Yes, but I have yet to find a viable alternative.
Ethical hunting kills with iron sights
- Thread starter GarandTd
- Start date
I've shot so many critters with iron sights, I don't know where to begin, except at the beginning.
I wore out three BB guns before I was 14 and shot lots of red squirrels, frogs, and I hate to admit, tweeties. When I "graduated" firearms, my first rifle was a Stevens semi-auto and it shot rabbits, woodchucks, rats in "dumps" (they're all "sanitary landfills"... no rats and no shooting allowed. I finally scoped it and shot it at a range. That darned rifle didn't group better than 3" at fifty yards, but it killed lots of critters with iron sights at 15 to 20 yards in the woods. After targeting, I lost all faith in the rifle and traded it.
Later in my teen years, I managed to get a new Marlin 39A Mountie and put a receiver sight on it. That rifle would honestly hit a quarter with every shot at 50 yards. It was short but not especially light, so it held steadily and killed a lot of red squirrels high in the trees at camp and got more than it's share of rabbits elsewhere.
That Marlin was the last rifle that I've had that didn't wear a scope.
I wore out three BB guns before I was 14 and shot lots of red squirrels, frogs, and I hate to admit, tweeties. When I "graduated" firearms, my first rifle was a Stevens semi-auto and it shot rabbits, woodchucks, rats in "dumps" (they're all "sanitary landfills"... no rats and no shooting allowed. I finally scoped it and shot it at a range. That darned rifle didn't group better than 3" at fifty yards, but it killed lots of critters with iron sights at 15 to 20 yards in the woods. After targeting, I lost all faith in the rifle and traded it.
Later in my teen years, I managed to get a new Marlin 39A Mountie and put a receiver sight on it. That rifle would honestly hit a quarter with every shot at 50 yards. It was short but not especially light, so it held steadily and killed a lot of red squirrels high in the trees at camp and got more than it's share of rabbits elsewhere.
That Marlin was the last rifle that I've had that didn't wear a scope.
I'm a decent shot, but I know there are many marksmen that are much better than me with training, better equipment, and shooting venues that allow them to advance their skills.
However.....
Shooting at a stationary 4 foot white circle at 600 yards in the prone position from a mat or deck is not going to compare to shooting a deer, possibly in motion, in 3 foot prairie grasses while standing unsupported from hundreds of yards away..
I'm not trying to discredit the target shooting prowess of anyone, including competitors and those in the military, and I'm not looking to be impressed. I am simply asking for real world experiences, good and bad, relevant to the the thread.
Ethical hunting kills with iron sights
However.....
Shooting at a stationary 4 foot white circle at 600 yards in the prone position from a mat or deck is not going to compare to shooting a deer, possibly in motion, in 3 foot prairie grasses while standing unsupported from hundreds of yards away..
I'm not trying to discredit the target shooting prowess of anyone, including competitors and those in the military, and I'm not looking to be impressed. I am simply asking for real world experiences, good and bad, relevant to the the thread.
Ethical hunting kills with iron sights
Target shooters are capable of amazing shots, but the biggest differences are that they shoot at known distances and get sighting shots, neither of which apply to hunting. Also, deer rarely have nice high contrast circles of the proper diameter on their fur.
I have made a a lot of incredibly long shots with a .22 rifle as a kid ..... a crow in the middle of a 1/4 section beanfield comes to mind .... a bird on the other side of a canyon, too far to see- just saw where he landed, held over a ridiculous amount and tapped the trigger twice- a puff of dust and he's floppin' around..... Were they ethical shots? ....probably not..... was it "skill" probably not that either- I just shot at lots of things ..... a blind squirrel bumps into a nut once in while.
Later on, I shot a lot of prairie dogs at silly ranges with an open sighted 22..... Game animals? I killed a doe with a flintlock at about 30 yards ...... a button buck with a 30/30 about the same distance... a yearling doe from about 20 yards with a Bubba'd Commission rifle... hit and lost a buck that year with the same gun from about 100 yards........ and of course a lot of turkeys and pheasants with a shotgun.... longest was 50. .... My regular deer rifle has a scope on it ..... so I don't really shoot at deer that much with irons ...... I have several old milsurps that I shoot targets with ..... have never taken any of them hunting, mostly because they reek of cosmoline......
