Peep Sight or Scope

I never take a shot unless I am confident of a clean fast kill. Regardless of the sights.

A clean kill at your 150 yards with peep sight would be a very impressive shot !

I've help find to many deer and hogs over the decades by guys that new hey made good shots with open sight so good for you if your that controlled and skilled ..
 
A clean kill at your 150 yards with peep sight would be a very impressive shot !

I've help find to many deer and hogs over the decades by guys that new hey made good shots with open sight so good for you if your that controlled and skilled ..

A clean kill at 150 yards using an aperture (peep) sight or tang sight would not be difficult for a skilled shooter; perhaps the poster is one of those.
 
I guess a lot of guys haven’t been in the military. If you can’t hit a man size target at 300yds with a M16 you were going to be a bolo, unless you handed scorekeeper a 10 spot in your range card. M1 & M14 deadly shooters with peepers. How do you think people shot before scopes? I know the present practice of slapping a scope or other optic is standard.
Many never learn to use irons or peeps.
Also those who pop off about it not being ethical to shoot at running game.
Where have these guys been? If you can’t hit a 9” plate at 100yds standing up on your hind legs, you might want to take up another sport. If you have to drag around a portable shooting tripod and wait to shoot a stationary head of game, that’s fine. Don’t break foul on those who don’t need all those accessories to shoot a deer at 100yds. I said 9” but most guys who hunt irons can do 1/2 that, and benched can do 3”.
 
I guess a lot of guys haven’t been in the military. If you can’t hit a man size target at 300yds with a M16 you were going to be a bolo, unless you handed scorekeeper a 10 spot in your range card. M1 & M14 deadly shooters with peepers. How do you think people shot before scopes? I know the present practice of slapping a scope or other optic is standard.
Many never learn to use irons or peeps.
Also those who pop off about it not being ethical to shoot at running game.
Where have these guys been? If you can’t hit a 9” plate at 100yds standing up on your hind legs, you might want to take up another sport. If you have to drag around a portable shooting tripod and wait to shoot a stationary head of game, that’s fine. Don’t break foul on those who don’t need all those accessories to shoot a deer at 100yds. I said 9” but most guys who hunt irons can do 1/2 that, and benched can do 3”.

Yes. Nowadays, there are probably few rifle hunters who do not use optical sights. That's fine, but their criticisms of non-optical sights are completely unfounded if they have had little or no experience with them.
 
I don't feel that hitting a 9" plate at 100 yards is useful with any open type of open sight I prefer to place 5 rounds in a sub 2" group at the most from a climbing stand 20 feet up a tree for a hunter . With a scope I can see branches that might be a problem open sight shooter . I also don't want to limit my self to 100 yards or 150 yards like the OP mentioned in his opening post !

If the only nice shooter all season is standing a few hundred yards away and you have enough cartridge for the job do you make a shot and hope for the best or go home wishing for a scope . I would not drill a receiver on a nice classic rifle for scope mounts , But I do have other rifles too .


Non-optic sights work for battle and for learning with as we all more than likely used but at some point try a scope to see what your missing .
 
I am limited to 100 to 150 yard shots due to the terrain not my marksmanship. Hence, my question. Either a peep sight or a scope can get the job done in the right hands. I have plenty of scoped rifles. I have a nice Remington Model 700 in 6.5X55 Swede and a Winchester Pre-64 Model 70 in 257 Roberts if I believe a scope is necessary.
 
150 yards with a rifle of any game getting caliber is practically point blank range. Regardless of the sighting system used. If you can't make a shot like that on a deer sized animal, just do everyone a favor and stay home. (A general statement, not directed specifically).

A scope can be a crutch. Try some irons, you might find out what real marksmanship is all about.
 
150 yards with a rifle of any game getting caliber is practically point blank range. Regardless of the sighting system used. If you can't make a shot like that on a deer sized animal, just do everyone a favor and stay home. (A general statement, not directed specifically).

A scope can be a crutch. Try some irons, you might find out what real marksmanship is all about.

Good post.
 

A scope in no crutch when your placing a bullet high in a precise spot on a deer at 150 yards for a very quick stoppage , not running at all . Point blank for my can be a 1.5" area from a climbing stand not a 4 to 6" . For me growing up I hunted in a place called Fakahatchee Strand and seeing anything clearly at even 80 yards with open sights can be more than a bit testing .

Placing a bullet between branches was normal in this area and even a 50 yard shot could be considered lon unless you were on one of the ole logging spurs then a shot could be 200 to 300 yards off . Now you most think don't have open sight shooting skills .

I'm 69 now and how do you think I learned to shot as a 6 year old kid with a rem 511 22lr rifle with peep sights and used that rifle for tree rat harvesting till I became part of a group when we built a camp in the Fakahatchee Strand and used dads scoped 280 rem model 740at 14!. Yes bubba I know how to use open sights , peep sights but also know there limits as far as I am concerned .

BUt hey maybe your just that good a shooter !

I just hate helping some one track a baddly shot deer in thick swamp Or helping butcher and carry elk meat packs 600 feet up a hill side in Colorado do to a badly placed bullet when shot on the flat tops . Link below shows where I started hunting in my younger years and where open sights where not worth much .

