It's not really what the gun is capable of off the bench. It's the vast improvement that a scope makes under real hunting conditions. I think all hunters/shooters should be able to shoot both kinds of sights and as youngsters should be taught both, but, iron sights are no match for a good scope. It's not really an accuracy issue as much as it is a "seeing" issue. Under low light conditions or if there are several animals in a group and you want to pick one out, or if there is a good bit of "cover", a scope is just simply far superior for "getting on target".