# Old age and iron sites



## Bentley (Jul 10, 2008)

I have a question for you (ahem) older squirrel hunters. As a younger man, I lived to hunt squirrels, then trap ****/mink. I still have my two favorite 22 rifles. One is a Remington Model 12 pump. It was my Dads gun. The other is a little Rossi pump. Both are fine rifles with iron sites. There came a time when life (job,career,kids,moving to follow paycheck) got in the way, and I didn't squirrel hunt for several years. Now, I'm 58, and squirrel season opens on Oct 1. So.....I drug out the Rossi earlier to shoot a couple of old water bottles. I now wear glasses for reading only. I couldn't see the sights!!!!

So I grab my glasses, and I couldn't see the target!!!!! What to do???

Must I break down and mount a scope???


<sigh>

B


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Must I break down and mount a scope???



If you want to shoot squirrels you will.

I've always preferred a scope, but now I HAVE to have one

Like you, I can see the sights, or the target, but not both


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## snake35 (Jan 24, 2011)

Mount a inexpensive red dot. Great for low light shooting and super fast for your eyes pick up. Good luck.


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## Pitchy (Aug 25, 2011)

Red dots are nice but if ya want to stay with iron try a peep sight, i`ve put them on a couple of my guns and they work pretty good. A peep will force you eye to focus on the front sight better. I`m using reading glasses also and a rear sight is very fuzzy but the peep works good.


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## TnTnTn (Dec 23, 2004)

Yeah all my squirrel rifles have scopes. I am older than you and if I want a mess of squirrels I need a scope. I kill an occasional one with some of my iron sighted 22s as a target of opportunity. But don't drill and tap your old Rem model 12. Just get a new inexpensive Ruger or Marlin that is scope ready and have at it. TTT


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## Malamute (Sep 15, 2011)

^ ^ 

What Pitchy said. A receiver peep sight can help you shoot better, If you experiment with different size apetures, you can sharpen up your vision of both the front sight and target. Merit makes a widget that attaches to your glasses with an adjustable apeture, you tune it to get s sharp image. I've used them, they are like magic. Getting the correct size apeture will do the same thing, but a smaler size will not be quite as quick as the larger apertures, as are commonly promoted as "ghost ring" types. Still, you make a coice, if you want to see better, getting a peep sight with the right size apeture, or a scope. Merit also makes an adjustable apeture for peep sights. 

I like irons, but also don't mind a good scope. Many have issues with scopes because they use poor quality scopes, or they mount them incorrectly, and they are had to find the image when you throw the gun up. When properly mounted, you throw the gun up and the image seems to appear like magic. I've hit running rabbits with scopes, no big deal when set up right, and not too much power is used. Higher magnification power means a smaller field of view. An adjustable power scope of good quality is hard to beat for all around use, like a 2-7x.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

I'm 51 and have the same eye sight problem. They tell me it's just old age, but I've heard many a time that starrrring at purty women will make you go blind! Anywho, I had bought my daughter a little .22 cricket rifle that came with peep sites on it. Neither my daughter or me could hit the broadside of a barn with it. So I took the peep sites off and installed a cheap Red Dot scope on it. Man, do I love hunting with that little rifle! I can shoot the eyeballs out of squirrels head with it, and at purty good distances. 

I would say, try a Red Dot first too see if you like it. I got the cheapest Walmart carries and it has twelve different brightness settings on it. Most of the time I just have the setting on Number 1. 

The only thing I don't like about using a Red Dot scope is, I forget to turn the red dot off when I'm through hunting with the rifle and it runs my battery down. Then I have to buy a new one before my next hunt.


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## Bentley (Jul 10, 2008)

Wow!..great responses.......thanks guys.

Malamute; question on the Merit aperture. How quickly can you acquire the target using the merit? I have been studying the merit along with a 2x red dot. Time is critical when that tree rat presents a good target. I do not want to waste time "hunting" for my target.

