It bugs me that most bolt action rifles don't come with iron sights.

[Merc1138]

Well apparently America's Least Wanted does, otherwise he'd have just ordered a rifle with irons instead of thinking they don't exist because there aren't any in stores.

But yeah, I'm not particularly fond of browsing gun shop inventory for pretty much anything these days. It's too sparse and filled with crap(I was actually in targetmasters earlier because a noob I took shooting wanted to stop by on the way home... instead of wasting time and giving myself an aneurysm, I used it as an opportunity to point out why TM sucks).

[Justintoxicated]

all of my bolt guns have iron sights, but that's probably because they are all C&Rs :P

[nothinghere2c]

irons are tough to use past a few hundred yards. scopes it is!

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

OP, I feel the same about having iron sights... it caused me to buy a Ruger Scout Rifle. It has a scope mounted on an XS rail, but the iron sights are there if I manage to bust the scope.

I wouldn't trade sights for sling mounts, though - slings are too useful not to have.

[ScottsBad]

I think the Ruger Guide Gun in 300 Win Mag looks good.

http://www.ruger.com/products/guideGun/specSheets/47116.html

And I noticed they increased the length of the barrel to 18" for the stainless version of the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle. The only problem is that you have to use the scout scope mount in order to keep the rear iron sight.

http://www.ruger.com/products/gunsiteScoutRifle/specSheets/6822.html

[JMP]

But yeah, I'm not particularly fond of browsing gun shop inventory for pretty much anything these days. It's too sparse and filled with crap(I was actually in targetmasters earlier because a noob I took shooting wanted to stop by on the way home... instead of wasting time and giving myself an aneurysm, I used it as an opportunity to point out why TM sucks).

Dealing with gun stores is akin to dealing with the CA Franchise Tax Board. If you can actually get someone on the phone, they'll shovel you a bunch of BS, and when try to explain politely that they are incorrect, they just repeat the same BS over again.

If you really are hardcore about iron sights, you should go with an AK. Those will go all the way to 1,000 meters, at least that's what the rear sights on all mine say...

[SilentPea]

I wouldn't trade sights for sling mounts, though - slings are too useful not to have.

I'd happily trade sling mounts for sights. I can do sling studs or QR cups with a hand drill or my crappy drill press in a few minutes.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

And I noticed they increased the length of the barrel to 18" for the stainless version of the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle. The only problem is that you have to use the scout scope mount in order to keep the rear iron sight.
http://www.ruger.com/products/gunsit...eets/6822.html

I saw that news just after DROSing my Scout, I was a little bummed as I wouldn't mind a couple more inches of barrel.

BTW, you don't have to make a choice between a scope in the conventional position and the rear iron sight - XS makes an extended rail that incorporates a rear sight. I installed one on my Scout as soon as I got it home yesterday!

[CK_32]

Because many thankfully hunt with scopes now. Way more humane to have magnification to assure your on the heart and lungs than a iron sight about. Yea I know some are skilled to all hell with irons but MANY these days are not.


Way of the times. Why fight the technology and tools we have at hand now a days. Almost like an argument of why everyone uses lasers when we get there instead of powder projectiles. Technology moves forward no reason the companies and people shouldn't along with it.

[smittty]

I like iron sights on my bolt action but also like a scope. QD rings seem to work ok on my Ruger Hawkeye and it doesn't look incomplete when the scope is off.

Given a choice I'll take the iron sight rifle over a scope only rifle.

[Danodog]

You must be a young pup. My aging 47 year old eyes won't do iron sights anymore. Got to use glass now. I can see targets far away, but I can't focus the rear sight on the front bead.

[ElvenSoul]

Every Lever Gun I have ever seen has Iron Sights.

[Ninask]

American culture has lost some of its survivor mentality,
when getting game was really important you never completely depended on a scope
N

[23 Blast]

There are still a few, and all of the older Winchesters and Remingtons had them. Look around and oh yeah welcome to the new generation of a tacticool world.

I had noticed that in yesteryear, bolt guns did seem to come with irons as standard equipment.

I suspect that back then, scopes were not as good, and what was available was perhaps too expensive for the average shooter. So irons would have been the way to go for an aspiring hunter. Besides, someone with decent eyesight can make hits on deer-sized targets out to 200 meters with irons. The venerable Winchester 94 in 30-30 has been claimed to have taken more deer than any other rifle/cartridge combo, and I would imagine that a good portion of those kills were made with iron-sighted rifles.

[jarhead714]

What bugs me is that on the bolt guns that do have iron sights, they're mounted so close together. Some of them look like they have little more radius than an AK. I wonder why they can't mount the rear sights further back on the receiver like the Gunsite. Of course that rifle has a short barrel so a little gets canceled out there. I'm talking about a 22 or 24 inch barreled bolt gun with M1A level sights. Not necessarily a military style aperture but that fantastically long sight radius would be really nice.

An optic even, no matter how awesome it may be, is only as good and reliable as the mounting system. The mounting system for iron sights has proven to be the more reliable of the two.