Fakahatchee Strand

https://s3-media0.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/2Uv4awoQ_EU5yTT6TvOm9g/l.jpg

Or

https://live.staticflickr.com/4059/4275056135_98997f712d_b.jpg
 
I am limited to 100 to 150 yard shots due to the terrain not my marksmanship. Hence, my question. Either a peep sight or a scope can get the job done in the right hands. I have plenty of scoped rifles. I have a nice Remington Model 700 in 6.5X55 Swede and a Winchester Pre-64 Model 70 in 257 Roberts if I believe a scope is necessary.

Good that you have the scoped rifles for those shots when thicker cover or a more precise shot can is wanted . Good luck
 
I've had to help guys find an animal they wounded and some of them had scopes.
So not being able to cleanly harvest game is not exclusively an iron sight issue, but a novice-who-is-not-prepared issue.
It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian that matters.
 
For over 50yrs I was restricted to shotgun slugs here in Ohio. Most deer were taken from 0 to 50yds at warp speed. I would no shoot at a running deer over 75yds. However did shoot several in 100-125yd with iron sights and one memorable shot was airborne over my head.
In 1966 I bought an 870 Slug gun and had it D&Ted and K3 mounted. I found scope to be a hindrance for stalking type hunting. I sold it to a forum member a few years back and it still looked new. In WVa where most of my rifle deer hunting occurs, is much like SE Ohio. You rarely would get a 100 yd shot, but I do take a bolt action scoped in case I end up down in the bottoms where longer shots present themselves. When I go up to Canada it’s the reverse. I’m planning on the long shot but take along a LV rifle with out scope in case I end up in thick stuff. My game rifles are 3x to 6x straight powers. My assortment of HV varmit guns run 10x and 12x. I select the rig geared to what and where I’m hunting. Rifles are sighted in and never touched except to check 0. Never had a problem in accuracy dept. All my rifles are outstanding accurate. The reason for that is if it’s not it goes down the road. I did hunch and shoot varmits from rests or bags.
Then decided it was boring and took a shooter with me, usually a kid. I would let them shoot and if they missed I would try my luck at varmit as it ran. I missed groundhogs running for the hole at 100+ yds quite often. But it gave me good practice than shooting a HV rifle/ Scope off rest didn’t.
 
I've had to help guys find an animal they wounded and some of them had scopes.
So not being able to cleanly harvest game is not exclusively an iron sight issue, but a novice-who-is-not-prepared issue.
It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian that matters.

hey a poor shooter regardless of sights or scopes is a poor shooter . Thats life but a scope can extend the ability to place a sh9ot well if the skills to do so are there . But YOU know that .
 
For over 50yrs I was restricted to shotgun slugs here in Ohio. Most deer were taken from 0 to 50yds at warp speed. I would no shoot at a running deer over 75yds. However did shoot several in 100-125yd with iron sights and one memorable shot was airborne over my head.
In 1966 I bought an 870 Slug gun and had it D&Ted and K3 mounted. I found scope to be a hindrance for stalking type hunting. I sold it to a forum member a few years back and it still looked new. In WVa where most of my rifle deer hunting occurs, is much like SE Ohio. You rarely would get a 100 yd shot, but I do take a bolt action scoped in case I end up down in the bottoms where longer shots present themselves. When I go up to Canada it’s the reverse. I’m planning on the long shot but take along a LV rifle with out scope in case I end up in thick stuff. My game rifles are 3x to 6x straight powers. My assortment of HV varmit guns run 10x and 12x. I select the rig geared to what and where I’m hunting. Rifles are sighted in and never touched except to check 0. Never had a problem in accuracy dept. All my rifles are outstanding accurate. The reason for that is if it’s not it goes down the road. I did hunch and shoot varmits from rests or bags.
Then decided it was boring and took a shooter with me, usually a kid. I would let them shoot and if they missed I would try my luck at varmit as it ran. I missed groundhogs running for the hole at 100+ yds quite often. But it gave me good practice than shooting a HV rifle/ Scope off rest didn’t.


Any shooter new to optics with have a learning curve and skills with both peep or stock iron sights or optics have to learn that and to know when to Not shot and there is the problem . Badly placed bullets suck regaurdless ..
 
I love peep sights, had one on my daisy BB gun, so I learned to shoot with a peep. Have had them on a few guns since.
when shooting pistols a few years ago a friend asked if I wanted to try his new springfield XD mod 2 in 45. I never turn down a chance to shoot something new to me.
after sighting the pistol I asked what is up with your front sight, the fiber tube was missing. He said he just never inserted the tube. it was like a backwards peep sight, line up the back sight with the front peep sight, look at the target thru the front peep and let her rip. worked great on the range. Not sure how it would work for SD but it was fun and accurate.
 
This is my favorite sight.
 

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I’m kinda surprised by a lot of the comments in this thread. OP stated clearly how close 90% of his opportunities were. He also made it clear he is experienced with open sights in the deer woods. Because he likes and uses “Classic” rifles, I’d have thought 99% of the responses would be to go with a period correct peep/ghost ring sight. I can’t help but think if he was hunting with a 6.5” 29-2 and asked same question NOBODY would suggest drilling and tapping it……… response would probably be get a different handgun for hunting.
 
I don't think he said he'd have to drill and tap those classic rifles. Many are factory drilled and tapped for scopes. The Remington 81's were factory drilled and tapped. Savage started drilling the 99's in the early to mid 50's (I think). I know my old Savage 99 is. I don't believe Remington 8's were though.
 
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