To optic or not?

I have just bought a new Browning BLR in .308 for thick bush work. My predicament is whether to turn it into a space cadet by mounting a red dot, holographic or traditional 2.5-6 (or so) scope. Not having done a lot of bush hunting I am thinking less to get caught up on is better, and electronics and West Coast rain don't mix well, or am I wrong? Not expecting to use it further than 100m at the max. If I silence it, I will lose the use of the fixed iron sights. Should I do anything at all or just go with the naked chassis and good earplugs? Whats your experience?

thick bush work to me means 20m-50m. leave it as open sights

Leave it as is and use it, if you find it needs to change do it after it's been on a few trips, rather hard to 'undo' a barrel chop and thread

Put one of those lucky 13 9rd mags on it and cull every deer in the area.

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Originally Posted by Soutpiel

I have just bought a new Browning BLR in .308 for thick bush work. My predicament is whether to turn it into a space cadet by mounting a red dot, holographic or traditional 2.5-6 (or so) scope. Not having done a lot of bush hunting I am thinking less to get caught up on is better, and electronics and West Coast rain don't mix well, or am I wrong? Not expecting to use it further than 100m at the max. If I silence it, I will lose the use of the fixed iron sights. Should I do anything at all or just go with the naked chassis and good earplugs? Whats your experience?

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Leave it open sights. Just practice with them. You may have to increase the height of the front and rear sights if you use a large diameter can.

Have a look at Skinner sights. He ships to NZ, and aperture is a major upgrade over v-notch.

My gut tells me to leave it alone, but is there any real advantage to putting on an over barrel silencer (a frontcan, can make it too long and unwieldy) on for bush work? Usually only get one shot don't you at close range, which is , yes, usually less than 40m.

Getting a BLR takedown going to put quick release rings on it so have options will not suppress

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Scopes and cans throw off the balance of a firearm intended for close encounters. At ranges within 60m, you will be able to cycle accurate followup shots a lot quicker than you would with an optic. Skiet hom in die hol.

308 with a ZA5 1.5x8x32 minox, more set up as an alrounder though.Attachment 158725
Mate has a 308 takedown with a red dote on it as his bush set up and swears by it, this would be my pick for your application.

well I had one..loved it to bits...low mounted low power scope is ideal...and by low,lowest height weaver clip overs...no morethan 4x unless fitting a vari power..the 1.5-5 pig plex leupolds work well....IF you suppress,cut n thread barrel so can comes up snug against stock..snug as in 5mm gap,no more. did this with a gunworks spartan and it worked great ,still had good balance and sure was quieter to use. please dont take yours apart...getting the timing of cogs right is a nightmare.
180grnwinchester powerpoints and the BLR are match made in heaven.
funnily enough my old one lives not huge distance away from you,its in ikimatua.
as others have said ,you could try it open sights and as it is and see....once she cut ...too late to go back.

For me, a Low power scope. Open sights are a struggle in poor light and shadows.

Thanks, thats what I expected to hear, happy BLR shooters! I know the warnings about disassembly...DONT! There will be some machine dust from the new gears after a while. so how did you keep that clean? I know the firing pin and chamber must be very clean or soft misfires can happen. What do you recommend? Compressed air enough? I have some Winchester SuperX in 185 gn coming, and luck with those?

Yeh, mines a takedown, laminate in stainless, nothing as pretty as your, but thats all there was on offer... Love the pistol grip with Stainless look. its so classic! Strill, I am sure I will do cartwheels when it arrives. Any issues with the hammer find under that scope?

Those were my thoughts too, low light, in the shadows, a good deer but a questionable shot due to lack of definition. Scope would be useful in this conditions, or fit a set of Fibre sights...

Ja, tru Bru!

Can one import sights without the red tape?

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Originally Posted by Soutpiel

Yeh, mines a takedown, laminate in stainless, nothing as pretty as your, but thats all there was on offer... Love the pistol grip with Stainless look. its so classic! Strill, I am sure I will do cartwheels when it arrives. Any issues with the hammer find under that scope?

