This discussion to me centers only on one thing.... ME. Now that might sound a little self centered to some, but even if it is... so what. If scopes are legal in your state, then YOU have to decide how you want to hunt. Never worry about what someone else might think of you using a scope or not. You need to hunt with what makes you happy.

A prime example... modern rifle season, I was hunting with a person. When he saw I had a open sighted muzzleloader and two tags to fill, he ragged on me for the mile walk back into the woods yo where the stands were. That day was the day I shot once and killed two deer. He never mentioned my selection again. But the point is, I hunted with what made me happy and what I was sure I could get the job done with.

But consider this.. if with open sights your a bad shot or have poor vision, then adjust your distance you will shoot to match your abilities. All too often people were shooting far past their capabilities. This results in misses, wounds, and even danger to fellow hunters to some degree. If your eye sight is poor or you just like to be able to shoot further, more accurate, then use a scope. It is that simple. I would rather hunt with a person using a scoped rifle and making good clean shots then someone with open sights... unable to shoot distances, and all they do is trim trees.

The distances where I hunt are normally 50 yards or less. But I would still use a scoped rifle. I have a little LK-II with a 2.5x20mm scope that is perfect for being in a tree stand and making these very precise between branches in small shooting lane shots. With that rifle I know that I can make the hard shots. So why would I not want to use it. Yet I have other stands where with open sights, I have shot a lot of deer. But I am far more careful about taking a shot with open sights. Why... I can see better with a scope.

So use what you like, forget about others opinions, and just have a lot of fun. Make your shots count, and your quarry suffer less.