blackbearhunter The fact is the scope is a better sight regardless of distance! Iron sights ask the imposible of your eyes, regardless of age! The human eye cannot focus on more than one distance at a time. If the target is clear, the front, and back sights are a blurr, if the front sight is clear, the target, and the rear sight are a blurr, and if the back sight is clear the front sightand the target are a blurr! This may seem like it isn't true to you but is fact! your eye focuses on the back sight, then quickly refocuses on the front sight, then quickly refocuses on the target. Usually the front sight is clear, and the other two distances are blurred when the trigger is pulled. This is why those used to useing irons, see the sights better than those who only shoot irons occasionally. The eyes are trained to jump from one to the other, without you realizeing it, and theirs aren't! A scope, on the other hand, places the crosshairs at the same distance as the target, so your eye has only to focus on one distance for both sight, and target.

All hunting rifles should have both irons, and scope on them. There are two reasons for this. #1 if the scope is broken it can be removed, and the irons used as back-up! Additionally when a scope with any power is used at extremely close range, it is a henderence, because it is quite a bit higher above the bore of the rifle than the irons, and even if the target is seen, the shot will usually go low! #2 if really close the scope is in the way for instinctive shooting (shotgun style) unless the scope is a 1X power (no magnifacation) which is used with both eyes open, but still shoots lower the closer the target gets.

The scope is a better tool for exact bullet placement, even at short distance, or in poor light! If you will notice in the woods of the east, in the USA, there are some hunters shot accidently every year. This is usually blamed on there being too many people in the woods. It is my opinion, however, that if scopes were required there, there would be far fewer accidents, because the shooter can see his target far better. These areas are where most hunters use irons, and if you looked at the rifles involved in those accidents you would find most were not equipt with scopes. In the West, where scopes are the most often used sight, there are far fewer accidents.

Think about it this way, place a target in the brush at 50 yds, look at it with iron sights,the path to the target may seem clear, then look at the same target with a scope, and you will see sticks, and twigs you had no idea were there, and the target will be much clearer, even through brush. What looks like a deer, or black bear, with irons, may actually become a man in a brown jacket, ot a black coat, when viewed through even a low powered scope.

I prefere iron sights on my double rifles, with a QD low powered scope for back up, or the occasional long shot, but with my bolt rifles I prefere the same thing, but the irons are back up! In fadeing light a good scope is unbeatable, and will be shootable long after irons are no longer visable! Just my opinion, and worth exactly what you paid for it!