Hey Guys,

had some fun yesterday at the range banging steel with my hunting rifle after sighting in my backup iron sights to a new load. I also shot some groups and to my surprise, i can shoot these things pretty good...into 4 inches anyways to 200 yards or so.

Am i crazy for considering using irons for this years hunting season facing shots on whitetail up to and including 100 yards or perhaps 125? I know low light in woods conditions would be challenging...but I'm thinking I wouldn't be overly handicapped it might be a whole new level of fun. What do you guys think...am I nuts?

I love iron sights. My balls are just too fuzzy past 75, maybe 100 yards, to take shots past that.

Should really practice with them more though. Dug out my old model 94 last year. Had forgotten how fun it was to shoot!

Do it a lot. I enjoy it.

It really is! I got way more concerned with making great shots...and not great groups which honestly was a breath of fresh air. Banging steel was a blast...no pun intended and the plates were about the size of the kill zone

The only drawback is you cut down your hunting time because of the available light

Nope.
I do it all the time.
(maybe we are both crazy)

I like irons best, but I admit I need a scope in dimmer light. I am just too old now to shoot irons in dim light.
I killed an antelope doe 2 weeks ago with an iron sighted 6.5X54 at 20 yards, right through the neck. It's the same rifle I killed this buck with last year. The shot was from about 165 or 170 yards last year, also hit through the neck. I would have prefered a chesh shot, but the buck 'busted me" when I was crawling up and stuck his head and neck over the berm. That's all I had to shoot at so I took the shot.
2018 #1 Ant. Buck by Steve Zihn, on [bleep]
I am going out this afternoon to try to kill a nice buck antelope, and I am going to use either my M1 Garand, my M95 Winchester Lever action or maybe my Savage M99. None of which are scoped.

I intend to use a scoped rifle this year for my bull elk, but for my cow, and for all antelope, and all deer I am hoping I have clear skies and good light, and if I do I will use iron sighted rifles for them all.

A big side benefit of open or receiver sights is that all kinds of rifles suddenly turn into well balanced, fast handling lightweights when you remove a pound of weight sitting well above the bore line.

I'm almost 73. Last November. I took my Hawken out in the back yard. Sunny, and I could see open sights fine. I use glasses for reading only. As evening and shadows fell, a huge buck walked out. I leveled the gun him, and with the diminished light, could not pick the iron sights... What a fool. Laughed at myself, and swore scope from now on!

I have several with open sights or receiver sights. Even with 60 year old eyes and trifocals, I don't feel particularly hampered. I like a blade rather than a bead with receiver sights. I will say that minuscule bead on my 1908 Mannlicher Schoenauer ain't fun to find. The rest of my open sighted rifles have enough bead or blade to see with no trouble. I like hunting with opens sights or receiver sights.

Nothing crazy about it at all. I do hunt with scopes a fair amount, but I always enjoy an iron sighted rifle. Hunts are more rewarding for sure.

I've shot some pretty decent groups at the range out to 200-300 yards coming pretty close to what I can do with opitcs. In good light. Looking at a black aiming point that jumps out against a white background. But in a heavy canopy, 5 minutes into legal shooting time which is still 25 minutes till sunup those sights get lost on the brownish gray hide of a buck at even 30 yards. I'll stick with my scopes for hunting. But enjoy playing with irons at the range occasionally.

Killed two deer last year with a 30AW open sites 30/30.
One was a trotting shot on a doe at about 20 yards. The other about 80 yards on a doe I spotted in a clearing.
Optics may help improve your chances in low light, and with open sites you will benefit with good or corrected vision, but never underestimate the effectiveness of good sites if you know how to use them.

^^^ This. They also seem to hold zero better

I started with iron sights in 1964 the 1st time I used a scope on deer was 1978 or 79, got a nice 8 point but it was so easy it took all the fun of hunting away for me. It may just be me, but taking every advantage in the hunt away lessens the experience of hunting. It seems today a scope is a necessity . If I was a meat hunter I would use a scope but as a sport hunter I can't bring myself to use a scope on something as large as a deer. Even small deer are a big target. In the back of their minds I think a lot of hunter know what I mean. When asked why they use a scope it almost always is an excuse the top being "my eyes" then I may have a long shot or light conditions. Only once have I had someone say it is so much easier with a scope. Even on short range rifles 357,44mag,45-70 etc. big scopes are to common. Then there are the scopes on shotguns for turkey. Even with the tightest choked shotgun do you really need a scope. Same with scopes on crossbows. Won't be long before scopes on fishing poles will be common. (this has been my old man rant I don't really care if a scope is used or not)

Not sure if it comes with age, maturity or experience, but there comes a time when the hunt becomes more important than the kill. I got as much satisfaction from this small buck than if I had tagged a monster with my one of my scoped tack drivers.

