickly, a longer 24 inch, even a 26 inch barrel helps this, and it needs to allow a quick follow up shot. So, at present, it's this peep sighted M70. But more testing is in order. That means running it against the other rifles I've used. E

Steyr Scout. Try one!

FWIW if you have the right aiming mark a peep can allow you to achieve quite good accuracy. I shot a lot of ISU smallbore and fullbore for a number of years, and if you aren't achieving 1 moa or better from prone unsupported in those games you aren't in contention. Even with a post foresight an accurate rifle should do well, and I've shot many thousands of rounds in service and competition, as well as hunting, with rifles fitted with a peep and post combination, as well as shooting smallbore and fullbore with a ring foresight.

However, for hunting, there are a few things which come into play. Your match rifle at the range typically has the peep stopped down as much as you can get away with for the ambient light (depending on the class of competition), to give better depth of field and sharpen up the focus on the foresight, and you don't have that with a ghost ring because it cuts down on the light reaching your eye and may also slow you down so, like you, I remove the insert for hunting. You also usually don't have a nice bold and well-defined aiming mark when shooting at game. Nor of course can you do things like use a ring foresight element sized to suit the aiming mark.

I often do use a peep sight for hunting even so. They are compact and can be very simple and rugged. They are also my preference in the rain, where a scope can become obscured. However, I'd give the edge in speed and low light and in fact in most conditions other than rain to a scope. I have shot any number of running animals - rabbits to buffalo, deer included - using scopes. As long as the rifle's properly set up with the scope, such that the reticle simply appears in front of your eye as the rifle comes to your shoulder, and has enough FOV, it will work perfectly. I'd go with a 4x or a variable with a low end somewhere between about 1 1/2 and 3x. FWIW I've even shot trap and flying birds with a scope on 1.5x mounted on a combination and on a driling (using the shotgun barrels of course).

Better still, have such a scope in hand-detachable mounts, with a compact peep or even a good bold set of open sights (large square notch rear, well away from your eye, and post front), so you can slip the scope off if you take a fall or if the rain starts, and use the irons. I have several rifles set up like that.