Best iron sight rifle?
 

Just curious what the rest of you fellows feel that the best rifle models are for iron sight use, current or past, maybe both? Criteria would be using either the factory sights, or easily interchangeable aftermarket sights.

Open sights of peep sights?
Cat

Whatever you prefer, or both, I dont care.

I've owned a fair amount of them, peeps and irons, and all things considered I keep going back to my SMLE. They arent perfect, but neither was anything else I tried. Given the low price, sturdyness of the sights, and my own range limitations with irons... they seem to make about as much sense as anything else.

For me it would be a marlin and it would be wearing a skinner peep.

Remington 760/7600.

Any rifle of European heritage...they know how to build stocks which complement iron sights.

Best iron sights rifle I have is my Palma rifle which is a Winchester built M-1917 with a Shultz and Larson 1 in 14 twist .308 barrel. Outfitted with a Parker Hale #5 rear sight and a Tiger eye front sight, throw a Gheman focusable diopter on the rear sight and take that bad Sally long.
https://i.imgur.com/OFUHHXy.jpg

For long range target with single shot rifles at Shiloh sharps in Big Timber MT they used to sell vernier tang sights and iron front sights with levels and different apertures. With young eyes you didn't need a scope.
The best iron sights depends heavily on the type of gun and what your using it for.There are different aperture sights for different guns and different uses.
Even for close up work on something dangerous I still like a ghost ring although I'm betting someone else will say they like open sights.

https://i.imgur.com/z7QQ67h.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aXSvsRF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HwR2jUI.jpg

I prefer peeps. All my Marlins have peeps and high vis front sights. Most of my big game hunting hunting rifles wear irons but only for back up if a scope fails. I do like my mk4 no 1 peep set up as well. For me action mounted or tang mounted peep is what I like best. Barrel mounted semi buck or std barrel mounted v notch sight are only just ok and would work in a pinch but definitely not my first choice.

I prefer a peep as well, but for close to medium range hunting situations I've never actually noticed any real difference in effectiveness. Open sights do tend to be a tad tougher in general, and to me they seem a bit easyer to see in low light situations.

I've always liked the Mk4 peep sights, but to me the no1 carys and handles nicer, so I've learned to put up with the open sights.

Personally, so long as the rear sight is flat on top... no semi buckhorns for me, I can make them work as well as needed for the type of hunting I do.

Any older Husqvarna all the way up to a newer Crown Grade. Something about the way they carry & shoulder, I like the cheek weld with the Monte Carlo as well. Now I need to dig the old gal out for some gopher madness!

I had a Pedersoli Sharps 45/70 with a long range tang site, I had to sell that rifle to pay a bill many years ago. The only iron site rifle I own now is my Savage Scout. My eyes are getting to the point that iron sites are pretty useless to me. I have a forward mounted 2 x 7 x 42 scope on her now.

I appreciate the pictures you guys post. I would if I could haha.
Anyway Redfield used to make a front sight called a sourdough. Maybe somebody makes a copy? Thats a heck of a good hunting front sight regardless what you have for a rear sight.

For factory peep sights on a hunting rifle it's hard to beat the old lee Enfield battle to aperture sight, IMO.
For open sights, the fibre optics that were on my FAIR express rifle were amazing, but I really like the NECG express sights on my Ruger single shot as well.
For Target sights, I use Anschutz , AJ Parker, and Centrals, but the Centrals are pretty archaic compared to stuff like the new Phoenix or RPA sights- however they are a fraction of the cost and still work very well out to 1K!
https://i.imgur.com/NM5SpjH.jpg
Cat

I like the peep sights on the Lee Enfield No.4.
As for low light conditions, a rear peep sight with a front fiber optic sight post works well.

I'm the same way. So frustrating! Plus the coolest guns for me anyway,dont have a scope or a scope would just be wrong on them.
With my glasses I can shoot some but not near like I should be able. Plus when you bring a gun up unless your glasses are pressed close to your face they were in the wrong spot and even at the best of times I have to hold my head funny to focus my spectacles.Then in the winter they will be fogged up. A fellow goes all to heck really quick. Life doesn't start at fifty.

