Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Iron Sights

What's your opinion of the max range of someone shooting open sights? Your scope fails, and you remove it from your rifle. I have shot open sights some, mostly with an M-16, so I understand the concept. But does your limit become 100 yards? 75 yards?

I have shot NRA course of fire at 200,300,600 yds with both a Garand, and an 03 Springfield and did well. Probably 200 yards is my max now due to my eye sight.

Highly dependent on the quality of the sights, and the proficiency of the shooter.

NRA matches from 200 - 600 yards show me that iron sights are useful, but that's on a range with a well-defined target, not in the field.

I shoot irons to 1000.

But the issue is really what are you shooting at, what are you shooting with, and what are the specific conditions (light, orientation, movement, angles, shooting position, animal's position (assuming hunting) and a host of other things).

for me it's about 20yds

Its the same thing as shooting with a scope - you can shoot as far as you can see the target clearly enough...
What I am getting at, is that a lot of people will say confidently that they are good out to 400 yards with a scope for example, but then when they talk about iron sights its suddenly down to 75 yards tops - its like they are assumming that when you take the scope off, you suddenly also forget the need for a good rest and everything is shot offhand or something...

With the same rested position as when you use a scoped rifle, the same view of the animal, I know I am good on deer sized creatures out to 250 yards. This is as far as I have killed an animal with open sights - notch and post front sight and it was a fairly straightforward exercise. With better iron sights, like a peep sight that I have shot many animals with, it is possible that I could stretch it to 300, but I have not had the opportunity with those type of sights as it happens.
It depends on the conditions. As it does with a scoped rifle also.

As a general rule I consider anything within 200 yards to be perfectly shootable assumming the light is good enough to see the target properly, and the same decent rest I would have used with a scoped rifle.

magnification has no effect on physics.

When I was on the army rifle team I put 20 rounds in a 10 inch target at 500 yds in the prone position with my M1 Grande.it's all about trigger squeeze.

Indeed the M1 Garand is "muy grande"!

I regularly practice with iron (aperture) sights out to 300 yards with a couple of rifles, and find it to be no big trick- but that's in broad daylight, on suitably sized targets, off of a bench. What those exercises teach me is mainly the ballistic quirks of those particular rifles and loads, and instills in me the confidence for taking a game shot, from a steady rest, a little farther out than if I didn't practice at all. Where I hunt, and have hunted most of my life, a 100 yard shot is a long one, and I won't shoot beyond that unless the light is good and I can take a steady rest. Even then I wouldn't feel comfy in taking a shot much beyond 150-175. If on the off chance that such a shot should present itself, it's a matter of a couple seconds to slip the scope onto the rifle and do it.

For many years my only center fire rifle was a Win. 94 .30-30. I ran it with a Williams receiver sight in the rear and a flat faced ivory {plastic} bead up front. I was deadly on woodchucks out to 150 yards with that rifle and killed several deer between 150 and 225 yards with it. On the range I could hold 1.5" groups at 100, 3" at 150 and bust gallon milk jugs repeatedly at 200.

Shooting a scoped rifle corrects all deficiencies with my less than perfect vision. With any type of iron sight that advantage disappears and greatly limits my abilities. It has nothing to do with rifle proficiency. My max comfort zone on deer with a peep is a 100, maybe 125 yards - with good light. As the light fades my comfort zone becomes very limited.

To the OP, this is a question to which there is no one max range fits all answer. An individual's eyesight is the limiting factor.

For those of you with perfect or good eyesight - count your blessings.

+1 Fish head I concur. Magnum Man

I forgot about those iron sight matches when I asked the question. Those matches are cool stuff.

But maybe I should be asking:

At what distance do normal iron sights obscure the aiming point on a whitetail deer sufficient that you would not want to shoot at said deer?

100-150yrds

Cause I'm old

+2 Fish Head I also concur but I do believe rifle proficiency is a definite advantage to using iron sights. Practice builds skill and confidence in your abilities to shoot accurately at longer ranges. I switched to a Williams peep sight on my .30-06 several years ago after having test driving my hunting partners rifles so equiped. I am now quite comfortable taking shots out to 250 yards given lighting and target presentation is favourable. Last season took a small whitetail doe at 190 yards with single, double lung shot! IMO Once you have practiced with a peep sight you will be amazed at the natural simplicity of target acquisition and the inherant ability of your eye to center the front sight accurately on target out to great distances. Keep in mind that prior to telescopic sights snipers regularily used peep sights with great accuracy over long distances!! Only when my eyesight fails will I switch back to scopes for hunting purposes.

+3 Fishead in good light my son and I have shot ram silhouettes (500 metres +-550 yards)seated with a front rest using a Lee Enfield no 4 mk 1 with the issue peep sights and have been 100%. GRF

the front sight of an M16 is twice the width of the target at 500 yards.
The target is 40"X20".
so it 500 yards the front sight covers 40 inches in width.
Still had no problems going 10 for 10.
Just like everything else with equipment. its not the gear, its how you use it.

Some have problems hitting anything at 100 yards (with either iron or telescopic sights). Others do quite well - consider the 19th century marksmen shooting 45-70's with iron sights at 1,000 yards.

Anyone who doubts the ability to hit well with iron sights should attend a BPCR long range gong match.You see an amazing variety of young to old people hit steel gongs out to 1000 yds using a globe frt sight and a vernier tang sight. Yes, the finest of iron sights but iron sights nontheless. As in any other kind of shooting, if you don't practice what you want to do, you will not develope any proficiency at all.It is very satisfying to take a rifle that duplicates what was considered "state of the art" 140 years a go and whack a 4x4" steel plate time after time in the wind at 1,000 yds. I am as guilty as any at rationalizing my predominant use of scope sighted rifles to hunt with. For me it comes down to personal ethics of making a clean kill.With a steel target that isn't a factor. Magnum Man

Peep sights are not "iron sights", they are optical sights. Their greatest advantage and reason for match and military use is that the shooter is concerned with only 2 planes. The target and the front sight. The eye automatically centers the front sight in the rear peep and doesn't have to focus the peep.

Iron sights force the shooter to operate on three planes and introduce alignment to the variables.

Outside of these considerations, the coarseness and shape of the front sight will limit the distance at which the shooter can precisely and repeatably place the front sight on the target.

That's my take.

I am good to only about 200 yards with open sights. However, peep sights work well for me out to as far I can resolve the target. That distance decreases fairly rapidly with my age!! I can still consistently hit elk sized vitals out to 500 or so with my 45-70s.