Ethical hunting kills with iron sights

I've taken at least half a dozen rabbits/hares at 200+ yards with my .22 WMR and factory irons. (More than when it was scoped, actually.)
With a Rossi 62SAC, I knocked a couple over at 350-400 yards, as a kid.
Who knows how many squirrels and prairie dogs were decapitated over the years with everything from .22 LR to 8x57mm and iron sights at 200+ yards. When you have the time to sit around, walk it in, and wait for those little heads to pop up, it makes it a lot easier.

Every one of them was a minimum of a decade ago, though. And to get totals like that, there are a lot more gut shots, spine shots, and limb amputations that would not be considered clean or ethical - even though very fatal on the little animals.

Last year, I dropped a little Mule Deer at about 90 yards with an iron sighted muzzle loader.
I think that's not just the longest, but my only successful iron sight shot on big game. I can't think of another attempt, other than a 550+ yard shot on antelope (with an 1895 Krag), when I missed by 20+ feet. (Didn't know the load as well as I thought... :rolleyes:)
I just don't head out after big game very often with iron sights. And when I do, I don't see much within range.

My limits now are more like 75-150 yards, depending upon the type of iron sights and cartridge being used.
 
A rabbit at 350-400 yards is impressive. That's creeping up on a 1/4 mile. I live in PA and unless I'm in a cut farmers field, there's not much chance of spotting anything at those distances.
 
My longest shot with irons was with my Browning BLR in .308 Win, 170+ yds on a whitetail 3x4 buck. One shot, through the lower part of the shoulder, piled up almost in place.

Of course, that was nearly 30 years ago, and my eyes were much sharper then, plus I was foolishly confident in both my abilities and the gun at the time. I probably wouldn't take that shot now. But at the time, I had no doubt that I could make that shot, and just a few seconds after shouldering my rifle, I lined up high on his shoulder, and pressed the trigger, and got a little lucky.

Now, my mind would be trying to estimate drop, questioning my estimate of distance, my abilities, etc. and I'd probably decide against taking the shot. Of course, I haven't practiced a lot of iron sight shooting beyond 100 yards in some time. If I was practicing a lot, I might change my mind.
 
I haven't gone hunting in a long time, but I spent years shooting recreationally, ringing the 200yd gong with handguns and their rather crude iron sights, and I still remember shooting the M14 to 600yds with its iron sights, so, I have no doubts about my ability to humanely take a game animal at longer ranges with iron sights, should I choose to do so.
 
The Year was 1960, the day after thanksgiving.I was 15 years old. I had grandpas Winchester model 1894 rifle, 30WCF with the fine Rocky Mountain sights and was shooting Winchester 150 grain grain silver tips. The deer, a 3x3 buck was running along a open field fence line across a 40 acre field. I missed him 3 times and broke his back on the 4th shot at 300 and some yards. At that time I was 15 years old, standing an shooting offhand. I admit there was a lot of luck involved in that shot. But it was a good accurate rifle. I had also killed acouple deer in previous seasons with it. That shot that day is my most favorite and is one of my very best memories of deer kills in my hunting career. It is also my longest kill with iron sights. Now my eyes aren’t the best and I have trouble seeing these fine sights. Back then I had good eye sight. Today I have bifocals that don’t work well on iron sights. My grandson will carry it next year for his first deer season. Like his brother, His Dad and the rest of the deer hunters in the family all have some great memories made with my grandpas rifle.
Little history note on the rifle.
I have a reciept from the Callaway hardware store that signed by The store owner showing that Grandpa paid $13.50 for that rifle back in 1913 . Today it is part of our family legacy and it’s priceless.
 
kills

Few years back, I took a shot at a coyote at what turned out to be 75 paces, with my G20. The slug hit the 'yote at the base of the ear, I was holding center shoulder, shooting propped off my walking stick. Unlucky coyote.

Took a small buck on Double Top Mountain in the Rapidan WMA in VA with an iron sighted M94 30-30 at about 60 yds, shot him through the white throat patch as he looked my way. I also took a number of ground hogs in high clover at the same 60-75 yd distances with either a 6" M27 .357, or a Marlin .357 carbine. But I missed about as many with the M27 at that distance as I shot at, did much better with the carbine. I should have NEVER traded that M27.

