Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Rifle scopes, iron sights and optics. Spotting scopes and target acquisition devices.

Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 06 Sep 2022, 11:34 am

I asked a similar question on some other online forum a while ago, and the responses I got were quite divided. Some said that learning to use open sights is an essential skill while others argued that scopes and red dot sights make it unnecessary.

I would have liked to try the experience of shooting a rifle using open sights, but the issue of cross eye dominance comes up. Being right handed but left eye dominant is easy to work around when using a handgun, but not so much with a longarm. I'm aware that there are workarounds such as shooting left-handed, but it may be easier to simply forgo the idea of trying out open sights and stick to using a scope.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by geoff » 06 Sep 2022, 11:43 am

I would wager that most shooting done by most people in the field is done with scoped rifles, so when people say there's no need to learn open sights, I can see where they're coming from however i do disagree with them.

Open sights makes you more vulnerable to poor fundamentals - someone who learns to shoot on open sights will transition to a scope well and be a truly proficient shooter much easier. The same cannot be said in reverse.

Shooting is abnout much more than putting the dot on the thing and pressing the bit with your finger to make it go bang. Open sights teach you much more about the mechanics of what you are doing, and how your other inputs influence it.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bladeracer » 06 Sep 2022, 12:02 pm

jwai86 wrote:I asked a similar question on some other online forum a while ago, and the responses I got were quite divided. Some said that learning to use open sights is an essential skill while others argued that scopes and red dot sights make it unnecessary.

I would have liked to try the experience of shooting a rifle using open sights, but the issue of cross eye dominance comes up. Being right handed but left eye dominant is easy to work around when using a handgun, but not so much with a longarm. I'm aware that there are workarounds such as shooting left-handed, but it may be easier to simply forgo the idea of trying out open sights and stick to using a scope.


I used iron sights as a kid, and I really enjoy using them now - the field of view over open sights is amazing compared to a scope. But for hunting I owe it to the animal to place the shot as precisely as I can, and that dictates a scope most of the time. For large game like pigs and big deer at close ranges open sights work just fine though as bullet placement only needs be within an inch or two of your aimpoint. Iron sights are perfect against a white paper background, against a dark background it can be impossible to discern the dark front blade, but a brass or fibre-optic insert can help a lot. Trying to lead a small running target that's running away or uphill can mean the target is totally obscured behind the sights and barrel - it's worth learning to shoot both eyes open.

Also worth noting that there are a lot of variations of iron sights and different combinations of front and rear sights. Some will work really well for you, some will be hopeless. I really dislike the Mauser Kar98k sight picture for example, and I really, really like the AR15 sight picture.

The modern alternative to iron sights is a red dot sight or a holographic sight. These remove parallax and raise the sight picture above the receiver, so you can see what's below the target as well as to the sides. Not always useful in bright sunshine or against some backgrounds, and useless when the battery goes flat or the lens get water on them.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by No1_49er » 06 Sep 2022, 12:42 pm

jwai86 wrote:I would have liked to try the experience of shooting a rifle using open sights, but the issue of cross eye dominance comes up. Being right handed but left eye dominant is easy to work around when using a handgun, but not so much with a longarm. I'm aware that there are workarounds such as shooting left-handed, but it may be easier to simply forgo the idea of trying out open sights and stick to using a scope.

No need to forgo the idea of open sight shooting.
I'm seriously left eye dominant (an old right eye mishap) but have always shot right handed, even with my pistol shooting. I use a blinder of some sort - sometimes it's a patch stuck in the appropriate place on my shooting glasses to prevent my left eye seeing the target, or, a piece of thin card jammed under the brim of my cap so that it "hangs" over the vision zone of my left eye.
Works really well for all my target shooting disciplines.
Give it a whirl.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 06 Sep 2022, 3:08 pm

No1_49er wrote:No need to forgo the idea of open sight shooting.
I'm seriously left eye dominant (an old right eye mishap) but have always shot right handed, even with my pistol shooting. I use a blinder of some sort - sometimes it's a patch stuck in the appropriate place on my shooting glasses to prevent my left eye seeing the target, or, a piece of thin card jammed under the brim of my cap so that it "hangs" over the vision zone of my left eye.
Works really well for all my target shooting disciplines.
Give it a whirl.

From previous shooting experience, I tend to view handgun sights using only my left eye. Meanwhile, I have to close that eye to have any hope of properly seeing through a rifle scope, and I'm not sure if my right eye is up to the task of lining up rifle sights. Putting that aside, the whole idea of using open sights is moot if there are no good opportunities to do so. I certainly agree that using a scope is the more responsible thing to do in hunting scenarios.
Last edited by jwai86 on 06 Sep 2022, 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 06 Sep 2022, 3:08 pm

Yes
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 06 Sep 2022, 3:14 pm

bigpete wrote:Yes

Under what circumstances if you don't mind elaborating?
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bladeracer » 06 Sep 2022, 3:46 pm

jwai86 wrote:
bigpete wrote:Yes

Under what circumstances if you don't mind elaborating?


I think Pete prefers iron sights in all circumstances, not sure he even owns any optics :-)
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 06 Sep 2022, 6:45 pm

bladeracer wrote:
jwai86 wrote:
bigpete wrote:Yes

Under what circumstances if you don't mind elaborating?


I think Pete prefers iron sights in all circumstances, not sure he even owns any optics :-)


Ha ha thats a fair assumption but I actually do have scopes that will go on all my cartridge firearms in QD rings. I just don't use scopes that often except in certain circumstances. Like spotlighting or if I'm trying to be precise ie headshooting rabbits for the pot. Even then my scopes are quite simple.

