Iron Sights

Muddyboots · Nov 13, 2024

So @bamban posted a photo of him with kill in 1974 with rifle with iron sights.

So interesting question: have you ever killed a big game animal with iron sights and how long ago?

Me? I killed young buck with good old thurta thurta in a deer camp near @adk hunter. Year? 1970! And best part of that is I left new Case knife on a rock at kill site. I bet @adk hunter found it.

K.E.C. Darkside · Nov 14, 2024

Yes my first 4 years of whitetail deer hunting in the early 70's.
First 2 years a Model 94 in 44 Magnum.
Next 2 years a model 70 in 270 Win.
Those 2 rifles got sold off years ago by my dad.
For small game hunting my granddad let me use his Remington model 521T bolt action with 6 round clip in 22LR.
He eventually put a scope on it.
I have this rifle.
Back in those days most everything was open site.

memtb · Nov 14, 2024

Muddyboots said:
So @bamban posted a photo of him with kill in 1974 with rifle with iron sights.

So interesting question: have you ever killed a big game animal with iron sights and how long ago?

Me? I killed young buck with good old thurta thurta in a deer camp near @adk hunter. Year? 1970! And best part of that is I left new Case knife on a rock at kill site. I bet @adk hunter found it.

Been a while, but several Whitetails with a rifle and an Antelope and a Black Bear with an open sighted S&W 629. memtb

Hand Skills · Nov 14, 2024

Most recently, white tail doe in 2013 (or 14?) for me. Lee Enfield in 303 British, head shot at close range (15ish yards?)

No more decisive than a .223, but a whole lot more gruesome!!

akdad · Nov 14, 2024

Shot a lot of moose with iron sights 30-06, 270 probably at least 5 or so last one maybe 2017?? Hunted a lot in the winter and scopes are just a pain in real cold.

Southpaw Tikka · Nov 14, 2024

2015, 35 rem. Marlin 336, 6-7 yards - love sick 8 pointer

s3silver · Saturday at 10:17 PM

Good topic. Not too many iron sights on rifles these days. I shot a blacktail buck about 10 years ago with a Savage hog hunter 308 with iron sights. Shot was about 70 yards. He was a decent 2x2 and good eating.

crashlanding · Saturday at 10:44 PM

1974, hickory run state park, Pennsylvania, 17 years old, Marlin 336, 30.30, biggest buck anyone in our family had ever killed at that point, my dads policy was no scope until you killed your first one with iron sites.

FlGunner · Sunday at 6:02 AM

Back when I was 10 I killed a small Georgia 4 pt with a Winchester 94 30-30. About 25 yd shot from the ground with open sights.

Guy M · Sunday at 6:18 AM

A few, but not many.

Couple of mule deer in the mid 1990's with a traditional cap lock 50 cal muzzle loader.

Couple of mule deer 15 years or so ago with iron-sight 223 AR-15.

Mule deer with a 44 mag S&W 629.

Those were all at modest range, none beyond 50 yards or so. When I went into the brush to follow up a bear wounded by another hunter, I thought about removing the scope on my 375 H&H, but just dialed it down to 1.5x instead. That worked. Ended up shooting the bear at about 15 feet. Going to the sights would have been a great idea.

My 45-70 Marlin is set up with a 2.5x Leupold in quick detach rings. I replaced the standard Marlin sights with a Skinner barrel-mount peep sight and used one of their "bear buster" front sights. It's set up real well for either scope or sights, but I haven't taken game with the sights yet. Hoping to do so someday.

Regards, Guy

Sixgun17 · Monday at 5:43 PM

Shot a whitetail buck and his girlfriend in 2018 at 100-120 yds with a Winchester 64 in 30-30 with Lyman receiver sight. Giraffe in 2019, about 120 yds with 1886 w/tang peep in 45-70. Also, a whitetail buck in 2020 at about 75 yds with Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull shooting .45 Colt - my only handgun take so far.

Not sure how many more years my eyes will be up to the task. I did work with my eyeball doc to get some glasses that let me focus on the front sight of a handgun, while wearing my bifocal contacts. They're not great to walk around in, but they sure sharpened up front sights on both handguns and rifles.

There's something really satisfying about doing it "old style"!

memtb · Monday at 5:47 PM

Sixgun17 said:
Shot a whitetail buck and his girlfriend in 2018 at 100-120 yds with a Winchester 64 in 30-30 with Lyman receiver sight. Giraffe in 2019, about 120 yds with 1886 w/tang peep in 45-70. Also, a whitetail buck in 2020 at about 75 yds with Ruger Super Redhawk .454 Casull shooting .45 Colt - my only handgun take so far.

Not sure how many more years my eyes will be up to the task. I did work with my eyeball doc to get some glasses that let me focus on the front sight of a handgun, while wearing my bifocal contacts. They're not great to walk around in, but they sure sharpened up front sights on both handguns and rifles.

There's something really satisfying about doing it "old style"!

View attachment 617745

Something I once used that really helped…..I put a s"stick on" with a small hole (a stick on aperture) in it on my glasses. When looking through that aperture….it put everything on the same focal plane.

Not practical for "snap" shots….but generally, surgical placement isn't required on a snap shot! memtb

fseaman · Monday at 5:48 PM

Sixgun17 said:
1886 w/tang peep in 45-70

Love mine but I wouldn't consider it LR

Sixgun17 · Monday at 6:02 PM

fseaman said:
Love mine but I wouldn't consider it LR

Definitely agree, at least with my abilities. My self-imposed limit on that hunt was 150 yds, and it took a long time and lot of walking to get inside that.

Now steel buffalo at the cowboy shoots? Back 'em up boys and let's give her a go!

Iron Sights

Muddyboots

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K.E.C. Darkside

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memtb

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Hand Skills

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akdad

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Southpaw Tikka

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s3silver

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crashlanding

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FlGunner

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Guy M

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Sixgun17

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memtb

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fseaman

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Sixgun17

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