Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anyone hunt with a bolt action with open sights only?

I really appreciate the sights, short length, and overall feel of this gun. The sights work well, even for my middle aged eyes. They are high enough that I can easily line them up even with with higher comb.

My eyes ruled out open sights for hunting many years ago, but a recent acquisition has me going retro. It is a Winchester M54 in 30 WCF. I managed to get a Lyman receiver sight on it and, with a properly sized black bullseye at 100 yards, I can shoot it pretty darn well. I know that lining up a deer will be much harder to do, but I want to kill a deer with it so badly that I am willing to wait for that perfect opportunity and pass on all the rest.

A couple of years ago, I was deer hunting on a farm in Maryland with a fairly-accurate rifled-bore open-sights 12 gauge with sabot slugs (because I didn't have a straight-walled-cartridge rifle). Given my eyesight capabilities, I had to pass on a couple of shots in the 75+yd range that would have been easy with a scope for me.

I've got a Leupold FXII 2.5X mounted in medium height Optilock bases/rings on that Sako now. While not technically quick detach, it's easy enough to loosen the base screws and take off and put back on as needed. But it still detracts from the handiness of the gun. I was thinking of getting a Henneberger mount for a Trijicon RMR that would allow me to mount the sight on the integrated rail ahead of the ejection port.

Henneberger HMS Trijicon RMR, Sako
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/760859-REG/Trijicon_RM56_RMR_Mount_for_Sako.html

If we're excluding mil-surp (love me some Lee-Enfields), there's a 98 stalking rifle most likely brought back by an anonymous GI in my accumulation I'll hunt with second weekend pretty often. It's not as accurate as it was when I bought it 25 years ago for some reason. In the woods of the Driftless Zone it does a good job, though.

At 67 my eyes still work but could be better, no line bifocals look thru the bottom, irons are clear ,target fuzzy. Look thru the top, rear sight fuzzy frt and target pretty clear. Rules are still the same aim for the ctr of the fuzzy. As I said before I have more than a few iron sighted rifles levers, pumps, single shot falling blocks, frt stuffers and bolt guns. I can still connect on 1000 yd 4 moa targets with tang sights on my Sharps 1/2 the time but they are steel and there is no wounding loss. Only you can make the decision to take a shot or turn it down. This spring I picked up a mint older L61R Sako in 30-06 with the original 100/200m peep on it as well as the little box holding the original scope rings. The rifle is a pleasure to handle and shoot. I am pretty damn sure their is a buck out there for me and that Sako without a scope on it...mb

Only one, this 8x57.

I’m old now, but even when I was a young man and growing up reading jack O’Connor, I started using a 4x scope on my newly purchased Ruger m77 chambered in 270 win. I have deer hunted with an unscoped model 94 in 32 win special and a British Lee enfield but only before I bought the Ruger. However, since 1973 or 74 I’ve always used a scoped rifle. For me, scoped is far superior as a hunting tool for the hunting I do. YMMV

I have an R.F. Sedgley in 3006.

How about part time open sights? My primary 9.3x62, .375, '06, and .416 Taylor all wear Talley QDs with and I use the peep sights on them quite a bit, to the point that every year I shoot about half my deer with open sights. The majority of my deer shooting takes place at less than 100 yards, and often at deer on the move and/or odd angles. A rifle with the scope off carries much easier in thick brush or open timber, and for the type of shots I get the peep sight is certainly equal to and in some cases superior to using a scope.

Agreed. Where I hunt, it's thick and most of my shots have been well under 100 yards. And a scopeless rifles does cerry better in the woods than a scoped gun. And I also think a compact'ish scopeless bolt action carries better than a lever action.

One of my deer hunting partners has used a Ruger RSI International tanger in 22/250 for 20 years. He uses it like it was an open sighted 30-30.

Always have had poor eyesight and I disagree with several posts
in my personal experience.

Opens are fine on a range, but I just can't see well enough to use
them in the woods. Real close, they are better for me. But at 50 yards
in some brush, I need the scope to put it together. Just can't see
well enough. In the open, it's easy.

It went to Africa in 2012.

Those nice receiver sights are fast disappearing. I’m looking for one right now, and according to Lyman, the one listed for Mausers, the 57 SME, doesn’t fit FN factory d&t. The Foolproof is no more and the holes for the rear mount aren’t the standard 1/2”, so the WGRS-FN won’t fit either. I have a line on a Foolproof, so have my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I have a 2moa red dot on the receiver ring ala Wild Boar Fever. That worked very well on another one and gives a nice sight picture, but isn’t the look I want and adds about 5oz I’d rather do without.

I shoot a lot of deer at close range in woods. One of the biggest pro's for me with a scope has more to do with being able to see twigs or limbs to avoid them. In a lot of 50-75 yard shots it's more important to me than seeing the deer for placement.

Ingwe, those are a couple of fine looking rifles. Really like the looks of your classic .303.

I generally hunt with open sights. But for the most part use lever rifles. (Like 1895 Wins). But my 54 Win, Oberndorf B and all 3 Krag Jorgensons have open or peeps.

Although I don't hunt in rain or snow, after the storm passes generally freezing fog sets in on the timbered slopes around here, making close shots closer. Pretty hard to beat the Savage Model 1920 in .300 Sav with the bolt peep and gold bead front. The tang safety is damn quick too. Under those conditions, I find a scope to be a handicap.

I had a CZ-550 FS in 7x64 that was a pig to carry with a 2.5-8x36 mounted so I got a NEC aperture which made it seem 5# lighter and much more responsive.



A 1903 with a Redfield sight that's a joy to carry for woods hunting. My Bubba Sedgley.