Not Sure about the whole Meteor hitting earth part
But my 700 has a scope and open sights. If one goes bad I take it off and use the others. Although I doubt that a Leupold scope will just "go bad"
I do agree, many guns look awesome with open sights, and some look naked without scopes [8D]
I think the manufacturers should include the open sights and have the barrels drilled and tapped incase you want to put iron sights on.
One of the best hunters I know strictly hunts with a 30-06 and a peep sight. He kills deer every year and is one neat guy. He lives off the deer he shoots so that peep is everything to him. He uses a peep for simplicity and reliability. And with his core-lokt bullets, Id sure hate to be the buck that walks infront of him.
BHB