I've hit gongs way out there with the M1 Garand, off a bench, with a spotter. But a 18-24" white gong in the wide open is far easier to see and hold on than a critter afield.
 
I haven't hunted big game with iron sights for a lot of years, but I have taken a couple of deer under 150 yards with a Marlin 30-30 and stock iron sights. I don't think I'd want to go a whole lot further out with iron sights because at some point the animal starts appearing small enough that you're pointing at it more than aiming at a specific spot. I would echo the comment above that I don't really practice longer shots with iron sights, though, and maybe if I did I'd be comfortable shooting further. But then again the only centerfire rifle I have with iron sights is a 30-30 and it has pretty limited range regardless of the sights.
 
All my big game kills with open sights have been under 100 yards. Taken deer with 30-30 Marlin, 99 Savage in 303, & elk with .54 Hawken (during regular rifle season) & 700 Remington in 308 that has a high rise scope mount that allowed use of iron sights and was a close snap shot in heavy timber where the scope was useless.
 
1,600px × 1,200px is way too big.
The sights used have nothing whatever to do with ethics.
"...At 12 years old..." Missing due to felt recoil and inexperience isn't unusual. Even with a bead on a 20 gauge, it's possible to get surprisingly small groups with slugs at 100 yards. It's easier with rifle sights though.
 
I personally don't shoot any rifle with iron sights. Only scopes for me. I shoot with some people who regularly shoot 10inch groups at 1000 yds with Iron sights. I guess 700ish yards would be ethical iron sight range for them. Me? About 100.
 
I shot my first deer with a 20 gauge slug and bead sight. There was no rifle available at the time. I sat in a blind with my dad as it came 14 yards away. I pulled the trigger and shot a hole in the blind and ended up spine shooting the deer. It died instantly but I have hated the feeling ever since.

I shot another deer a year or two later also with a shotgun at the same distance and ended up shooting it in the shoulder blade and the kill wasn't as quick.

We needed the meat but I really dislike using shotgun slugs on deer. After that I got a rifle it never happened again. With the right sights long range is very possible. I like a thin front blade and a peep is possible.
 
I shoot with some people who regularly shoot 10 inch groups at 1000 yards with iron sights. I guess 700ish yards with would be ethical iron sights range for them.
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I would have to question their ability to identify a live target at that distance.
 
...as it came 14 yards away.....ended up spine shooting the deer. It died instantly, but I have hated the feeling ever since.
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That is pretty up close and personal. I'm not surprised it left you with a bad feeling.
 
That is pretty up close and personal. I'm not surprised it left you with a bad feeling.
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I bow hunt and don't take any shot that isn't ethical. At that point in my life I think I had shot 4 deer with my bow. In 25 years I've only had two bow deer that made me feel bad. One ran off about 100 yards and was making horrible noises. I went home ate dinner and came back within an hour and wolves destroyed the deer.

The other deer went about 50 yards and was bleeding good. I decided to give it some time and stumbled on another deer that I mistaken for it bedded so I went back and got the bow. In that time the deer wandered a bit farther to the road and when I had my bow and came back I tracked it to the road where I heard a truck stop, tailgate drop then slam and drive off. The drag trail was from family private property.
 
I wasn't implying that being an unethical shot. Just very close to punch a hole in a deer with a 20gauge slug. An assault on a young persons senses.
 
Ever heard of binoculars?
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:rolleyes:

Ok. Now that the target has been identified with binoculars, how is the transition to the iron sights of a rifle? What is the sight picture on iron sights to an animal at 700 yards?
 
I wasn't implying that being an unethical shot. Just very close to punch a hole in a deer with a 20gauge slug. An assault on a young persons senses.
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I didn't think you were implying that. One could only wonder if the shot would have went where I expected if I didn't shoot the blind. What was happening was we would get deer that would sneak around the back of the blind and stick their heads (neck and all) in the front window and stare you down. So we boarded up the bottom of the window.
 
Was that a wood blind? When I think of blinds, my mind goes straight to the modern pop-up tent variety. I can understand how shooting through wood could upset the path of the slug.
 
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