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How many of you fellers run open sights on a primary deer rig?

Have a new to me 760, that when I shoulder the rifle the front and rear sight are in perfect alignment.

This is a carbine model and will be used in the thick stuff where I hunt 99% of the time anyway and don't shoot over 40-50 yards.

I had looked into the XS sights for a ghost ring but no receiver mount peep available, looks like the ring mounts in rear sight holes.

I understand low light and not being able to see any smaller limbs in low light are a downfall but other than that I cannot see any disadvantages.

I get by w open sights on a Hawken .54 but rarely hunt w it, not because of the sights, just because I don't get it out.

Out of stock right now, but you can request a notification:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005997233?pid=563119

Someone else may have it, of course, or you can try ordering directly from Williams.

Brownells has it now.

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...wgrs-receiver-rear-sight-prod106038.aspx

Saw these. Wish they weren't special order and took so long to get but beggers can't be choosers.

10-4. Had forgotten about these.

On the hunt now.

I traded ammo for a 45/70 this year and shoot a deer with it using irons. Technically, Williams Firesights.

I would have to cut down trees to shoot past 75 yards, so it was fine.

I did mount a scope on it for next year though.

I went to a scope (2-7) when I was about 20 years old, for use in the thickets of Central Louisiana. I could use the scope for extra minutes of hunting, both morning and evening. My “only” complaint was, I had difficulty hitting hand thrown cans, where it wasn’t an issue with open sights. I simply had trouble seeing the can quick enough through the scope! I still have irons on my rifle......and pray I never have to use them! memtb

Still up in the air.

Never have had an issue w scopes in the brush its just the way these irons line up so fast and easy.

BTW, IIRC, none of my current CF stable has taken anything larger than a fox in my hands; though the Fieldcraft DRT’d a doe for my son last season. Been a lot of turnover in Pappyland. The crossbow has been making all the meat for three seasons. Only “deer” rifle with irons only is a Low Wall .44, which has been out twice with no noise made. I suppose the Deerslayer 20ga counts too, but it’s also a virgin.

I always have an open sight rifle on hand for days with precipitation

^^^This^^^

I think it depends on your eyesight. Mine is okay, but it isn't what it used to be. While shotgun hunting in MD this last fall, with open sights and fairly accurate sabot slugs in a rifled barrel, I passed up a shot on a buck a bit under a 100 yards away poking his head out of some brush that I likely could have successfully taken with any of my scoped rifles. With a decent scope I think I could have spotted and sighted in on his his chest. With the open sights at that distance, I couldn't tell where it was for sure as it blended in with the foliage. YMMV.

That’s the thing right there. What I can see well enough to shoot at the range may not get it done afield. Had a similar opportunity during the ML season a couple years ago, only a doe thankfully, but with a scout scope. Not enough Xs to make it work, even at 100 yards. Irons for me are for pretty close, or pretty open shots; the same goes for my prisms and red dots. When bucks with rifles are on the menu, the scopes come out. In most cases, having to pass on a baldie isn’t a tragedy; passed several this past season because the shot was iffy.

A ghost ring and a tritium or other bright front site works well even in low light conditions. I have similar front sites on some pistols and the limiting factor is the muzzle flash not the site visibility which works in almost any light you can see in. I am at the point I don't need to shoot everything I see and the slight limitations of irons sites are a welcome addition to the hunting experience. In certain situations they are actually better.

I have a new WGRS-7400 sight for the 7600 if you'd be interested in it. It looks like the holes line up the same but you would have to change to 6-48 screws. PM me (again) if you're interested.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/100599084?pid=324750

DBoston nailed it. If you are going to be haunted for days-weeks over having to pass one up due to distance or visibility, keep at it with a scoped rifle.

Every year I try talking myself into taking my iron sighted side-lock over my 209 scoped MZ, or my Lyman 48 equipped M70 vs the myriad of scoped ones. Opening day I’m out there with the modern stuff because I am still chasing that elusive big one. Someday soon I can see that changing...

The other part of the equation is self-limitation. You have to be disciplined enough to pass up that 120 yd shot partly obscured by brush if that’s above your abilities with irons. Same with using stick bows in eastern hardwoods vs compounds. You have to let that broadside buck go at 33 yds (atleast I do). If your the type who might be tempted to stick one in there, stick with the modern stuff for the time being.

I've always liked scopes on my rifles, except for my FN FS2000, which is just a room-clearing SHTF bullpup.

A couple of months ago, I gave my boys the option of driving to my friend's farm 4-1/2 hours away in Virginia to hunt deer with their scoped rifles or hunting with open-sighted rifled shotguns on another farm only an hour away in MD. They immediately both said "rifles"--so, that's what we did. Maybe I didn't raise them correctly.

None of my hunting rifles have irons.

Carried my 10/22 with the compact prism sight for a few miles today. Every so often I took a peek through it to see how well could aim. Very impressed with it for short range as it’s much sharper and clearer than a red dot for me, like a fine iron sight, but no glasses needed!j

Irons are the fail safe, fundamental point, that everyone should probably know well....but for hunting, there’s just so much less limitation by using anything other than irons, that irons are just a niche thing.....to me.