If my eyes were better, I'd do it more often. We now have a special season in January that only allows iron-sighted sidelock MLs and stickbows. I have a couple that qualify. If I get lucky and make meat early, I may get one out, or my Browning Low Wall .44 mag, or maybe just carry my .357.

The right glasses make a huge difference for me. +1.5 readers, or a bit more, do the trick right now, especially with a peepsight.

Yup..I did a lot of it till the eyes got too old...but I really enjoyed iron sights...my last kill with irons....

Irons are good, but can be a challenge as one ages. Solutions? Longer barrels, such as a flintlock, or aperture sights.

I've killed more deer with iron sighted rifles than scoped. Put good, visible sights on and it doesn't handicap you as much as you'd think at typical woods ranges. For years I used Williams receiver sights coupled with a Lyman or Marbles ivory bead front and killed a pile of deer, several in excess of 200 yards. Today I prefer to couple a receiver sight with a Williams green fiber optic front. That combo is still visible/useable beyond legal shooting hours here.

I do it most of the time

You’re not crazy!

I’m still doing it with iron sights 35years later. I’ll continue to until I have to go to scopes.

Have fun and good luck! Tom

Damn fellas...thanks for the support! I think im going to go scope-less this dear season. It gets very dark early where i typically hunt in the north woods but to be honest ive been handicapped before on moving targets trying to get a sight picture through an optic. I do a bit of stalking but the reality is that its mostly blind hunting. 60/40 anyways. I think ill be ok...but ill keep you guys posted of my findings. Im just shy of 40 but my vision is pretty good. I was able to hit the gong today at the range at 400M every time...and while larger than the kill zone of typical game...i had to hold over beyond 3ft so i was pretty happy to connect.

Ingwe...please tell about your hunt and rifle! Looks like a great story!

Im shooting a 308 FWIW. Dead on at 100m is like 2/10s off at 50 and only a couple of inches off at 200 which id say is the limit of my skill with irons so far. I generally won't shoot beyond 200 at unwounded game even with an optic...so i think i will actually be ok!

All of my Savage lever guns (mostly pre-1920's) sport irons in the deer woods. They work now as well as they did 100 years ago. My 66 year old eyeballs need a little help seeing those front sights, but 'tain't nothin' a few tricks of the trade won't cure. I have a couple bolt guns (pre-war, mostly) that sport Lyman 48 receiver sights that get used with a fair degree of frequency too (but sometimes I cheat and take along their scopes which fit into Griffin&Howe QD side mounts as backup). The rifles that wear scopes permanently are mostly benchrest queens.

Lose a few minutes at dawn/dusk? Meh, who cares?

That was a kudu I shot in 1999 while on Safari with our own Mule Deer. the rifle is a custom 1909 Argentine Mauser in 7x57 built by Dennis Erhardt....Theres more to the story but suffice it to say it was one of the most interesting mornings Ive ever had hunting.

Well another one bites the dust.
I just got my Buck Antelope with a Winchester M95 in 270. One shot and down. Iron sights. Shot from about 45 yards.
I'll edit this soon and post some pics. I didn't have a camera, but one of my friends did and he's going to e-mail them to me soon.

No.. But it all depends on the shooter's eyes.. I only have one rifle that I've left with iron sights, but even that one I converted to fire sights so I can see the dang things.. It's a rifle I use for close-in shots in WI forests - a Marlin M94 in .45LC...

There is a kid shooting the Rimfire Challenge that cleans up in multiple classes and he's better and faster with irons than he is with the red dot. This is close range speed shooting and with iron sights he says he is seeing the target not the sights. But, like the arrow in an instinctive snap release with a bow, the sights must be in his field of view. Seen, but not seen? Not seen, but they have to be there?