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No plenty of room to work the hammer. Pistol grip models have a higher comb which gives you a bit more leeway when mounting a scope.

Yip. i'd put dot or very low optic,

Don't limit yourself to 100yards, a 308 blr is good to 300 with a 5 power scope on it.

I used this a a bush rifle for a while, Leupy VX5 1-5 firedot ( it can be a little "fish eyed" at 1 power but not to bad, firedot is awesome ) . I didn't fuk around suppressing it. It was a "find a Deer - shoot the Deer" gun & it was heavy enough & well weighted as it was.

Attachment 158749

For real low light/close range stuff I used to squeeze a ball of tinfoil onto the foresight of my Finnwolf, worked well for sitting and waiting type hunting.
Later went to 2.75 scope, magic!

(Except when using 8X binos to spot an animal cos looking through the scope after spotting made it shrink LOTS!:oh noes:

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Originally Posted by Soutpiel

Thanks, thats what I expected to hear, happy BLR shooters! I know the warnings about disassembly...DONT! There will be some machine dust from the new gears after a while. so how did you keep that clean? I know the firing pin and chamber must be very clean or soft misfires can happen. What do you recommend? Compressed air enough? I have some Winchester SuperX in 185 gn coming, and luck with those?

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185 or 180grn???? the 180s are awesome,bog std and just work....soft recoil impulse and hit like hammer of thor.
we just cleaned using pull through,break free CLP was flavour of month for us.

Phil....subsonic is ALL about shot placement...you have next to NO SHOCK when projectile hits...think arrow not bullet.
head/neck or right through breadbasket...if going bread basket...after shot.boil the billy,have your cuppa/ciggy then go find animal.... animal can walk away but will bleed out pretty quickly....with the straight stocked older style a hammer spur is advantage but we got away without it.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Phil....subsonic is ALL about shot placement...you have next to NO SHOCK when projectile hits...think arrow not bullet.
head/neck or right through breadbasket...if going bread basket...after shot.boil the billy,have your cuppa/ciggy then go find animal.... animal can walk away but will bleed out pretty quickly....with the straight stocked older style a hammer spur is advantage but we got away without it.

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Whats the comaprison between subsonic .308 vs standard .223 for hunting? That 462ft/lbs figure does not give confidence.

223 has shock....its hitting fast and expanding....308 subsonic is boring a hole through flesh..... if you have ever hit animal with buckshot you will have some idea of what Im saying.

also the 223 will happily point n shoot the likes of goats out to 200-250 subsonic 308 FOR ME would be 75 yards..... I played with subsonic heaps in x39mm and after a few cockups with my house muttons gave it away and went back to .223....the room for error is so much more,a near miss of brain with .223 will have enough shock to drop animal, the subsonic will have it shake head and or just get pissed off.

yes agree at CLOSE range it would be ideal.... if you try the subsonics at 50-75 yards and dont quite hit brain....its not a pretty outcome. for pig in pen or below 25 yards they VERY good...if you were confident Im sure subsonic is fine out further...but not for me.

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Originally Posted by Phil_H

For the house muttons I recommend a .45 ACP insert for the shotgun such as the one @akaroa1 made up for me.

I walk out to my sheep now with confidence knowing that it isn't going to be a cockup. 230gr at near 800 fps and they just drop.


Cheers
Phil

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Phil mate, you need .45acp for your South Island sheep? Up here i get away with 22lr. Do you need .50bmg for your beefies?

Low power scope or red dot

I’ve just got a 16.5 inch barrel bergara ba13 in 308 with dpt over barrel suppressor. Has anyone managed to have open sights fitted to one of these to shoot over suppressor?

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Originally Posted by Dicko

For me, a Low power scope. Open sights are a struggle in poor light and shadows.

