When i moved back to South Dakota, it had been some 40 year since i had fired a shot at a game animal with iron sights. The game laws required me to use iron sights on the muzzy. It, in fact, surprised me how many deer were killed successfully using the iron sight. Never once did i ever feel good about pulling the trigger on a critter, when i couldn't readily see the front sight. However, somehow, many deer ended up as venison on our dinner table.

I never felt it was ethical for me to shoot at deer using iron sights. I chose to do it anyway, and it, for some reason, worked just fine. I knowingly chose venison over ethics. This year i may be able to use a 1X scope. If so, that surely will be better. My eyes can clearly see cross hair, and critter at infinity in the same plane. If it turns out i cannot use optics on the muzzy, i will continue using the iron sights my eyes cannot readily focus on. Venison supersedes ethics in my life.

Right now, i am, for some reason, confident the game commission will approve the use of 1X optic for the upcoming season. Today, i dug out the 1X scope, and looked at various bases on the shelf. It seems it will be an easy task to get things working. Depending how other chores go, i may get the scope mounted on a brand new X7, and perhaps shoot it Monday. This will be good, because i will no longer have to choose between ethics and venison.