Right now, I'm seriously looking at a red dot. 2x ? Or 1x ? 

I'm sure looking forward to hunting again. There is another gun show in two weeks. I'll probably buy one then.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

In the mid 1970's I got a hawkins muzzle loader. I really liked taking it to the woods during muzzle loading deer season. By the late 80's my eyes were suffering from old age also and that hawkins was a terriable thing to try to shoot with any remote chance of hitting any thing. I bought a different muzzle loader that was drilled and taped from the factory for a scope. OK I could hit the target with that set up but it didn't seam as fun any longer.
I aquired a winny 94 that had a peep sight on it. Didn't take long to figure out how the peep sights worked and I was in bussiness shooting nice groups.
I bought and installed a peep sight on my hawkins. I could once again shoot nice groups at the range with it and even hit targets in the woods.
A peep sight is the way to go for ageing eyes if you don't want to mess up a rifle installing a scope or red dot. Many peep sights can be bought that slide right in the dove tail of the rifle like the Lyman # 2 on the winny 94. Or they can be mounted on the tang where screws are like on the Hawkins I own.

 Al


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I generally have the same problem with open buckhorn or notch type sights. However, I have a much easier time getting a quick and accurate sight picture with my military rifles that employ an aperture sight - sometimes referred to as a peep sight or ghost ring - that is adjustable for elevation and windage.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Right now, I'm seriously looking at a red dot. 2x ? Or 1x ?


I've found red dot sights are great for quick target aquisition, but not so good for accuracy.

The problem is the dots tend to block too much of the target so you can't aim precisely.

It's no big deal shooting targets or larger game, but for small animals such as a squirrel, you need pinpoint shot placement.

Also, it's much harder to see throough most red dot sights since they are so far from your eye.

In low light conditioins, ambient light plus the brightness of the dot itself will make it hard to see the target, whereas the scopes will actually make the target seem brighter by gathering light

If you DO get a red dot, use the* smallest dot *you can find if you want accuracy


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## Tad (Apr 2, 2003)

I love the red dot on my slug gun, very easy to find a target. Another thing you might try is fiber-optic sights. Before scopes were legal on muzzle loaders here my wifes uncle switched to fiber optic sights when he couldn't see the front bead well anymore.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

I've got a cheap scope on a Remington 572...and that thing can castrate a tick from 60 yards.


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## Gregg Alexander (Feb 18, 2007)

Well I am 61 , wear glasses but still shoot squirrels with iron site 22. They way I try and keep sharp is tie tin plates with a string on tree limbs , let the wind blow , I will still hit 80-90 % of the time inside the ring drawn on the plate. I shoot at least 2 bricks of shells every summer tuning up. I shoot every day at least 1 box , most of the time 2 boxes of shell every day.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Im 56, I now for the last 20 years wear glasses. My squirrel guns all have scopes. I only take head shots and both of my squrrel rifles will put a hole in a dime at 50 yds. My squiirrel shotgun is a .410 sxs loaded with 3" number five shot. My primary deer gun is an Ithica 37, 20"" cylinder bore barrel mounted with Remington rifle sights. It is sighted in for 50 yds and will put three slugs into a playing card at that range. I hunt very thick cover and all of the deer Ive shot were at 20 yds. or less. If you need a scope, mount one. No dishoror in that. As a hunter and a sportsman you owe the game you hunt with the best of your abilities as a hunter. A cheap Busnell 3x9 scope will solve all your misgivings.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Took my 10 yr old daughter down to the creek this evening for her to shoot her little .22 cricket rifle that has a red dot scope on it. I throwed a pop can in the creek and let it float down stream a little ways and let her shoot at it. She hasn't practice with the rifle in almost a year and she hit the can 4 out of 4 shots at it. 

That's how easy it is for her to use a Red Dot scope! I'm gonna take her to do a lot of squirrel hunting his fall.


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