PocketCamera said:really, im "off my rocker" because i expect the companies to ACTUALLY SHOW AND PROMOTE the products they make? ONLY having guys shooting the rifle with a scope, and not using the IRON SIGHTS they are advertising as the CORE purpose of the entire concept, is sort of like paying for a lobster dinner and not eating the lobster..
PC I get you're upset manufacturers don't offer a variety of rifles with sights. However, manufacturers are going to bring to market what sells to the majority. You wanting "iron sights" puts you squarely in a very small minority of gun owners.
Another reason not to put "iron sights" on bolt action rifles is stock design. You want a stock that is going to help mitigate recoil on rifles, best way to do that is to bring heel up to as close to centerline with the bore as possible. This stock design also works best when using optics, if you add sights you'll need to add something as tall as what's on an AR15 for front and rear just to get proper eye alignment with the sights. That or you have to put more drop in the heel to get the sights down closer to the barrel, which doesn't work well if you want to use optics primarily.
If you want a rifle designed for sights as a primary use, then you're going to have to look at Lever Action rifles and Traditional Muzzle Loaders. For bolt action rifles you're going to have to start looking towards rifles designed Dangerous Game hunting, someone mentioned the Ruger African and at one time is was offered in .223 Rem. Dangerous game rifles are still primarily designed for sights as the first choice of aiming, not a backup to optics. However, they are not really designed for any long range shooting unless they have a folding rear leaf sight. The Ruger Gunsite Scout will probably be the best production bolt action rifle for using sights non DGR, but since you hate the muzzle blast of short barrels I'm sure you've checked it off.
RaySendero said:Iron sights stand up to the beating, getting bounced around in my truck !!!
Scopes don't.
There are optics out there that can sand up to just about anything, obviously you're not spending that kind of money on your "truck guns".