Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer you have killed with open sights

This is the only one Ive ever killed with open sights. It a 1899 B built in 1908, a 32-40. He was facing me, bullet went in his chest went all the way through. A mess to clean. He was about 60 yards. i shot up a bunch of pigs with it one day. It was about the most fun pig shoot ive ever had. I caught two bunches that weekend. Its fun to bang away at them 50 yards away.







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Not too many.

I have probably killed 15 or so Deer with open sights. All back in the 1970's. No cell phones back then, and I didn't carry a camera around in those days. So no pics. However I did save one of the racks to use for rattling. This one was killed at Ft. Benning Ga. in 1978 when I was stationed there.

Several deer but many hogs with my old marlin 30/30. Never had a scope on it when I used it. I put a bushnell trophy scope I had laying around on it about 10 years ago just for kicks. I have never zero’d it. If I recall the last time I shot that rifle was probably back in the late 80s. I bought it new for $125 from Service Merchandise on a clearance deal the mid 80s. I used it a few years until I got a ruger tanger in 30-06. Then never used it again.

Several! My first was at age 11 using a Stevens 22/410. Just a lucky shot with the 410 slug! After that 2 or 3 with my Model 88 Winchester in .308 Win, prior to my getting a scope.

If handguns count……an Antelope (similar in size to a deer) with my 629 S&W at a bit over 100 yards. memtb

A bunch. I'm not even sure how many. I always preferred open sights until my eyes started slipping

Mule deer, white tail, elk and African plains game all open sighted. Mostly with a muzzleloader but also handgun's, lever guns and a bolt action .458 Lott. I prefer Hawken style muzzy's to this day with both peep sights and plain open buckhorn sights. With enough practice, there is very little handicap to 250 yards with a modern gun and scoring off hand hits can be easier without the illusion of so much scope wobble. Hitting prairie dogs at distance with a carry handle AR 15 isn't too difficult. As I age my eye sight is the limiting factor, but still regularly head shoot grouse with my carry pistol. That said, I put an optic on most guns when I can except for my Hawken rifles and pistols.







Todd

A whole bunch with 12 and 20 gauge slug guns, Winchester and Marlin 30-30's, .50 T/C Hawken, Ruger Blackhawk .357 and various .22 rimfire rifles.

I have killed a few with a shotgun and a Muzzleloader. None that I can think of with a Centerfire rifle.

Only two, one with a Winchester 94 .32 Spl with factory irons, and the other with a 71 .348 with Lyman peep. Have numerous iron sighted guns that need to be bloodied, but almost every deer I ever see is at last light.

I have always preferred iron sights to scopes even though my first rifle I ever got (at 12 years old) had a 4X scope on it. I do like scopes and have nothing against them, but overall I like irons better.
I was about 7-8 when I killed my first deer. Using my dad's 300 Savage (with iron sights) I was about 9 or 10 when I killed my 1st elk (with the same rifle) I had exceptional vision up to my 53rd year when I lost about half of it and was down to 20/20. (no joke. That's how good my sight was when I was a kid and young adult) So for the most part, using irons and especially peep sights was not a hinderance for me. Now days, I can shoot well with scopes but my days of shooting very tight groups with irons are gone. I still mostly hunt with irons only, but for the last 12 years or so I have had to let some game walk away simply because the distance from me to them was too long for me to shoot with irons, whereas 20-40 years ago I could have (and did) make such shots commonly.
I cannot count the number of game animals I have killed in my life, but it's way up there. Looking back, I'd guess about 60% of them were killed with guns with irons only. Getting old "ain't for kids" and today I have to accept the fact that if I take an iron sighted rifle there can be times that I have to let the game walk off. If my time is not pressing, I do just that, and hunt the next day, or week or months.
But I now have to resign myself that for the last few days of each hunting season I am wise to take a scoped rifle. Living in a place with a lot of game and a lot of opportunities to "go out again" I still take iron sighted guns probably 9 time out of 10. But I am not foolish enough to tell new hunters not to get a scope. Scopes are better then irons for sure.

I just LIKE irons.
It's like my hunts with revolvers and flintlocks or wood long bows. I hunt with those tools because to me it's more fun. Not because they are "just as good".

Open sights on my mzl for a few deer. With a CF either a receiver sight or scoped, now almost all scope as old age sets in.

I killed my first deer with a scope just 2 years ago. Living in a slug gun state growing up always had open sighted guns. Switched to straight wall and put a peep on my .375 Marlin. All in somewhere around 36 deer l, 8 hogs with open sights. Still carry open sighted .22lr for squirrels more often than not.

Few with old school muzzleloader and handguns, few with shotguns slug and buckshot. Couple with a Winchester 94 only deer rifle i have that isn't scoped

Somewhere between 100-200.

Same as Fuller

My first and biggest 4x4 mule deer back in the day when we just tossed the huge racks under the fuel tank. 30-30 Marlin. A doe as well same rifle.
Cow elk Ruger 338 peep and post. 5-6 anterless here in Kansas in my later years with my 1903 Springfield 35 Whelen. Three nice Upstate NY Bucks , one shotgun, one Syrian Mauser 8x57, one 458WM Whitworth in the years in between.
F01

Killed a few that way

18 deer with open sights on my T/C Hawken .50. First few were with factory sights. All the rest were with tang mounted peep. I recall one tall Va 7 pointer at last light. Finally saw him between oaks, completely vanished thru peep. Screwed peep out, dropped it in my vest pocket and ghost ringed him at about 50 yards.

Four or five with my Ruger SBH before she got a scope. Glocked a few coyotes from my tree while deer hunting. I had shot a nice 8 pointer and a fat doe one crisp morning during Va early BP. Took a final scan of the frosty field before climbing down… with an empty Knight. Out stepped a coyote, who started my way. I rested my Glock 19 on the stand, covered the whole critter with the front sight, as it sat on its haunches eye balling me. Squeezed off a Gold Dot and hit that gal just above the eye. Straight down tail twitcher. Lazered at 63 yards. All by 7 am. Probably my luckiest day hunting.

Lot of small game and one turkey with Dad’s Model 41 Targetmaster.

Life was simple back then.

bomtek44

I've killed well over 100.

My first deer was done with a Winchester Model 37 single shot 12ga with a BB sight at about 10 yards. My father bought it at the local hardware store for $20 back in the late 50's. It was the only shotgun he would let me run slugs through. I killed several with it.



Then I confiscated his Rem 1100 and bought a slug barrel for it with open sights. I killed a ton of deer with that gun. My son has it now.

I also have this Zouave 58 cal reproduction that I bought when I was 15 or 16. I killed a ton of deer with this also. In 2002 I bought my Encore and never touched the Zouave for 20 years until they started our primitive season Feb 1-3. This was the last deer I killed last year.

From the time I was 12 until 27 I only used iron sights. I averaged better than two deer a year but I missed a few years with the USMC.

I mostly used a 99R .300 Savage or a .25-35 SRC. I occasionally used dad's .308 Winchester Model 88 as well.

I still use them occasionally. I have an 1899 with a tang sight in .250-3000 that does a good job.