First off, I wish to apologize to pig lovers everywhere for the picture. I really like pigs and have even had a pot-bellied pig as a pet. Besides EVERYONE knows how much Degringolade loves piggies. And now the rest of the story….Degringolade has an excellent post on iron sights in which he asks a very important question. Why put a scope on what is considered a short range rifle? His main reference was to the Marlin Model 336 Rifle in .30/.30 caliber. I’m quite sure he meant no disrespect to a very fine rifle, and I will stand in his defense, but was merely seeking an understanding of why we do what we do. A more thorough examination of this aspect of gun ownership deserves a little more commentary.
1.) On “common guns” - From a purely survivalist perspective, limit the cartridges your weapons are chambered for, but NOT the number of weapons!
2.) On “putting lipstick on a pig” - Though it does wear a scope these days, she is still beautiful. Age is not a shooter’s friend. Eyesight fades and the hands shake just a tiny bit more.
3.) On the “best gun” – The one you have WITH you when needed will always be your “best” gun.
4.) On “gun mods” – Do whatever will allow you to be comfortable, safe and accurate in your shooting – after all it is YOUR gun.
5.) On “iron sights “– They work great on my Mossberg 500A Shotgun, when I use them.
It is often said, "Don't bet against the man with one rifle"; he KNOWS how and where that gun shoots. One rifle, maybe another identical one for backup; serving both for defense and hunting purposes is a great solution.
And so to keep a commentary going, a final word on iron sights.
Whatever gun mods you decide on for your weapons, always get the best optics you can afford as that is the edge you may need to survive. Iron sights are a really good backup, but so 19th century...
BTW, if you get a chance and have some extra Filthy Lucre, make a donation to Degringolade so he can get a good scope for his rifle!
Staying above the water line!
Riverwalker
Posts
12 comments:
One disadvantage of scopes is in target acquisition. If a pack of mutant zombie biker ninjas are charging your house, sighting and shooting targets ate medium to short ranges will be harder with a scope than with iron sights.
Granted it's easier to get the necessary headshots you need to kill a zombie with a scope. Everything has a trade off, Do what works for you. I might add the new holographic sights are pretty sniffy. They are ideal for close range target acquisition and accuracy. The decent ones are $400 a pop though.
To: natog
Why does the really good stuff always cost so much? You'd think someone out there would have a little pity on allus poor preppers.
I agree. Do what works for you.
RW
natog should try good optics mounted where they will work for him.
Anyone that thinks a scout scope is slower than irons hasn't tried it.
To: bitmap
Being open to new ideas is important, even though my current scope setup is working great for me my brother in law prefers iron sights. To each his own.
Diversity this is a good thing.
RW
A rear mounted aperture sight might work for you as well if you are in that 'seasoned citizen' age group - I'm getting there myself (45). Do agree that the eyes are getting harder to use irons and even some scopes - I got bifocals this past spring and it has played some havoc with my shooting, I'll tell you what.
A person on a shooting forum suggested what a mechanic friend of his did - have the bifocal close range lense installed at TOP of lense, vs. the usual bottom edge. Worth a try - right now with irons, peering and looking for that front sight is getting difficult.
Im in the old folks age too,...50.
I find I can still effectively use Peeps
I'm putting a scope on my new 10/22 because it's a training rifle. I have little experience with a scope, so want to experiment. Eventually, I want to get an AR-15 and scope it so I can hit pigs w/ lipstick at 200+ yds.
To: anonymous
Hard to hit it if you can't get a bead on it! Already there on that one. Thanks.
RW
I believe one learns the irons before the optics.
To: gott_cha
Yeah, my brother in law is 50 also, still got the good eyes.
But his knees ain't so great anymore (mine are still ok so I got him on that one).
RW
To: mockum
Have a scope on my Ruger 10/22 and so far so good.
Heard that the Revlon Ultra-Red in
.30/.30 is pretty good up to about 200 yards! HaHa!
RW
To: jennersen
You make a valid point. I can use iron sights but over 50 yards I'm probably going to miss more than I hit. Thanks.
RW
Post a Comment