Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Open sights for Hunting

The other day I shot a slightly better group with receiver sights than with the other rifle with a Schmidt & Bender scope at 100 yards. Whether it was luck or some other reason, it does not mater, it was fun.
When I first started hunting in the early 70's rifle scopes were not as reliable as they are now and were not to be trusted, or at least the ones I could afford back then. Up until the mid-80's, even with Elk, I did all of my hunting with peep sights and don't remember suffering greatly with no scope. In Africa, open sights would have been just fine also. I am going to hunt part of this season with open sights for old times sake, and I think I am going to enjoy it more.

With open sights it’s more about hunting and less about shooting. My grandpa never owned a scope, hunting antelope with an open sighted 30/30. He didn’t know any different.
I’ve thought about doing more scopeless lever gun hunting but my eyesight would probably keep it pretty short range.

Sounds like fun. The last deer that I shot with irons was about 15 years ago with a Marlin 336. I hate scopes on lever actions. Typical shooting ranges here are usually only 50-60 yards. It’s at the prime first and last light and in thick cover that a scope makes things so much easier. Broad daylight irons aren’t to much of a hindrance.

I had cataract surgery 18 months ago, couldn’t see cshit out of my right eye that I shoot with. Since I had the surgery, I’ve killed one buck and quite a few pigs. I had never hunted with open sights before. It is really fun, can get a 1 1/2 to 2” group at 50 yards with this old 32-40, about 3 to 4” at a hundred. It is a blast shooting it.

I took nothing but iron sights on three safaris...till the eyes got too old.

Pigs were trapped, I get 50 yards away, bang away at them. They ain’t standing still when you start shooting.


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Hit him in chest, came out right hindquarter


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Open or iron, they work as well now as they did 100 years ago…

I have a H&R Garand, need to get it out, see what I can do with it.


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M1 Garand, M14, best open sights ever made for a rifle.

Shrapnel, all of your rifles are awesome, but that Winchester 1895 puts a smile on my face.

I've been able to see and shoot irons well again since my cataract surgery a couple years ago.

Me too. Always wanted one.

Cool pics.
My boy loves open sights. Could be the fact he honed his skill shooting cicada off out trees in the summer with a red rider. He prefers open sight RAR 22 vs scoped 10/22.
He out shot me with a 30/30 couple months back. Hitting old Propane tank at 100. I’m blaming it on my eyesight.

I've come to really prefer them (especially peeps) over the past several years, especially on rainy/snowy days. At this point, I only own a couple scoped guns, the rest have peeps or straight irons.

I can't shoot notch and blades nearly as well as peeps beyond about 50 yards, but still good enough for deer hunting out to 75-100 yards, depending on the background and sunlight.

Aside from late evening/low light conditions I don't consider them a handicap vs optics. In all of my deer hunting I've only taken a couple past 100 yards, anyway.

Ruger 77 mk II all weather in 260. I specifically set it up with an aperture and front blade.

It made a very handy saddle rifle. I put hundreds and hundred of rounds downrange with it, but never had occasion to draw blood.

Tens of thousands of service rifle competitors shoot out to 600 yds (that I am aware of) with iron sights and score quite well. Millions have died in combat over iron sights at all kinds of ranges. There is no reason they will not perform as well hunting.

I find a square-top front sight helps me a lot. Beads are a little vague. Have two TC MLs on which I replaced the open rear with a Williams base and a peep instead of a blade. That works well too.

Greyhawk .54



That one was picked up NIB not long ago. Still has the factory front sight, but once I know the height is okay, I’ll swap it for a Skinner blade.

Cheater that I am, I’m also gonna run BH209 with a MagSpark primer “nipple”. Works like a champ on my Renegade.

Last year I found an FN .30/06 made the year I was born (!). How could I let that go? Took a bit of doing, but I located a Lyman 57-FN that fit right on with a minimum of stock whittling.

I need to have an exam. It's been at least 20 years.