scope or iron sights on bolt actions?

Depends.

0n an old military classic such as a MN91/30, Mauser, or Enfield, I'd rather use them with irons.

But on a modern rifle... scope all the way.
 
It depends on what you want, afterall most game is taken well within 100 yards. Speaking to one of my friends who is an avid deer hunter he says his longest shot was at 93 yards, his laser told him so. With little practice and decent ammo allowing that you have decent sights you can easily keep all your rounds on a 8" pie plate at 100 yards with Irons. Thats all you really need in a 8mm or 30-06. Of course all I have is my military surplus sights, most people with weaver sights or other finer sights can easily cut that into a 3-4" group at 100 yards.
If it is a smaller caliber I would get closer or be really careful about shot placement.

For me, if it is modern I go with a scope. If it is a classic Id keep the irons. Or if you know you can tinker with it without destroying something you have come to love you can tinker to your hearts content.

Funny thing, I have seen pics of bolt action "sniper" rifles in Iraq with the irons removed and scopes in place. The shooter competes with the rifle back home with the fancy target irons and mounts a scope to it for the most dangerous game.
 
On a bolt action I prefer a scope; on a lever action or other I prefer iron sights. It does depend on what kind of gun it is as well as what you are planning to use it for.

What caliber is it? That matters as well.
 
Well, I'm thinking of an S&K base mount with a long eye relief scope for my M48 Yugo Mauser. This configuration does not require any permanent alteration to the rifle.

I am also waiting to get a CZ 452 .22 military trainer bolt action rifle.
 
A vote for Iron sights. I would like the option of mounting a scope but as has been previously stated, most things are shot at under 100 yds.
 
christcl said:
Well, I'm thinking of an S&K base mount with a long eye relief scope for my M48 Yugo Mauser. This configuration does not require any permanent alteration to the rifle.

I am also waiting to get a CZ 452 .22 military trainer bolt action rifle.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the route I went. Well, with a Yugo 24/47, which is the same but with a straight bolt. Love the S&K mount. I'll find pix...

It's an abomination to put a scope on classic milsurp rifles... yet as you hit, say, mid-40's a scope is just necessary at 100 yds. for some reason...


Mike
 
Tough question.

Like already mentioned..."it depends". But for me it depends more on the cartridge and what type of iron sights are already on the gun. a 45-70 or 44mag rifle is gonna go without a scope. A 270 or 22-250 would get a scope. If you have you are really undecided you might go with the in-between option of a peep sight. A little more like using a scope without the advantage/disadvantage of magnification. (Come to think of it the reddot scopes could be viewed the same way.)
 
I think that the fixed (or slightly variable) power, low magnification compact scope is one of the most wonderfully useful shooting aids ever conceived of by man. It's not significantly slower than good irons (and considerably faster than bad ones, which most factory designs are), lets the shooter see further and more clearly, and aids precision. The military and competitors realized this many years ago, and it's only we sportsmen that seem to dislike the idea. I'm not sure why. Cost?

Even my Guide Gun has something like this. People tease me about it a lot, until they try it out. Admittedly almost all of my milsurps lack any glass on top but I consider the irons in this case to be part of the fun, and don't mind any disadvantages that come from using them.
 
I put one O' them S & K scout mounts on my Mauser because I couldn't see the little triangle of a front sight very well. It works fairly well. I still need new eyes though.
 
The correct answer is... YES.
Always have iron sights to back-up glass. Ya never know when you will drop something, like a rifle :-) After that tinkling sound you will be able to still use the rifle, even if it is not as easy to do.

Dino in Reno
 
What kind of iron sights? I really don't care at all for open sights, though the Partridge-style CZ 452 sights are about as good as open sights get in my opinion. I've heard good things about ghost-ring sights, but all of my experience with aperture sights involves receiver mountings. Globe front sights are also very swanky but not particularly well-suited for anything but serious target work.

Also, what will you be shooting at? All things being equal, very keen eyes will be needed to hit targets much smaller than 4-5 MOA at most ranges outside of 25 yards using iron sights. I know that back in dickety-two somebody's grandpappy could shoot the antlers off a running buck 20 rods away using nothing more than a shotgun bead on the muzzle end of his old 30-06, but generally speaking, it is a lot harder to put the whole sight picture in proper focus when the distance between the front sight and the target is great. More than magnification, the greatest asset of an optical sight is the compression of the target and sighting device into a single focal plane.

That being said, I prefer scopes. Iron sights are fun, practical at up-close-and-personal ranges, and a great challenge at long distances, but if the target appears small, glass is the only way to go.
 
Depends.
On target guns, scopes are what I want.

On "use" guns, I insist on irons, even if I have a scope.
My eyes suck, I'll be honest, but I can still hit the kill zone of a deer at 200 meters. It's not hard, but you do need to practice (you need to practice with a scope, too, don't let anyone kid you).

It also depends on the irons. I really like the iron sights on my Mosin Nagants. It's a wide front post surrounded by a circular hood, and a notch rear sight wider than the front post. They are much quicker to pick up than Mauser irons, and get the job done well. With the trajectory of the rounds I use, I zero at 200 meters, and I will be 2" high at 100 meters and 3" low at 250 meters. So, out to 250 meters, I just hold dead on and will put the round through the kill zone of a deer/hog with no problem. However, my longest shot on deer was 112 lased yards.

For close-in, I use the front sight hood as the aimpoint (pun intended). The front post is nearly cetered in the circle. I find I can snapshoot by quickly mounting the rifle and centering the target in the circle. The rear sight will be nearly centered properly because of the mount, and at less than 50 yards, I can kill-zone a hog/deer very quickly. My closest kill was 22 yards on a moving hog. Dropped him like a hammer with this technique. At such ranges with snapshooting anything but a large aperture red dot type scope will be a detriment.

Now personally, I don't like "scout" scopes. They block too much of my field of view for close-in shots, and aren't set up well for long range shots. YMMV

You might wantt o try replacing the rear sight leaf with one of the replacement sights (Mojo) that gives you an aperture. It might make it easier to pick up the sights. It's a drop-in replacement AFAIK, so you don't have to permanently alter the gun to give it a try.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top