Scope Or Not?
 

Do most people use scopes on ML or do they tend just to use the sights on the gun from the factory due to close woods hunting and short shots? What about you,scope or no scope?

Where legal, scopes on inlines, not on sidelocks...

Except for SemiSane, but then he is "unique"... :)

Low powered scope... 1-4x power, perfect for low light in close cover!

The use of a scope can depend on whether or not they are allowed in the area you hunt. I myself prefer to use one to help out my tired eyes regardless of hunting conditions. Its another largely personal preference.

I have numerous scoped rifles because they are legal, I love to target shoot, and I like hitting at what I am aiming at. I also have numerous rifles, mostly traditional without scopes. Its just a personal preference with me. I have low powder and very high magnification scopes. Something to cover any shooting situation,

I can use a scope, and my eyes are horrible.

I still won't use one. I just get closer. More challenge....more fun.

There's no question I can shoot better with a scope. But there's something very satisfying about shooting a good group or taking game with iron sights. For me that means a peep sight because regular iron sights are almost useless to me.

In a hunting situation, iron sights limit my options as to range and shot angle. So I pass up some shots that I would take with a scope.

But to answer your original question doetrain, four of my muzzle loaders wear peep sights and five wear scopes. So it's about 50/50 for me.

Peep Sights:
.54 Great Plains flintlock
.58 Green Mountain barreled TC Hawken
.50 Green Mountain LRH barreled TC Hawken
.32 Pedersoli Frontier flintlock

Scopes:
.45 Green Mountain LRH barreled TC Renegade - 4x Simmons ProDiamond
.50 Green Mountain LRH barreled TC Renegade - 4x Simmons ProDiamond
.54 Green Mountain barreled TC Renegade - 4x Simmons ProDiamond
.50 Lyman Mustang - 3x9 Leupold VariX II
.50 TC Omega X7 - 4x Simmons ProDiamond

As you can see, I kinda favor sidelocks.

.

Despite the majority of my shots for deer being less than 75 yards (avg about 30-40) I still use scopes whenever I can. I've never been able to shoot open sights well.

My sidelocks I do not scope. I'm not as sinful as Semisane :s2:

How dare you not list me with SemiSane. He may have more scoped sidelocks, but I will catch up sometime. hehehe. I scope, my eye sight is horrible. Tried hunting open sights my first year muzzleloading. Will never do it again. Missed atleast 6 deer. Once I scoped every shot was a dead deer.

my inline has a scope sidelocks =iron sights....my buddy loves his red dot on his inline he does very well with it

Currently my sole inline is scoped and all my traditional sidelocks have open sights. One has a peep, a couple have the fiber optics which I don't like and swap out with iron sights when I can get them. I do have one GM LRH 50 cal perc barrel in the gun shop now getting a brass replica scope put on it.

As a rule, I like scopes on inline, peep on sidelocks, but I only have 3 muzzleloaders, and will break this rule as soon as I can.

MN says I can't hunt muzzleloader season with a scope. So for now it's a scope for load development and practice/hunt with open sights the rest of the summer. If they ever change that rule I will hunt with a scope.

Inline or traditional doesn't matter which. if i lived in an area where my shots were 100 yds max, i would never use a scope. Ray

:s2: Never say never builder. You might get old one day. :wink: :o

SEMI, i turned 53 the 19th and stand by what i said :s4: may be different for you civil war vets :poke: Ray

I am going to use the peep site on my X7 this year,I am getting a 2.5in group at 75 yards with it.

Since my son will be using this gun too, I will use a scope. Also, if I want to do the 100 yd shots, then I will want a scope. I like the confidence of knowing my shot will be well placed. I use elevated mounts so I can shoot open sites as well if needed.

Same here. I've used a scope on my X7 the past two years, obstinately to "develop a hunting load." In truth, I've had a solid load for over a year now, so no more excuses. Not quite at 2.5 inches at 75 yds, but I plan to get there by this November.

The axiom is the better you can see the better you can shoot.
There are many of us with the eye problems that age brings on, until it became necessary I did not use a scope now I have them on all most every gun I own, when it gets to the point that it is not possible to place your shots properly a good sportsman has no choice.