In the thickly wooded mountains of the NE, a 1959 Savage 99F in .250 Sav., with it's factory rear iron sight folded down, is about as good as it gets for a very slick and handy, snap shooting, still hunting rifle. '59 was the only year with the folding rear.

I probably use irons for big game as much as I use scopes. That's due to the fact that it rains and snows so much in PA during hunting season

Killed enough deer w iron sights on MZ and handgun.
Ill take a low power scope please.

Am late 50s and went to bifocals 2 yrs ago

Sucks.

Kind of my fear. I am 45, have had glasses since I was about 10. Eyes don't appear to be getting better for sure.

Open sights are easy to see whenever I am just out back shooting targets but not sure how they will be in low light and heavy timber.

I guess I could get up early or go out to the timber at last light and see how they work. Just can't tell unless you put them to actual use in rushed situations.

I have a long neck. I simply can't get my eye down on the iron sights on most guns unless I put the toe of the stock on top of my shoulder.

This old 760 has no monte carlo stock, set up just like an 870.

Easiest set of sights I have ever gotten behind.

Mine doesnt either. Low Zees make it usable
Maybe even perfect if cold and wearing a facemask

A couple of my 760's are set up with low power(1.5 or 2 power variables) set in old school Weaver Pivot mounts that swing to the side to use the irons. None have the monte carlo stock and low weaver rings make using the scope a piece of cake.

However, being past 65 the irons are pretty much of a moot point for me anymore as they are blurry and I can't line them up.

I can focus in and use the peep sight on the AR-15, but the gun is simply too damn ugly to hunt with.

I have been using low power variables hunting the thick stuff in New York State for many years and haven't had any issues.

My '06 has a 4-16x scope. I carry it on 4x all the time. In this open country, longer shots are very common and my eyes need all the help they can get. I've only used 12x a couple times but it sure helped when I needed it. Normally, though, 6 to 8x is plenty.
This year's elk got full power even though she was only 150 yds away. She was standing straight on behind a sagebrush looking at me. I needed to thread the bullet through a hole in the sage and I needed all the X's I could get to find a good empty hole. It worked.

I don't know if I'd call it my "primary" deer rifle, but I do have an open sighted .303 Savage rifle I use a lot when deer hunting in my old stomping grounds of western Montana. I haven't shot a deer with it in 10 years though I have carried it a fair number of times since then. I always seem to finally get the shot I want when I pull something else out of the safe that morning.

My first buck fell to an open sighted .30-30 and I still remember trying to see antlers in cold weather. He was a little forkhorn with antlers just over his ears and try as I might, I’d open my eyes wide and they would water in the cold weather and I couldn’t see anything for a bit. A very accommodating deer he was for a then 13 year old. Years after I would read all the Larry Benoit tracking articles and books and iron sighted my .35 Remington and .308 carbines, but never tracked one down like that. I’ve been scoped ever since.

Yes. Got use old Marlins and Winchesters with irons and beside that most my bolt guns have irons. Ive got three rifles set up with scope, red dot, and irons for each rifle. Its a redundant way to keep the sighting up no matter what thru breakage or conditions i want the capability.

Hunting with iron sights is a very challenging and rewarding experience. I shot a doe with a Winchester 94 30-30 with irons last year. At 105 yards, it wasn't an incredibly difficult shot, but I wouldn't want to push it much past that, as we should do everything we can to ensure a quick and humane kill, not raise the odds of wounding or losing the animal.

I've got an old Winchester 770 (30-06) and a '74 model Browning BAR (7Rmag) that have excellent open sights. They both wear scopes now because I'm 60 but I still take off the scopes and practice open sights, off hand, from time to time just in case. Believe I could tag a deer to 200yds pretty easy with them still if it came down to it. I feel if your rifle wears them they should at least be sighted in and you should know your ability with them. You never know. Stay safe.

I’d grab a .22 with iron sights and go tag some squirrels in the same type of thick stuff and see how that works out. I bet you’ll be fine.

If you can pop a squirrel at 30 yards a deer kill zone shouldn’t be a problem. Just be aware of saplings.

Wisdom. Even if sighted in for some vastly reduced distance from your scope, At least they are more valuable than just extra weight to lug around.

There is no doubt I've killed more deer with iron sighted rifles/shotguns/muzzleloaders/handguns than I have with scoped over the years. Until I was in my 30's I couldn't figure out why anybody'd need or want to lug around a scoped rifle to kill a great big critter like a deer. Figured they was just poor hunters and bad shots. Varmints sure, I had scopes on my chuck rifles but deer ?

Old eyes make it a little more challenging, but all you have to do is concentrate on burning the bead in the V. If you wear glasses full time you might as well use a scope.

Take a look at this;

http://www.skinnersights.com/lo-pro_sight_7.html

Mounts on one of your screw holes. But you’ll have to drift the front sight for windage.