Thread: Iron Sights for 60+

If the front sight is in focus and the target is enough in focus then you can shoot open sights quite happily. THe problem is when you close vision goes so bad that you cant keep the front sight in focus. Ayway you dont have that problem so all is well.

Dont worry about the back sight it doesnt have to be in focus. I very much prefer a open rear sight, either a shallow V (what they call express sights ) or a notch, and a front bead. The front bead should be metal and filed on a backwards 45 degreee angle so it catches the light from above - so it shows as white. I file all my beads this way.
At a hundred yards an open V rear sight and a white front bead can be as accurate as a scope, I know because I have done a lot of shooting with them. Out to 200 metres you are good. Further 200 yards unless it is in quite open country, a peep sight rear will be better.

But I am suspicious of peep sights on hunting rifles. They are excellent for target shooting, but on animals they are too dark if they are small, and if they are wide ""ghost ring"" style then one tends to have inexplicable misses, which I figured out was because under pressure I wouldnt bother centreing the front sight. I know all the theory - no need to tell me the eye ""automatically centres the front sight etc"" I have found there is a point of diminishing returns with wide ghost ring sights. You can have too much ghost. But you wont know till you miss a few animals with it...
So I went back to the shallow open v rear sight and a front bead.
Currently I am working with a Husqvarna 9.3x62. Husqvarna put excellent open sights on their rifles. THe only question is whether you keep the rear sight as a notch, or open it out to a shallow V with a file.

in use, the open v (or notch) rear sight is used thusly: the front bead is kept low in the crotch of the V so the only thing you see of the front sight is the round white bead itself. The point of impact should be through the centre of the bead, (not the top of the bead) You do this by shooting and sighting it in to put the point of impact lower than the target and where you just the centre of the bead would lie. You can draw a circle on the paper and judge the size of it at each distance back at the rifle, sighting along it and seeing where the bead area is against the target. Then sight it in for the centre of this area, leaving the usual extra height - three inches high at 100 yards for example, or whatever you prefer.
When you target shoot with it - you use the six oclock hold (or lollypop the bead uder the target bullseye) to achieve the above. But then, once this is achieved and you are shooting at deer, you shoot through the centre of the bead. This is how it was done in the old days and is very similiar to using a red dot sight. You should through it keeping both eyes open. I used to use a ""six oclock"" hold on deer, but found I often shot high. Once I resighted my rifle to shoot through the bead after doing some studying, this effect went away. Under pressure you will naturally shoot through the bead.

(This is only for a front round bead sight, a notch and a front blade (such as on the old .303) is obviously different, you make the point of impact at the top of the front post, and you old the top of the post at teh top of the notch so its even. But in the darker bush you can loose where the top of the front post is. You dont get that with a bead front sight.)

To conclude - Use a shallow (or notch) v with a bead. (You can file the rear sight so its more of an open v is you want. IT doesnt really matter how the ""wings"" of the rear sight are to the bullet impact, only the depth of the v where you are going to put the bead when you are shooting. So you can go to the range, sight the rifle in and then file the sight to an open V when you get home. Long as you don't change how deep the V goes.
Out of interest the sights that come on the old Winchester 30/30's and the old Husqvarna rifle are about good as they are.

So, I dont put an aperture sight on a hunting rifle, unless the rear sight is so close that it is really too blurry to see.
Keep the front bead low in the V so your hold is always consistant.
Sight your rifle in so you can shoot through the bead on animals. But use a six oclock hold when target shooting.

This is what I have learned over many years of experimenting with irong sights. Also, a six inch black bull on A3 white paper is about right for a target, but if you have trouble picking out the front sight against the white paper, then use a white bull against a black background - or even better - a medium grey.

Fantastic, thanks @JohnDuxbury that is really good info. Thanks to all for this fantastic response, I'm learning a lot. And @zimmer that sure is good shooting - an inspiration.
@tetawa, I use contacts, and my regular glasses, and special shooting glasses. Contacts are better in the rain (obviously) but even if they are the right prescription they tend not to give you the sharpness of vision at distance that you get with good glasses. But you do get better field of view, and less hassle, no glasses slipping down the nose etc. And no fogging, which is such a pain. For the iron sights, I'm amazed at how much better the shooting glasses are. These are all progressive lenses, but the shooting glasses are ground so the eyeline works better when you have your head down and looking through the sights. The glass comes up higher above the eyes. (Hence you get that classic "rapist glasses" look, lol.) If you can focus on teh V but not the blade, I guess you must be short sighted, so yeah, hunt in the glasses, but get progressive lenses and talk to your optometrist about how to get the grind right to suit hunting/shooting activities. It's slightly different than normal glasses. That would be my suggestion. Contacts might work for you if you can focus on the blade with them, though.