When?

[Dahliathemeh]

I eventually want to scope my 3030, I want to set a goal for myself. Shoot X amount of yards out accurately, then scope.
How far out did some of you all shoot before you got your scopes mounted?

[JEBar]

with a clear shot, I'm comfortable big game hunting with our 30-30's iron sights out to 50 +/- yards .... in woods/brush, I'm comfortable those iron sights for about as far as I can see ..... in reasonably open country beyond 50 +/- yards I go with a scope .... for me the differential comes from a strong desire to make a clean kill shot and having no desire to only wound the animal

[North Country Gal]

On a day when my eyes are at their best and on a day when there's good light, I can still shoot decent groups at 100 yards with iron sights. Most of my iron sight work, though, is at 50 yards. That's target shooting at bullseyes, though, not hunting. Hunting is a MUCH different story. Up here, our woods are thick and dark, even in November. Very, very few deer are taken at 100 yards. In a lot of places, a clear 50 yard shot is even tough to find. Nevertheless, every deer hunter I know up here uses a scope set at low power and some now use red dots. Just too hard to see iron sights on a reliable basis.

Scopes aren't just for long range work, by the way. They offer serious advantages in visibility and target acquisition at short ranges.

I've tested this, stepping into our woods with a variety of rifles with various sights. Standard iron sights, open or peep, came in dead last for visibility and were also the slowest to line up. FO iron sights scored much better, but the illumination was inconsistent and varied with the amount of available light and the angle of light. In some instances, the angle of light hitting them created nothing more than a silhouette of the sight with no illumination. They were at their most effective in very low light, early and late.

Red dots were outstanding. Always visible. Super fast on target. That's assuming you had the red dot at the proper illumination, though, and that the batteries hadn't gone dead (real possibility in our cold winters), not to mention you remembered to turn the dot on.

Low power scopes with a medium to thick reticle were the best. Nearly as fast to get on target as the red dots, but even more importantly, scopes could see detail in low light that could not be seen with other sights. Could definitely see back in the shadows were other sights could not. Even at these short distances, a good scope could make a difference between seeing a deer or not seeing a deer. I love shooting iron, but for our hunting, up here, a good low power scope offers too many advantages to ignore. I'm all for tradition, but I won't risk losing a deer to a bad shot due to poor sight visibility.

[Yornoc3]

Like NCG, I live and hunt in the thick woods of Northern Wisconsin. I've used scopes for that purpose since I was 19, almost 50 years . In all that time, I can't think of a buck missed that I would "blame" on the scope (it'd be on the guy looking through it ), and for sure I've made shots I never would have with sights. With low power variables, I see no advantage over red dots; I think the scope offers a better image. I really like the 3P #4 reticle, but I'm not I'm not switching out my duplex types, either. With a 1.5 - 4 or 1.75- 5 x 20 rifle scope, you'll be able to accurately shoot as far as a 30-30 is practical. No need for optics suitable to discern the rings of Saturn .

[Dahliathemeh]

So it looks like 50ish yards is the magic number to set as a goal to hit before I even put a scope on my rifle, correct?

[North Country Gal]

I don't think it's a matter of any particular distance, really, for any type of sight. 50 yards, though, is certainly a very practical distance for iron sight work and a great distance to work with, but don't be afraid to try 100 or even 200 with iron. Always something to be learned when we stretch ourselves. Fun, too. For a great example of marksmanship with traditional sights, check out RanchRopers posts.

[Henry88]

I'm thinking of Hickok45 hitting the gong fairly consistently @200 with his model 29. Great point by JEBar about owing the animal a fast clean kill.

[Travlin]

From what I have seen Hickok 45 has a range just a few yards from his front porch. So that being the case he can get in a lot of practice before the camera is on. But I have to admit that man can shoot.

[RanchRoper]

Oh ya, he's a shooter for sure.