I have an FWB 10m air rifle with this (attached photo)
That and the ladder sight on my Sharps 45-70

I have probably done my most iron sight killing with a cooey .22
When I picture iron sights in my head, those are the ones I think of.

My M1 Garand has very functional iron sights as well.
https://i.imgur.com/qKb2JTE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qptkXF0.jpg

My ‘52 vintage Marlin 336 in 30/30 holds its own too.
https://i.imgur.com/8XxF2vn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VcpFRy0.jpg

I have a couple Husky's and love them, unfortunately neither of them has irons on them at this point. I've contemplated having irons installed many times, due to the cost involved I havent done it yet though.

Last time I got an animal with iron sites was a moose in 2013. That was with a Lee Enfield 1919. I am now 52 and am not sure if I would try it again..... maybe.

I'm the same way, even my 22's wear scopes now.

As I age I get worse and worse. A pop can at 20 yards is a hard shot now ...lol

having said that, for my old eyes, a peep with a high vis front sight seems to help me - tried a friends out at the range and it was pretty good for my sight picture and my eyes.

For the in close thick bush type hunts we do on the trapline for Moose and Elk, my go to is my Winchester Model '71 348 with peep.

Easy handling and superb natural fit for me makes it second nature for shots in the thick bush.

Follow up shots haven't been required to date but the quick and smooth handling of the '71 is up to task.

All of my original Winchester and Marlin levers are optics free mainly due to preferred hunt method.

Since you asked about rifles, I would say I like Savage scout rifles (Williams peep sights), any rifle with Garand style sights (M1 Garand, M1A) and Ruger peep sights (Mini’s, Ruger Scout rifles). Those would be my top factory rifle choices. I actually like the scout concept because you have decent iron sights (peep) and can mount an optic. Yes, forward mounted optics aren’t the greatest, but they do work, ask the critters in my freezer.

Outside of factory rifles your imagination and depth of wallet would be the limiting factors.

I do like the Williams rear apertures with the brass insert, looking into getting the set of three for my Savage scout.

I did some amazing work with the double aperture on a Palma rifle. I was 14 years old when I shot a 50/50, 6" grouping, with 10 rounds at 1500 metres. That sold me on the abilities of the double aperture sights.

I have an Enfield Long Branch No 4 with a great barrel. When my eyes were good I could ring the plate at 600 metres.

During my Infantry time I preferred the iron sights on the C7, C8, and C9 platforms. They were fast and always on target. I was displeased with the Elcan C79 optic. I would have preferred the irons over the optic during a deployment.

I am quite pleased with the irons on several of my Sako 85s. The sights are all fast on target, thankfully so as these are all dedicated hunting rifles. A Bavarian 375H&H is quite tight out to 200 metres. Another Bavarian Carbine in 30-06 is amazingly easy to shoot. My eyes can still manage 300 metres from a sandbag but this one is for my close range hunting. The Blackbear 308 is also a pleasure to use for close range hunts.

The type of irons you will find best will depend on your planned usage / expectation.

Irons are able to be aimed more accurately if they have a longer sight radius (distance from the rear sight to the front). Hence, Garand sights and most rear mounted peep sights are very accurate (or can be aimed more accurately).

Sights that have a shorter sight radius (when the rear sight is mounted halfway down the barrel) offer faster sight alignment. That is why “guide” type rifles have large sights mounted that way.

Again, it comes down to usage and expectation.

I used to live for irons, none of my rifles had optics. 100 yards was about as far as I shot back then, and I was pretty darned good at it too! I have since found it is easier to shoot (more importantly hit) what I can see. As much as I love a slick handling rifle with irons, I can see, and thus hit my targets more easily, with optics.

I've never handled a 71', but some of the best deer hunting literature I've read was written in the 60's by a guy called Frances E Sell, and the 71 in .348 was his rifle of choice.

Another rifle he spoke quite highly of was a Husqvarna carbine in 6.5x55, while I've never handled a 71, I've had a few Husky carbines and a few 6.5 Swedes... and I'd have to work pretty hard to dream up a better bolt action gun for general deer hunting dutys… so I bet that 71 is every bit as great as many seem to think.

Mr. Sell's 6.5x55 was a Mannlicher stocked rifle IIRC that he made and adjusted by aiming it out his window as he worked on it .:)
Cat