I think with me, not ever shooting open sites with a hunting rifle has caused me to want to learn how to shoot a sidelock with open sites.

Jason

I wish I did'nt need a scope but like many of you my eyes are not great at all any more,looking through iron sights is a blurr for me and with low light its nearly impossible. I'm in the process of trying to find a sight for my bow with better light intake and bigger dots to line up with my peep. Age it comes to us all in different ways,but it comes. I use iron sights on my shotgun for Turkey but being so close and flinging a lot more led in a wider pattern helps the poor eyes out,so far.

I USE 1x4 ON A FEW A CASIONS BUT NOT VERY OFTEN

weaver k4 new one. it was on my .308 then my .270 now its on my omega. on of the best 4x out there.all shots touching at 100yrds.

2x7s on my hunting guns.
High power variables on dedicated range/fun guns.
Peep sites when i want the least amount of weight. I cant shoot well past 50 yards with regular iron sites......mainly in low light.

Form follows function.

If you wear bifocals or trifocals and its legal you will be much happier with a scope and have fewer wounded animal get away, shot placement is what is important not the kind of sights you use. I believe the iron sight only laws discriminate against bi and trifocals wearers and are unsporting as wounding when it could be a clean kill is unsporting to say the least.

if scopes weren't an option I'd not use a ML...

Seems you are correct. There are scopes on my rifles, except for one. The scoped rifles i use in the rifle seasons. The unscoped rifle i use during the muzzle loader season. It helps that it has a peep sight, but i still have to squint real tight to get the front sight to look round. It kinda seems strange to me, that the rifle has killed several deer, in spite of this handicap.

We cannot use scopes in muzzleloader season in Minnesota either. I have bifocals but for hunting I use reading glasses of a power so that the front sight looks sharp. With a peep sight I am fully confident shooting out to 100 yards but most my shots are closer.

i feel like i am cheating already taking an inline out during black powder season...i think its more about tradition. rifle season will be coming soon, so i see no need in cheating anymore than i already am. as it is, i already have fiber optic sights.. lil igniion caps that come in a can, much less pre-made bullets in a box... they didnt have those back in the day when dudes used muzz loaders cause they were the top of the line fer killin...they were todays barrett 50..know what i mean..so i say no to a scope on a muzz....keep it inside 75 yards, thats what its really about.

if ya only get a black powder season, then i can understand why guys do.

If you can use a scope in your state, use it. If not, find the best way that allows you to shoot.

Im only 27 but my eyes arent that great and so other than good glasses i started using the clear2target sticky on my glasses and it really clears up the fuzzy sights.

What about us old boys that can see deer at 75 yard, but can't see the front sight? If we put a magnifier on, we can see the front sight, but cannot see the deer at 75 yard. What about us?

A solution is a 1X scope. That way the image of the cross hair, and the image of the deer are both in the same place. We can see the aimer, and the aimee simultaneously. The 1X scope doesn't cheat the young fellers that can use iron sights. Not allowing 1X scopes cheats the old boys, because they just cannot focus on the front sight and the deer at the same time.

I hunt muzzle loader season and shoot at deer all the while not being able to focus on the front sight of my rifle. Am i being ethical? Is it my fault i may gut shoot a deer? Is it the state' fault i may gut shoot a deer? I don't care; i just keep killing deer, and putting them in the freezer. If i wing a deer, and the birds, coyotes, lions, or maggots eat it, is that OK?

scope
 

Hey Builder

When I was 53 I did not use a scope either. I am now 70 and I can't focus on the open sights. So scope for me now or give up hunting.

i meant to put some kinda clause in there.....i totally understand any kinda handicap.

I fought not using a scope for years. I really like open sights.

However, i'm 68, blind in one eye and 20/40 in my good eye (?).

My eye doctor filled out a form for me, and got me a special permit that allows me to use a scope during our ML season. I guess it's time to use it. Much safer for the animal if I can take an accurate shot.

I was worried about getting some flak. I talked to our local warden, and he said he'd prefer to see me use a scope, and if any hunters don't like it they can talk to him about it. He said they won't be happy after he gets done talking to them.

So, it's a scope for me from now on.

Whichever makes a humane kill more likely and makes your shooting time more enjoyable is the right choice IMO.

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.