To answer the question though,I use them for hunting and plinking
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by SCJ429 » 06 Sep 2022, 7:09 pm

I am also left eye dominant but right handed, I look through the scope with both eyes open, once I have the crosshair on the target I blink my left eye and concentrate on the image from my right eye. This is a big help finding the target with higher powered magnification.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 07 Sep 2022, 9:48 am

SCJ429 wrote:I am also left eye dominant but right handed, I look through the scope with both eyes open, once I have the crosshair on the target I blink my left eye and concentrate on the image from my right eye. This is a big help finding the target with higher powered magnification.

My potential issue is not with scopes (beyond positioning my head to get the correct view), but open sights.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by on_one_wheel » 07 Sep 2022, 10:41 am

I don't always use open sights,
but when I do
I generally miss
:lol:
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 07 Sep 2022, 11:14 am

on_one_wheel wrote:I don't always use open sights,
but when I do
I generally miss
:lol:

You need more practice grasshopper
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bladeracer » 07 Sep 2022, 11:54 am

on_one_wheel wrote:I don't always use open sights,
but when I do
I generally miss
:lol:


:-)
I aspire to shoot half as well as Paul Harrell, offhand with open sights - but I don't think I'll live long enough to achieve it :-)
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by Noisydad » 07 Sep 2022, 1:01 pm

I only own two of those new fangled lookin glass sights. One is on an old Stirling model 14P. The rest of my shootin irons, including those used for 600 yard events, are iron sights only.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by SCJ429 » 07 Sep 2022, 6:32 pm

jwai86 wrote:
SCJ429 wrote:I am also left eye dominant but right handed, I look through the scope with both eyes open, once I have the crosshair on the target I blink my left eye and concentrate on the image from my right eye. This is a big help finding the target with higher powered magnification.

My potential issue is not with scopes (beyond positioning my head to get the correct view), but open sights.

Do you have both eyes open with open sights? The principle is the same.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 07 Sep 2022, 7:58 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Do you have both eyes open with open sights? The principle is the same.

Only the left eye open when it comes to using handgun sights unfortunately. I can't seem to get a usable sight picture with both eyes open.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by CRF » 07 Sep 2022, 9:04 pm

..
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 08 Sep 2022, 6:09 am

CRF wrote:You guys use scopes?

Screenshot_20220907-210230_Gallery.jpg


Screenshot_20220907-210139_Gallery.jpg


What are those 2 rifles mate ?
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by CRF » 08 Sep 2022, 6:42 am

.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 08 Sep 2022, 7:38 am

CRF wrote:Pedersoli Missouri River hawken 50 cal and my custom 275 Rigby built on a CZ550 action. Both great shooters, limiting factor is always me.

You dropped a buff with a 50 ? Used conicals?
What action length did you build the 7x57 on ?
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by CRF » 08 Sep 2022, 10:29 am

.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bigpete » 08 Sep 2022, 10:58 am

That I did, used Hornady Monoflex coppers.

Thats nearly a sacrilegious act mate! :D
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 08 Sep 2022, 8:10 pm

CRF wrote:You guys use scopes?

I was only after experiences with using open sights on a .22 LR rifle, but whatever.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by CRF » 09 Sep 2022, 7:07 am

jwai86 wrote:
CRF wrote:You guys use scopes?

I was only after experiences with using open sights on a .22 LR rifle, but whatever.


Sorry sooky, fixed it for you.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by Boundry Rider » 09 Sep 2022, 8:42 am

CRF wrote:
jwai86 wrote:
CRF wrote:You guys use scopes?

I was only after experiences with using open sights on a .22 LR rifle, but whatever.


Sorry sooky, fixed it for you.


Apologizing with a derogatory comment- well done :sarcasm:
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 09 Sep 2022, 5:34 pm

Boundry Rider wrote:Apologizing with a derogatory comment- well done :sarcasm:

I wasn't offended to begin with, even if he did miss the detail about calibre in this thread's title.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by in2anity » 09 Sep 2022, 9:59 pm

Marksmanship is all about consistency from repetition. With open sights, one relies more heavily on following a routine shot cycle.

Check the mirage. Check natural point of aim, work the bolt, natural breathing, low pulse, front sight focus-target is a blur, rising up to the target on a natural exhale, trigger finger placed middle of the first pad, hold the breath after a few natural breaths, don’t stare too long, squeeze the trigger straight back… break. Start all over again, first with checking the mirage/flags for any changes in the wind, then back down into the sights.

If you want good groups with open sights, all that above is rather necessary. Glass just makes you lazy and hyper focused on that reticle, ignoring any bad technique that’s making you shoot bad. Believe me, if you master open sighted target rifle, your scoped shooting will naturally be phenomenal.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by jwai86 » 21 Sep 2022, 10:38 am

I visited a dealer the other day that has scopes on display that are attached to dummy stocks. I tried shouldering one of these left handed to see how that would work. I couldn't get my head properly positioned to line up my left eye with the scope reticle. I thought that was a bit strange because I have no such issue when shouldering right handed and putting my right eye to the scope.
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Re: Do you use open sights with your .22 LR rifle?

Post by bladeracer » 21 Sep 2022, 11:44 am

jwai86 wrote:I visited a dealer the other day that has scopes on display that are attached to dummy stocks. I tried shouldering one of these left handed to see how that would work. I couldn't get my head properly positioned to line up my left eye with the scope reticle. I thought that was a bit strange because I have no such issue when shouldering right handed and putting my right eye to the scope.


I have similar issues myself, I think it's just because I don't have a natural left-handed position that fits a rifle's ergonomics. If you watch a right-hander the first time they try to shoulder a rifle they rarely just fall into the right position. These things take practice. I can shoot left-handed, but it is not natural, I have to concentrate on getting myself positioned. I can't just shoulder from a low carry and fire like I can right-handed. I think it's why a lot of left-handers can't make a "simple" transition to right-handed rifles and guns.
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