Later on, I shot a lot of prairie dogs at silly ranges with an open sighted 22..... Game animals? I killed a doe with a flintlock at about 30 yards ...... a button buck with a 30/30 about the same distance... a yearling doe from about 20 yards with a Bubba'd Commission rifle... hit and lost a buck that year with the same gun from about 100 yards........ and of course a lot of turkeys and pheasants with a shotgun.... longest was 50. .... My regular deer rifle has a scope on it ..... so I don't really shoot at deer that much with irons ...... I have several old milsurps that I shoot targets with ..... have never taken any of them hunting, mostly because they reek of cosmoline......
I started hunting at 15 with a Winchester 94, so everything I shot at for 4 years was with that rifle. My next step was a Spanish Mauser in 7X57, and I hunted plenty with that for the next few years. I shot deer and hogs out to about 150-ish yds, coyotes and jack rabbits out to 200-ish yds. The limiting factor with a 94 and a 1916 Spanish Mauser are the sights and how important it is to place your shot well, you can't see where your shot is going to hit past 150 yds because the sights cover the whole animal. At that point you are just aiming at the whole animal, and you can hit it just about anywhere. When I got a scoped rifle things changed, but iron sights pretty much limits most shooters to 100-150 yds.
JUSTinTYME
New member
i shot a large doe this year with my Winchester 94 and iron sights. She was about 70 yards and I made a high neck shot. She dropped where she was standing.
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Cheapshooter
New member
My first buck 35 years ago. M1 Garand @ 125 yds. Square in the chest. I thought I had missed. Went to check after it ran, and found no blood. Walked back tonmy stand which was to the side of where it ran. After a half hour I thought I would go to the trail it was on, and see if there was a blood trail later. As I got to the woods line about 50 yards from my stand I saw it laying under a big Cedar that was blockng my view. From where I shot it had ran only 75-100 yards, and dtopped. Took out the heart, and pieces of both lungs.
The only game that I have shot with a gun that has irons on it was a squirrel. It was about 50yds away. I had been practicing with this gun & knew exactly where to aim & knocked the squirrel right out of the tree, but that was back when I was young. All my large game guns now have scopes on them. It's not that I feel more ethical using scopes, it's because I know how bad my eyes are & want a little better chance of hitting what I'm shooting at.
tahunua001
New member
longest was exactly 100 yards on a blackbear with a type 44 Arisaka carbine. was extremely lucky that I got it, because the bullet broke in half on impact with a rib, luckily both halves hit something vital and he only made it about 20 yards before dropping.
other than shotgun hits on turkey that is also my only iron sight kill.
other than shotgun hits on turkey that is also my only iron sight kill.
One day, I was hunting varmints with both a rifle and .22 Ruger Auto handgun. Hunting alone, I spied a large rusty can in a hayfield, 100 yards away and downhill from my position. I put my rifle down and, standing, but leaning against a tree, I fired once with the handgun and heard a "plop". Hmm...cans don't "plop" when you hit them, I said to myself. Walking down to the "target" I found a plump woodchuck with a fresh bullet hole through the head. Coulda knocked me over with a feather! Where are all the witnesses when you pull off a shot like that???
Shot my first deer with a model 99 savage in .300 savage. Iron sights at 160ish yards. Dropped that doe in its tracks. It was my grandpas gun and one of the first rifles I’d ever shot. Had a lot of practice with it and was
Fairly proficient with it. Sits in my safe today. 20 years later. I take it out once or twice every deer season when I’m feeling nostalgic. Would still feel comfortable taking that shot to this day.
Fairly proficient with it. Sits in my safe today. 20 years later. I take it out once or twice every deer season when I’m feeling nostalgic. Would still feel comfortable taking that shot to this day.
I'm 63 years old and can't get out and hunt anymore but the last deer I killed was on the last day I hunted. I made a 65 yard behind the ear head shot with a scratch built muzzle loader with a round ball. The rifle has a full buckhorn rear sight. When I was young I despised scopes and put off using one as long as I could. It wasn't until I started hunting soybean fields that I accepted them as legitimate sights. I still refuse to scope a lever action and as long as the shots are 100 yards more or less I'm still confidant in my ability to make a clean kill.