First range trip was all guns with iron sights and, frankly, it was a disappointment. Given that it was a typical dark, cloudy day - much more the norm for us than sunshine - I should have expected it. Iron sights and poor light are not a match made in heaven. Still, I do love iron sights and had to try. Okay, can't say we shot, poorly, but definitely below our usual level when the light is decent. Was not a confidence builder of a range trip, though. Pretty bummed out, in fact.
Returned, yesterday, for another try. Still cloudy and, if anything, even a gloomier day, but this time we came prepared with guns better suited for shooting in poor light, namely, guns with some optical sights.
First up is one of my favorites, not just for its accuracy, but it's versatility. It's our Ruger Single Six Hunter, 22LR/22Mag. What I love about these Hunter series of Ruger revolvers is the way you can go back and forth between iron sights and optical sights in a matter of minutes. When the light is good, it's a great gun with iron sights.
When the light is not so good, switching to a scope or a red dot, only takes a minute and, best of all, leaves the iron sights undisturbed. Those Ruger rings really do a great job of repeatability. I can't remember ever having to readjust the sights when switching back to a scope or, in this case, a red dot (Ultradot 25).
What a difference a day makes or, in this case, a red dot makes. Pretty amazing, in fact. Soooo much easier to shoot with a little optical help on a gloomy day or when the eyes are not at their best.
Next up is one of my all time favorite lever guns in our 1997 vintage Marlin 1894 CS in 357. In the past, this gun has mostly worn a Williams peep and it's done a great job when the light is decent.
Unfortunately, even in the summer, we get more cloudy days than sunny, so more and more of our rifles are wearing red dots and scopes. Hate doing that to lever guns, but I hate waiting around for a good sunny day to shoot them, even more. Scopes and red dots take the weather out of the equation (not to mention old my eyes, too). They let us shoot whenever we want to shoot. They maximize our shooting opportunities. Besides, a nice low power straight tube scope like this old Leupold Vari X 2, 1-4x adds very little weight and bulk to the gun.
Apologize for these tattered targets, by the way. We arrived at the range, yesterday, only to discover that there were no paper targets available (our range usually supplies the paper). Luckily, we had some left from our previous range trip so we patched them up as best as possible. Looks like I forgot to patch one 22 hole, though, in the upper part of the bull in this, my best group of the day.
Yes, that was from a standing position, but with a scope, you say? Let me explain that by saying that I now use a scope for almost all of my offhand rifle work. The secret is my offhand air rifle shooting using scopes, which I do on an almost daily basis and I have been doing it for a long time - long enough to the point where my offhand scores are significantly better with a scope than with irons. Iron sights are now a handicap for my offhand shooting. I only occasionally shoot irons, these days, because I still enjoy shooting with irons. When it's time to get serious about accuracy, I grab a scoped rifle.
Let me also say that I am not gifted with any special steadiness. Just takes a lot of practice to use a scope without a rest. Anyone can do it with enough practice (and a little patience
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