When one drops one's rifle, the most vulnerable thing on the whole rifle is the front sight. I cannot begin to count how many times i have fellen whilst hunting. It seems like hundreds, but perhaps only one hundred. I have never damaged my scope. Once, i damaged the front sight, which i had to have on the rifle, because we cannot use optics during our muzzle loader season.

Only having a spare sight with you still ruins your hunt for that morning or afternoon at best. Having it on the gun and sighted in is your best bet to not miss any hunting time in the event of scope failure.

Has this happen to you?

I've been hunting for 60 years and never had it.

Muley Hunter

I have had scopes fog up internally in the rotten weather, with the open sights remaining I could just remove the scope and continue hunting.

With the scopes I tend to use now days, It would surprise me a bunch if that were to happen, but way back when I as a kid it happen on rare occasions.

But, even now there are some folks still using tip-off mounts or even see through mounts just so the can still use the irons on occasion. I am not sure why but it happens.

To be honest. I've never removed the iron sights.

I've just never had to use them because of scope failure. I guess i'm lucky.

On some i do remove them and others i dont. If you can get a solid metal front site then damage is less likely vs a fiber optic insert type. I do sight in mine first at 50 yards then i mount a scope. If they don't get in the way, i leave them on my still hunting and stalking guns.

The guns i use mainly for range fun and for hunting longer ranges, i almost always remove them.

As I said I am about a 75-25% person. On most I do on other I do not.

In the old days (my younger days) the price of the scope detirmened what i used, because even the cheapest ones were as good as the good ones - so you can tell the quality of scope I had.... I even still have a couple that the cross-hairs move in the scope as you adjust them. The scope hair + could be anywhere in the lens - today I can not believe I used them.

Have I ever had the need to pull a scope??

I once took a heck of a spill down an steep incline. Never damaged the sights, but broke the stock on the Renegade. It should have been on video. Steep hill, snow covered, and rotten moss under that snow... I hunted with that rifle anyway because I was not aware of the hair line crack behind the tang until after hunting season. T/C replaced the stock free of charge, and the barrel shot the same place in the new stock as it did in the old one.

Another time I was sitting in a blind and saw a deer walking in, and looked through the scope (my 30-06 with no sights) and discovered the scope was so fogged over I could hardly make out the deer. I waiting until it was almost on me, and shot where I thought the shoulder was.. well it was a little far back lets say. But I got the deer. Back at camp that evening, I took the scope off, and shot the scope with the rifle. I was young foolish, a little upset, but glad I got the deer.

Was at a hunting camp and had someone knock my scoped rifle over accidentally. I knew the scope was damaged, because you ever look through a scope and something does not look right. The next day when I took a practice shot before heading out. It was way off. So instead of blasting away to sight in my rifle and loose hunting time, and ruin everyone's hunt, I pulled the scope and hunted with the open sights. I did get my deer that afternoon.

I was on my range shooting my White .504. The T/C Hawkins 1x32mm fogged on me. I pulled that and spend the day shooting the open sights. T/C replaced the fogged scope with out question.

Two days before deer season, my nephew decided to do me a favor (he was very young) and wipe down my 30-06. He took the back bell off my Bushnell 4x32mm Banner, which released the gas Bushnell told me (this scope replaced the one that I shot) and it fogged. No sights on the rifle, so I ended up hunting opening morning with my 7.7 Japanese Arisika bolt action with a peep sight on it.

The only rifles I broke the front sight on was the Mountain Stalker that FG now has, it fell over and the fiber optics broke. And the one that Corey sold me.. the New Englander, It slid away from the shooting bench, and the long thin front sight got bent. I straightened it and the rifle shot fine.

One of my friends had (and we laughed until we almost cried) bought a new Winchester model 94 to go deer hunting with us. He was so proud of that rifle. I shot a nice deer that morning with my scoped 30-06 and he walked over to look at it. That's when I pointed out to him that he had no front sight on his rifle. He was needless to say, upset. So we traded rifles since I could not shoot any more deer.

I leave the sights on if they do not interfere with the scope mounted. I have my history for my reasons.

Damn cayugad! You got all the bad luck I didn't get.


Now watch me destroy my scope the next time I hunt.

Na trade er in for a hawkin and make it a chalenge with iron sights.haha