I'm getting better with my iron sights

[Viral_SIGness]

My PH has me going out and firing one or two rounds each day at different distances. Today, I filled a 32oz Powerade bottle with water. I walked around my house and jogged back to my 30 yard mark, aim and fired. I actually hit it!

.375 Ruger Practice Shot

32oz Powerade bottle at 30 yards

youtube.com

 

[Chickenfarmers]

Many of my early deer kills were taken with a shotgun with iron sights. I like your thought process but I do think you're over thinking it. If you can can hit baseball accurate at 100 yards with a rifle using irons, then fire away at that deer.

When I bought my 280 Remington model 700 BDL the first five shots I took with it were using the iron sights at 100 yards and I shot a 2" group.

 

[spike.t]

Just buy a pellet gun and a few tins of pellets and put a few hundred/thousand pellets through it....that will teach you to use iron sights

 

[Shootist43]

The following may be considered a "rant" by some, but the ability to use iron sights should be mastered before ever being allowed to use a scope. Unless there is some "visual acuity" problem present new shooters should be taught to shoot with iron sights. In my day the progression was BB guns, air (pellet) rifles, 22(s) then Uncle Sam. At no time was I given or permitted the opportunity of using a scope. Granted my targets were not 700 yards distant. The most highly touted rifles in the world come from the factory with iron sights, and we should know how to use them. In these days of limited ammo supply air rifles provide an excellent way to maintain our proficiency. BTW the "10 ring" on an air rifle target is a dot, i.e. ( . )

 

[Viral_SIGness]

The following may be considered a "rant" by some, but the ability to use iron sights should be mastered before ever being allowed to use a scope. Unless there is some "visual acuity" problem present new shooters should be taught to shoot with iron sights. In my day the progression was BB guns, air (pellet) rifles, 22(s) then Uncle Sam. At no time was I given or permitted the opportunity of using a scope. Granted my targets were not 700 yards distant. The most highly touted rifles in the world come from the factory with iron sights, and we should know how to use them. In these days of limited ammo supply air rifles provide an excellent way to maintain our proficiency. BTW the "10 ring" on an air rifle target is a dot, i.e. ( . )

I started with a Daisy 880 Powerline. One of the pump 10 times pellet guns. I'd hang empty pill bottles from strings and shoot them with the iron sights. Then I moved to a Marlin 60 .22. Iron sights on it as well. My dad wouldn't let me put a scope on it. I spent years with iron sights. This is just me reconnecting with my early years.

 

[Shootist43]

Viral_SIGness, I hope you didn't take my post as a personal "slight" to you. In fact I'm very happy for you, and I hope that with practice you will get much better at using your iron sights. If you have a 22L.R. and or a 17HMR try opening up the distance with those instead of your 375 H&H. It is a lot cheaper. The sight picture, alignment and trigger squeeze are absolutely identical. Sneaking in a Hog hunt using iron sights before going to Africa would be an absolute blast. With a little more practice you will see that you haven't lost your touch.

 

[Viral_SIGness]

Viral_SIGness, I hope you didn't take my post as a personal "slight" to you. In fact I'm very happy for you, and I hope that with practice you will get much better at using your iron sights. If you have a 22L.R. and or a 17HMR try opening up the distance with those instead of your 375 H&H. It is a lot cheaper. The sight picture, alignment and trigger squeeze are absolutely identical. Sneaking in a Hog hunt using iron sights before going to Africa would be an absolute blast. With a little more practice you will see that you haven't lost your touch.

I didn't take it that way. Actually it made my eyes misty, because I could have swore my dad had wrote that. You sounded just like him. He hated scopes. I lost him in 2012 when he was just 58. So you actually brought up some good forgotten memories from my youth.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Well I for one believe that the iron sights ought to be worth a damn. These cheap substitutes we are being forced to endure are deplorable. The iron sights on my M70 Safari Express are nice. The folding marbles on the Ruger No. 1 are absolutely trash. I think it would be nice if iron sights were fitted to a rifle that they be of a quality that the owner would not be irritated about them being a primary sighting system. I ran into the mentality of well if you're using iron sights you day has really gone wrong with my latest AR build. It disappointed me quite a bit to hear that so many people have surrendered on this issue. So if my optical sight fails I should resign myself to trying to figure out how to make do with these tiny flip up sights that may or may not hold a zero well? No sir, I'll invest in quality sights and enjoy the sight picture they provide or else I won't have them on the rifle. The fact that someone would invest in QD zero repeatable scope mounts but not in the sights they are QD'ing to get to amazes me.

 

[Philip Glass]

My PH has me going out and firing one or two rounds each day at different distances. Today, I filled a 32oz Powerade bottle with water. I walked around my house and jogged back to my 30 yard mark, aim and fired. I actually hit it!

View attachment 395470

.375 Ruger Practice Shot

32oz Powerade bottle at 30 yards

youtube.com

That is all good practice. I keep telling all my guys to get out there and shoot off sticks at different ranges. We all need to practice but now ammo is a problem!
Regards,
Philip

 

[marcosfal]

I know what you mean Forrest. I ran into the same replies when I wanted to build a 20” flat-top with irons. I found a great deal on the Daniel Defense 1.5 fixed rear sight. It is built extremely robust and easy to visually acquire. I also had my front sight pinned as well. I like aperture sights.

 

[marcosfal]

Instead of multiple edits I’m adding another post. The DD sight isn’t so much “easy to visually acquire” as it is to just look through. You know, because words mean things.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I know what you mean Forrest. I ran into the same replies when I wanted to build a 20” flat-top with irons. I found a great deal on the Daniel Defense 1.5 fixed rear sight. It is built extremely robust and easy to visually acquire. I also had my front sight pinned as well. I like aperture sights.

The latest great thing I have found is the Samson Manufacturing True Back Up Sights. They are of good quality and not oppressively expensive. When Ruger built their piston ARs they really did the sights well out of the gate. They were made by Troy Industries originally and on the second generation by Samson Manufacturing. I give a slight nod to the Troys over the Samsons, but they are both excellent. Sig Sauer also came out with a piston gun that had excellent flip ups on it as well but I cannot recall who made them. I despise the Magpul sights even their pro series as they are not nice "to look through" and I find them overpriced. It's like they decided to compete with Troy and Samson by elevating their price to a similar level and hoping we wouldn't notice the quality offset. With all the injection molded plastic sights out there and 25 foot tactical plinksters we're doomed for the long haul.