It has been 5 years since I venture into the woods with only irons and it is so true that the rifle feels more lively. I found 15-20 years ago the very best iron front sight for hunting. I bought a Savage 99 that had a Sheard front sight and for my eyes, nothing compares with it not even the sourdough, which is second best.
I am getting an urge, after seeing szihn's pic, to take the scope off my CZ-550 FS and give it a go. If I can't see the sights or have a good sight picture I won't shoot. After all, my family will not starve if don't make meat and it will take me back to my muzzleloading days when it was the fun of the hunt not the kill!

It can be done.

I think you'll enjoy yourself greatly if you do!

-Jake

As others have mentioned here, older eyes begin to limit the use of iron sights and that's the case with me, but a few days ago I took the Marlin 336C 30-30 off the gun rack, found some +1.5 readers and shot a few rounds offhand.

It is fun to do, but I admit using a scoped gun when trying to fill a tag.

Can’t see well enough anymore. I couldn’t shoot well enough to hit a barn.

i hunt with one of my old open sited pumps every year but only when shots are 50 yards or less. 100 yards on a deers shoulder is a pretty long shot. site covers up a lot of the deer at that range. but then again, my eyes are bad

Well, the weight of my CZ-550 FS was reduced by 1 pound 2.5 ounces and it's hard to believe how well balanced it is now after removing the scope. The sights are fairly easy to see while walking about near home. I could make them out as late as 7:10 last evening with cloudy skies and with eyes that has been seeing for 72 years! Time for a trip to the range with my "new" rifle.

My Model 71 does quite well with both 200 and 250gr loads. Groups are at 100..

I don't own a scoped rifle. I gave away my last one to a dear friend who did my wife and I a tremendous favor when she was battling cancer. As an aside, she won. Anyway, I'm 66 and with a couple cheats I can still shoot sub 1 inch groups at 50 yards if my rifle is capable. Go to 100 and I can still hover between 3 and 4 inches. One of the cheats is an aperture for my glasses and the other is to open up the rear sight notch to allow more light around the front sight. If you practice with them enough their use becomes as second nature as a scope. Sight them in for a 6 o'clock hold at 100 yards and the front sight doesn't cover anything. All that an as another poster mentioned, pull the scope off a rifle and it changes its complexion, ie handling and carrying, immensely.

I do prefer aperture sights but I'm not drilling and tapping any of my rifles although some did come with some nice Lyman and Redfield aperture sights. They darn sure aren't getting a scope with those sights on them.

I'm about 26 years older than you and I hunt with irons as a matter of choice, something like tmitch alluded to. Go for it, I can't imagine you'll regret it.

Offhand or benchrest?

If you have the right mentality, rifles with open sights and certain red dots are great for making fast shots on moving game.
Both eyes, like a shotgun bead.

Nice Marlin and very skillful shooting.

Most of the whitetail I have killed could have been with an iron sighted 30-30; half the wall hangers included. Some where.

I mostly hunt big game with scoped rifles but had a hankering to fill a tag last year with my open sighted .35 Whelen. I had my son with me and he called in this muley doe for me to about 70 yards. Good times.

OK I have pics now, but I can't get them to load so I can post. Who can recommend a "photo place" on-line other then Photo Bucket or Fl ickr.
We all know about the screw job photobucket attempted, (so I quit them and will never go back) but now flic kr is not letting me log in and up-load anything new. Something wrong with my password, but when I try to change it (as per their instructions) the system will not allow it.

Anyway.....what are you folks using?

OK, my wife showed me what to do on line.
IMG_20190918_192827625 by .com/photos/156296479@N08/]Steve Zihn, on [bleep]

LIKE!

Love seeing those classic shootin’ irons getting used!

Very cool! Great picture!

Thanks Beretz.
Semper Fi back to ya.

[img]https://photos.google.com/album/AF1...ipNI2eN9OuVT6bOBSFvlrrRM8SdFuaVpb-6Gvgqo[/img]

Bear hunting is made for iron sights

Shooting sticks

I love shooting iron sights, that’s how I grew up and how I shot my M16 for years.

Downside is Texas has serious antler restrictions, so unless you’re really good at judging them with your eyes or binos, I use a scoped rifle for anything beyond 100 yards.

my binos have the same magnification as my scope so figured i could glass and blast lol

Not crazy, at least not all the way.

I frequently take a .22 to the range and shoot it with irons, the target being clay pigeons on the berm at 100. About half my centerfire hunting rifles have irons and I like to use them at the range as well.