Advice needed on Back up iron sights - BUIS

[model 49 rick]

My father in law has handed down a gun to my 9 year old son. It is a 30-06 Harrington & Richardson Handi-Rifle. The boy will not be ready to shoot something like that for a few years, so it is my sad duty to range test it, and shoot it myself. So that it doesn't pine away from lonliness of course. It needs sights (has picatinny rail on top). I do not want to put a scope on it. I like optics OK, but prefer iron sights. I have read about back up iron sights which can clamp right to the rail. A 30-06 should shoot accurately for several hundred yards, with good sights, but I have no experience with BUIS at all.

I have researched Mangonel (~$40), Magpul (~$95), and Samson ($100-$150). Does anyone have advice on these, or any others that should do?

I already know about the triggers on these guns, and will deal with that after I have shot it a few times.

Thanks

 

[GatorFarmer]

Does the rail go all the way down the bbl to allow both a front and rear BUIS to be added? I've only used them on ARs. They're generally designed for that, though I've seen some designed for .308 battle rifles. I've used GG&G and ARMs. But to just try the concept on something like that, I'd suggest just the least expensive UTG unit that you can find.

And you can get a chamber insert for very little money to shoot .30 M1 carbine rounds in the gun. Makes it very kid friendly.

 

[Cyrano]

Load cast bullets for the kid.

 

[Jellybean]

Load cast bullets for the kid.

Yes, load squib loads that he can shoot now. Or get some adapters that will shoot .32 acp rounds through it.

 

[okie john]

A rail that's too short won't give you enough sight radius to do justice to the '06. A bolt gun with a 22" barrel and peep sights has a sight radius of almost 30". With open sights it's about 15".

How long is the rail?


Okie John

 

[model 49 rick]

You guys have already answered my question. The rail is maybe 6-7 inches long. I was hoping to just clamp some iron sights to the rail, but with that short a distance between the front and back sights, the accuracy would be crap.

I once had ghost ring sights added to a shotgun. The front sight was brazed on. Maybe that is an option here as well.

I like the chamber insert idea. Didn't even know about that. Thanks!

 

[okie john]

I wasted a lot of money learning that sights are made for a limited set of uses and rarely work well for anything else. Shims, riser blocks, and other halfway measures usually result in a flimsy finished product and they look horrible. I went that route on my son's first rifle. I was embarrassed to realize that no one could shoot his rifle worth a darn because it had crappy, cheap sights, while everyone could hit with mine because it had good sights. A decent gunsmith will nearly always save you money in the long run and get you to the firing line sooner than you could on your own.

In your case, I'd ask about this: WILLIAMS GUN SIGHT : "WGRS" RECEIVER SIGHTS - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools plus whatever front ramp and blade combination he recommends. You should be able to get out the door for a little over $100. Installed properly, these sights will last as long as the rifle.

Also consider using Hodgdon's Youth Data to handload 150-grain bullets over H4895. My son shoots a light 30/06 very well with this setup.


Okie John

 

[Farmer17]

Having good sights installed by a gunsmith might cost as much as the rifle is worth. You might be money ahead to look around to see if someone has a barrel with factory iron sights on it that you could buy.

 

[GatorFarmer]

If you don't want a magnified scope, you could put a red dot sight or something like a C More on it.

 

[m1gunner]

Red dots are great for zero magnification sights. But they don't teach proper sight picture and hold. It is a good idea to teach iron sight marksmanship, but sounds like that rifle isn't suited for iron sights.