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Yeah same, I really struggle with iron sights in low light. Might have been easier 10 years ago...but now adding lights allover the house just to be able to see stuff. A low power, low mounted scope would be just the ticket.

I’m trying to get hi viz open sights fitted to my bergara so I’m not constantly trying to keep a scope clear in wet scrub or shitty weather. I enjoy using them and the simplicity.

I recently upgraded my lever from a 1-4x20 to a 1.5-6x42 both #4's. Must say that the newer scope really lets me look into the shadows under trees and bush edges in low light. Decided to upgrade as I found myself taking a lot more shots in the 200-250mtr range than expected.

My last deer at end of November was at about 5:30am in a deep shaded river valley against a dark rock background. No problem at 100 mtr except I left the scope on 1.5 power which turned out to be just as well as she ran straight at me so coped a second round at 30mtr.

I say go low power scope to help the eyes out. (with heavy duplex or German #4 retical as crisp black as you can find)
I can't shoot open sights on my little 22rf without flicking up the rear peep sight.(it has a peep, rear notch and front blade).
Z

I tried a 3x9x42 on my blr and it just seemed physically too big. Much prefer the smaller 20 to 32 objective size. I accept that these do not gather as much light but the generally lower magnification tends to balance this out. I like the #4 as well.
Problem is there is a lot less choice in the smaller more compact scopes than there used to be. Everyone seems to want to bolt a telescope to their long range rig. I still like to fit a scope to the rifle, not a rifle to the scope.

I have an older BLR which is going to run a Leupy m8 fixed 3 ( Phillips Holdens go to) keeping it low profile and light weight.
On my 336 I have a pig plex 1-5 and rate them. ZQlewis suggestion is a good one - best of both worlds, number 4 reticle is one of my favs.
I do have a 94 with aperture and rate them highly over the buck horns for my older eyes. the viz glow foresight will be the next add I reckon.
James Passmore makes some good points in his book on the effectiveness of aperture sights on levers in shit conditions, whilst keeping the natural balance of the lever rig.
I think the Bomb here runs that set up from memory with a change over scope, especially for bush hunting in different light and weather conditions.

i have the ghost ring sights on the 45/70 but I find they can cover to much of the target for my liking . Then went to a pistol holographic green dot which is great for two eyes open shooting and for improved visibility on target and I find a lot faster to get on target. But as far as visibility of target , low light , or longer distances or precise shooting , a scope , even low power , simply can't be beaten in my opinion

I know this rifle model comes out with a fibre optic front bead which could be a game changer from other older open sights. Looking at all of the replies( thank you!) I would say it comes down to the quality of your eyes... If you wear glasses then its another ball game! I am going to deny the money hungry retailers and go with the open sights, learn to use them well and rely on that medal I won 30 years ago for marksmanship, as well as good stalking /hunting technique to get as close as possible. ( advice from a retired culler) That way the retrieve is also doing to be easier. If that doesn't work for me I am going to buy a cheap Chinese low powered red dot and scope, and beat them to hell for as long as they last, but that will tell me which option is the next best. Then, if I'm still able, I will get the good stuff and be done. Of course, good load and projectile selection can also help!

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Originally Posted by GSP HUNTER

I have an older BLR which is going to run a Leupy m8 fixed 3 ( Phillips Holdens go to) keeping it low profile and light weight.
On my 336 I have a pig plex 1-5 and rate them. ZQlewis suggestion is a good one - best of both worlds, number 4 reticle is one of my favs.
I do have a 94 with aperture and rate them highly over the buck horns for my older eyes. the viz glow foresight will be the next add I reckon.
James Passmore makes some good points in his book on the effectiveness of aperture sights on levers in shit conditions, whilst keeping the natural balance of the lever rig.
I think the Bomb here runs that set up from memory with a change over scope, especially for bush hunting in different light and weather conditions.

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a 3x M8....stop it you horrible man.....Im drooling all over keyboard..Graham henry was another who likes simple low power scopes.