What do you use scope or iron sights on your rifle?

1shot16

Well just interested if all ye out there use a scope on your rifles or are there a few of ye that like good old fashion iron sights when out hunting or just plinking.
Most of the lads i know have scopes mounted on their rifles!

Also for the lads who use iron sights whats your longest shot using iron sights?

Personally the scope is much easier for me and like my magnification... alot haha

Nightforce 65X55

1shot16 wrote: »

Well just interested if all ye out there use a scope on your rifles or are there a few of ye that like good old fashion iron sights when out hunting or just plinking.
Most of the lads i know have scopes mounted on their rifles!

Also for the lads who use iron sights whats your longest shot using iron sights?

Personally the scope is much easier for me and like my magnification... alot haha

I used to shoot with Iron sights quite a lot , I had a Swedish Mauser , a Martini actioned .22 , an Anschutz Match 54 and even used them on the Brno .22 for a while, and did a fair bit of long range target shooting in Bisley , I enjoyed using the open sights , it really brings you back to basics. All my rifles are scoped now , but I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to shoot with the Iron sights again .

My longest shots with Iron sights was 1000 yds with a Parker Hale .308 and kept a string of 10 shots in the Black even though it was about 4 Ft wide , to see it in the aperture.

With the Mauser here I shot out to 800 yds but It had a front post and rear v sight so it was difficult to pick up the targets beyond that range.

Cass

Started with irons because i knew feck all about scopes. Over the years i got one and eventually put one on each rifle. Enjoyed the iron sights. Quicker and faster shooting and as i started on them it was never an issue. I had to learn scopes, but after 25 years of shooting scoped rifles i rely on them.

not to say i wouldn't mind a .22lr with irons. Just for sh**s and giggles.

cookimonster

Started off as a kid shooting with a .17 air rifle and basic iron sights, graduated to savage semi auto .22, again basic sights until I was old enough to buy my own .22 which I topped with a scope. Over the years I've shot a Brno without optics onto targets just for fun but haven't hunted with out scopes since the savage.

When I did hunt with iron sights my longest deliberate shot 60-70 yards and usually body shots. I believe your range is limited by your sight picture as soon as your target is blotted out by the sights for most shooters its luck.

I've shot the Enfield .303, FN 7.62 with 'battle sights' and the Styer 5.56 with fixed power optics / ring reticle out to 300 yards / metres and compared to a nice 'V' and blade style iron sight found them only fit for purpose for getting rounds onto a fairly large bull at relatively sort ranges in relation to the calibres.

Iron sights are fun but with the exception of driven game I prefer a scope for hunting.

1shot16

Nightforce 65X55 wrote: »

I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to shoot with the Iron sights again .

Cass wrote: »

not to say i wouldn't mind a .22lr with irons. Just for sh**s and giggles.

cookimonster wrote: »

Iron sights are fun but with the exception of driven game I prefer a scope for hunting.

Id say ye all agree irons are grand for a bita fun and a bita luck.. wouldnt mind a semi auto .22 or even a lever action down the road (need a shotty and a 223 first though haha :P )they look like a fun gun and look cool too

FISMA

1shot16 wrote: »

Well just interested if all ye out there use a scope on your rifles or are there a few of ye that like good old fashion iron sights when out hunting or just plinking.

Depends on what I am doing. Personally, I do not drill old war guns like: K98, Enfields, K31,... So when I take the war guns to the range, it is iron sights all the time.

This is also true for a few of the more modern war guns I own.

1shot16 wrote: »

Also for the lads who use iron sights whats your longest shot using iron sights?

Unfortunately, the range I am currently using max's out at 300ya. That said, I have had great precision and accuracy at that distance. If you choose you target wisely and have peep sights, you would be surprised how well you can shoot.

When it comes to modern hunting and long distance rifles, I like glass.

1shot16 wrote: »

Personally the scope is much easier for me and like my magnification... alot haha

Scopes can offer their own plethora of problems. There's a whole other level of abstraction once you put the scope on: rings, bases, glass, and parallax to name a few. You then need to ensure that the rifle is level in order to level your scope.

Personally, I like to train newbies on Iron sights and then move them to scopes.

CJhaughey

Scopes weren't anywhere near as cheap and plentiful as they are now, I started on Iron sights on Air rifles and .22's because thats all there was.
Even now I still like using Iron sights and for some kinds of hunting they are hard to beat.

IRLConor

For some reason I've never gotten along with scopes, but maybe that's because I started off with iron sights.

The longest shot I've taken with iron sights was ~300yds with a Lee Enfield but the longest I'd shoot with my own rifle would be 100m. With a .22, a sling and aperture sights it's not really worth shooting much further.

EWQuinn

In iron its mostly about the front sight. For fun, competition and plinking, mine are milsurp rifles with std aperture rear sights. I added long wide front posts on a couple, match style on another couple, sight picture is amazing even for aging eyes. For some of these if you like that style you can get improved aperture sights, you can get aperture sights for Mausers, Mosins and other milsurp and civilian types, and even some with little magnification lenses in the aperture.

Real fun, I use the old school buckhorn sight on the black powder plains rifle, with the nice double set trigger makes for "turkey head" accuracy at 50 yds and "deer vital" accuracy at 100.

Using scope for long range rifles on steel and paper,for hunting rifles, and for the .22. I want my one little .22 LR to shoot right where I intend out to 100. My one red dot sight is on the AK.

mister gullible

I started about 36 years ago with a 22 fitted with a small but effective scope. Over the years I've always used scopes. I like a minimalist approach so a few times I've tried open sights but just can't get any joy with them. I still prefer a basic scope so have gone back to a 4x32 on the .22 and 3-9x40 on the heavier calibre and don't feel the need for anything more for general hunting.
I think that if you grow up taking considered shots with a scoped rifle it's harder to get proficient later with the more instinctive shotgun. (for me anyway).