Ever see an all-weather deer rifle with iron sights?

D

Doyle

New member
When deer/pig hunting I rotate between several different rifles depending on mood or where I'm going. One thing that I lack though is a "rain" rifle. I need one with all stainless steel metal and a composite stock. Those are easy to find.

However, I have one more requirement. I want iron sights under all my scopes. There is nothing worse than having an entire hunt ruined because you banged your scope on a tree and now you can't trust it until you resight. I use quick-release rings/bases so I can just pop off the scope and continue the hunt using irons.

The problem is, I can't find any all-weather rifles that have iron sights - at least in deer calibers. Ruger sells the 77 Alaskan but it only comes in the big (and expensive) calibers. They also sell the 77/44 but .44 mag is a little too short ranged for what I want.

Browning sold a stainless BLR with irons, but only with a laminated stock and when you can find one it sells for an arm, leg, and nut. I'd also rather have a bolt-action for rainy weather use.

So, my question is did anyone ever make such a rifle? If they did, I haven't seen one.
 
You must either be using a really cheap scope with even cheaper mounts or you're swinging the rifle against the tree. Nothing wrong with having iron sights but it wouldn't be an optics issue for me. As to all-weather I've hunted with a blued gun and wood stock in the rain and muck long before fiberglass and stainless steel were the rage. You just have to clean them and take a little extra care.

Now, there's nothing wrong with admitting you just want a stainless/synthetic iron sighted deer rifle. Why not buy the rifle you want and have a Smith fit a set of sights to it for you?
 
You must either be using a really cheap scope with even cheaper mounts
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Nope, Leupold scopes with Leupold QR base. For the record, I personally haven't bumped one hard enough yet to worry be but I've seen it happen. Falling off a truck, slipping out of the pull cord when being pulled up to a tree stand, etc. Sometimes the bump or fall may not actually jar the scope of of alignment, but it is enough to cause doubt. I refuse to take a shot at game if I'm not 100% sure that my shot is going to be dead on.
 
Natman, interesting rifle but it has a wood (laminated) stock. For a rain gun, I'd really prefer synthetic. Also, the 45-70 doesn't offer much more range than the Ruger 77/44 in .44 mag. Yes, it has much more knockdown power but it falls off almost as fast after 100 yds. Sighted in at 150 yds, the 45-70 is about 7 1/2" low at 200. That's a pretty serious drop.
 
All of my rifles are all-weather rifles, and none of them are stainless. Here in rain-soaked Louisiana we get plenty of moisture and a simple wipe-down is all that's necessary after a day in the woods.

Don't let a little rain keep you from hunting with a blued firearm.
 
Don't let a little rain keep you from hunting with a blued firearm.
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PawPaw, I may have to go that route. I could get an old-school beater Savage 110 with iron sights and put a composite stock on it. For that matter, if I could find a big enough oven I could find one that was rusted (as in cheaper to buy) and do a GunKote job on the entire barreled action.
 
Ruger's Compact Magnums come in stainless and iron sights, but you may not like those calibers either.
 
Nope, Leupold scopes with Leupold QR base. For the record, I personally haven't bumped one hard enough yet to worry be but I've seen it happen. Falling off a truck, slipping out of the pull cord when being pulled up to a tree stand, etc. Sometimes the bump or fall may not actually jar the scope of of alignment, but it is enough to cause doubt. I refuse to take a shot at game if I'm not 100% sure that my shot is going to be dead on.
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I don't mean to sound like a smart azz but by that logic I'd never be able to step in the woods. All rifles take a little abuse just from carrying them to a stand or moving through the woods. That's one of the main reasons for buying quality components like you have in the Leupold.

No shot is absolute even if the scope hasn't been bumped. Case in point I have a Sako 75 that used to wear a Nikon BM 4.5X14X40, it was sighted in, put in a padded hard case. The next time I used the rifle I carried it to the stand and as always with this gun I was very careful not to bump or abuse it, I missed a deer because the reticle had somehow become detached/broken between my last shot and pulling the trigger in the stand. When I sent it in, there wasn't a scratch on it, it looked for all intents and purposes new. I got it back and it wasn't very long until an erector failed and I missed a large doe. It now wears a Ziess and I have had zero issues and lots of dead stuff accounted for.

If you're not going to have some confidence in you equipment, why even put a scope on it? Why not buy one of the numerous lever guns out there that come standard with irons? Or look for an older gun with irons like you mentioned before. You could drop it into a fiberglass stock and have the entire thing coated to your prefered finish.
 
With a quality scope in good mounts you are just as likely to have the iron sigts fail as the scope.

If you really want irons simply buy the rifle you like best and then add the irons later. You can buy a good set of irons and pay a gunsmith to install them for less than the cost of a mid-priced scope.
 
Like PawPaw, I hunted in Louisiana most all my life and only used blued rifles with wood stocks. And when I was younger and dumber, I hunted no matter what the weather was. I never had a problem with any of the rifles (lever, auto, then bolt). Still, I always wanted a 'mud gun', so now I have a Ruger Hawkeye in stainless and a synthetic stock. You don't have to have stainless, but it is easier to take care of when the weather is nasty. If you haven't bought the rifle yet, and you do or will hunt in wet weather, just get the stainless. Seems like such a simple decision. And...you don't need iron sights if you have a good scope.
 
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Yep - Winchester 94 rifles have taken their share of deer over the decades and It's not common to see one of those with scopes - that's why the AE model was developed.

BUFFALOBILL94A.jpg


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And, for many years, the B&C prize largest elk rack was taken with a Winchester 95 in 30-40 Krag west of Crested Butte - I've seen that rack and rifle and it had no scope - Here's mine -

IMG_1494_edited-1.jpg


However, my hunting days were past before I got this one. :(
 
I found one. Not cheap though. You can get the 24" barrels with iron sights for the T/C encore in stainless. Couple that with a stainless frame and compsite stock/forearm and you've got something that can sit in a mud puddle without rusting.
 
Thanks Rob. I checked gunbroker and didn't see any of the new Rugers with sights except for the Alaskan. Maybe they are a special order item. In any case, their price is pretty steap. Looks like an Encore would actually be cheaper.
 
You can expect to pay about 70% of what the MSRP is on the website. Still, they are rather steep in price and the RCM ammo is pretty expensive too.
 
Go get a Remington Sportsman 78. I have used one in .270 for 20 years and not only is it tough and seems to never get rust but it's very accurate. I've spent many a day in the rain with this rifle. They can be found cheap and come with iron sights. One of the best rifles I've ever owned and I have far too many.
 
How expensive would it be for a gunsmith to drill and tap for iron sights? It's not like you have to pay for a complete custom rifle.

I put a peep on the rear of my 94 Winchester for woods hunting here in Oregon. I haven't had a problem with scopes but I wanted the quickness of a peep for closer quarters.

Tony
 
Natman, interesting rifle but it has a wood (laminated) stock. For a rain gun, I'd really prefer synthetic. Also, the 45-70 doesn't offer much more range than the Ruger 77/44 in .44 mag. Yes, it has much more knockdown power but it falls off almost as fast after 100 yds. Sighted in at 150 yds, the 45-70 is about 7 1/2" low at 200. That's a pretty serious drop.
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Sorry, I misunderstood what you meant by "composite" stock.

As far as 45-70 ballistics goes:

"Stoke it with LeveRevolution ammo"

The LR ammo has changed 45-70 ballistics considerably. It's easily good out to 200 yards now. They have a 250 grain Monoflex bullet coming out that should be even faster and flatter.
 
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