Did you shoot your first deer with open sights?

[JohnCushman]

Shot my first deer, a small button buck, with a recurve bow

 

[INMT]

Shot my first whitetail with a New England Firearms Co. single shot 20 gauge.

 

[MS 9x56]

Shot mine with an Ithica single shot model 66 20 gauge with sights.

 

[RaiderRich]

I was 16 at the time and shot it with a Savage 1921 12 gauge pump with a bead sight

 

[Rie Bread]

30-30 Winchester octagon barrel from 1896

 

[popeyoung12]

1100 slug gun.

 

[hamwhiskeyjungle]

I did shoot my first deer with open sights. It was a wild experience, let me tell you. Felt like a sharpshooter in an old Western movie!

 

[CUElk]

Probably my first 5 or 6 were with open sights. First 2 with a Remington 870, slug. Then graduated to a lever action marlin 30-30. Great memories

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

Yes and shitty iron sights at that. Couldn’t even label them proper buckhorn. Yet if I’d used a Williams or Lyman diopter target peep with an appropriate front globe insert… well I don’t think I’d ever have use for scopes.

 

[the nikster]

First couple were open sighted 30-30 marlin.
Then I got a couple with an old 30-06 Springfield I bought off a neighbor.
Dad let me shoot his savage 308 with an old Tasco the year I turned 16.
Got a few muzzleloader kills and archery since but mostly scoped rifles the last 40 or so.

 

[Nicoli7153]

Open sights Marlin 336 .30-.30 Winchester 10 yards or less in Da UP

 

[SCmountainwanderer]

Yes…20 gauge single shot NEF Pardner with a slug in ‘93. Dad purchased a new rifle the next spring and handed down his Marlin 336 purchased in 1978 with an old Tasco scope on see thru mounts the next season. Still my favorite rifle to use.

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Shot my first with a 12 Ga. Winchester Ranger model 128 with just a bead sight. 00 buck shot did the trick. Man was I a happy kid with that big doe 40 years ago.

 

[mleonard23]

Yes

 

[mleonard23]

Yes

 

[rikard78]

I got together with my father last night to do some reloading, and we were discussing my oldest son (9), being able to hunt deer in the youth hunt next year. He’s a left-eyed shooter, so I was pondering investing in a rifle for him.

As I was voicing options, my dad kind of shook his head and stated his opinion that my son oughta shoot his first deer with a lever gun he owns that would fit him right now. I can buy him a rifle when he grows a bit. I kind of pushed back, wanting the boy to have more range on offer and something with a scope. But then as he does, dad gently pontificated that he, me, my brother, my mother, and my wife - all shot our first deer with open sights, which by way, is more virtuous.

I shot my first deer with an iron-sighted model 94 30-30 at about 70 yards. I don’t think the experience would’ve been any less or more glorious to me with a scoped gun. At the time to me it was just glorious.

View attachment 305296


TBD on what the boy shoots his first deer with, but it got me thinking. Does anyone start their kids out with open sights anymore?

Don’t take the age ranges personal. They are somewhat arbitrary and the demographic of HuntTalk members not being representative of the whole, this ain’t scientific. I also think this poll may not apply as much to adult-onset hunters, though I'd be interested in their answers too.

Feel free to mention what rifle you used (if it was a rifle) for your first deer.

I was 5yr old . 12 gauge Marlin Goose Gun. Dad held it and I aimed. Kid you not...

 

[MS 9x56]

51 years ago I killed my first buck with a 20 gauge Ithica model 66 super single shot with pumpkin ball slugs. It did have a set of open sights on its barrel.

 

[BrentD]

I got together with my father last night to do some reloading, and we were discussing my oldest son (9), being able to hunt deer in the youth hunt next year. He’s a left-eyed shooter, so I was pondering investing in a rifle for him.

As I was voicing options, my dad kind of shook his head and stated his opinion that my son oughta shoot his first deer with a lever gun he owns that would fit him right now. I can buy him a rifle when he grows a bit. I kind of pushed back, wanting the boy to have more range on offer and something with a scope. But then as he does, dad gently pontificated that he, me, my brother, my mother, and my wife - all shot our first deer with open sights, which by way, is more virtuous.

I shot my first deer with an iron-sighted model 94 30-30 at about 70 yards. I don’t think the experience would’ve been any less or more glorious to me with a scoped gun. At the time to me it was just glorious.

View attachment 305296


TBD on what the boy shoots his first deer with, but it got me thinking. Does anyone start their kids out with open sights anymore?

Don’t take the age ranges personal. They are somewhat arbitrary and the demographic of HuntTalk members not being representative of the whole, this ain’t scientific. I also think this poll may not apply as much to adult-onset hunters, though I'd be interested in their answers too.

Feel free to mention what rifle you used (if it was a rifle) for your first deer.

Give your dad a hug for me, and listen to every word he has to say.

 

[NY_BLUES]

Shot my first 2 deer with a compound bow. My 1st deer with a gun was taken with a Remington 870 with rifle sights. I've graduated to a M77 in .308, but there is just something that I find magical about carrying the old 12 gauge. I find myself taking it for a walk in the woods every year, but haven't shot a deer with it since 2011.

 

[Ought Six]

3-9 leupy