Thread: Open sights

I grew up with open sights. I hunted with them and did quite a bit of target shooting. I can't recall the exact diameter of the bullseye ring on the traditional 200 yard targets, but it wasn't unusual for folks to get a 'possible' with every shot in the centre ring at that distance using aperture sights. (Was it 8 inches or bigger ? ... maybe somebody here will remember). I recall my uncle bringing along his old long Martini Enfield to the range one day. It had a fairly coarse foresight and a shallow rear vee. It was the type of rifle you can pick up and feel really comfortable with. I hit the center ring with my first shot at 200 yards and I've been in love with that rifle ever since.

I've hunted with both aperture and vee sights. When I was a teenager I used an old Long Tom .303 with a vee sight. The foresight had a bit of a cant and I got the occasional misfire. But I also got game with it. I can never be sure how far my furthest shots were, but I remember one deer I dropped with one round of fully jacketed ammo at a decent distance that my dad estimated to be around 180 yards (and he was pretty good at estimating having been an artillery officer and a life-long hunter).

I also missed with open sights at very short distances. Dunno why for sure, but I think buck fever and the use of target shooting technique may have been factors. With target shooting I was into careful breathing and squeezing. I think my hunting accuracy and success improved later on. With hunting, I feel it is good to get an instinct about when it is the right time to 'pull' the trigger as the foresight hovers across the target. But everyone is different. The only chamois I ever shot at was lying in the sun about 25 yards away. I lay down, shot... and missed. It got a heck of a fright though. Another time my dad had taken me and a friend out. We were driving along when we suddenly spotted a deer just a few yards away. We got out of the car and both of us opened fire as it trotted off. None of our shots connected. We were both top target shooters at college at the time. Very sobering, and it was good the rest of the team wasn't there to jeer.

I love simplicity and reliability. When I pick up my open-sighted rifle I can generally get a good idea if the sights are where they should be. But I can't do the same with a scoped rifle. To me open sights help to keep things more instinctive and I can have a good field of view looking over my rifle. I'm sure I'd improve with practice, but it is often a heck of a lot quicker to locate the animal using open sights compared to a scope. And I don't like having to 'baby' my rifle because it has a scope on it. If I want to crash through bush or clamber down a rock scree, it is good to be able to toss my rifle from hand to hand as I reach for trees to keep my balance... and I've found that scopes can get in the way.... or get caught up in vines etc.

Having said all that though, I do own a good centrefire with a scope. And if I am going hunting when I really want to do all I can to ensure that my investment of time will be successful, I would generally opt to take that scoped rifle. Scopes are far better for very long shots and in low light. But when I'm out exploring or hunting with no pressure to bring meat home, my preference is to carry a sleek, sturdy rifle with open sights.

The rifle in the picture is a Lee Enfield that has been converted to shoot the 7.62 x 39 cartridge. This particular deer was shot at a relatively close distance, but on another occasion I did get another deer at a comparatively long range with this rifle. I don't know how far away it was exactly, but I held my sights near the top of the deer's back and the bullet went through the heart. Taking a long shot like that was a bit risky, but it was my last day away hunting and we were leaving the area that afternoon. I guess the more you use a particular rifle and set of sights, the better you can become at making a quick decision about where to aim and whether or not to take the shot.