New rifle with iron sights?

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Mr_Flintstone

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I’d like to buy a Savage or similar 7mm-08 bolt action, but I’m kind of an iron sight fan. Is there a way to get factory irons installed on a model like the Axis or 110 rifles?
 
Savage doesn't have any 7mm-08 rifles in the lineup with iron sights. Iron sights are one of the things we gave up to keep prices down. You'll either have to find a different brand or have a gunsmith install iron sights.

It's just assumed that everyone is going to put some kind of optic on a rifle these days.

Wow, I just did a quick and dirty check on several brands and other than rimfire and express rifles there are no iron sights to be hand.

You could get an AR-10 chambered in 7mm-08 and put sights on that.
 
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The Remington Model 7s come with iron sights. 18" barrel is a little shorter than I care for, but it's otherwise a really nifty little package.

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The Remington Model 7s come with iron sights. 18" barrel is a little shorter than I care for, but it's otherwise a really nifty little package.

View attachment 866225
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Thanks. I checked on these, but I’m not finding any with irons. They’re a little more than I wanted to pay right now anyway. I’m just wanting a plinker.

The only thing I’m finding right now in sub-$500 range in 7mm-08 is the Mossberg 100 ATR. Anyone got experience with those, or other suggestions.
 
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It used to be, even after scopes became the sighting method of choice, that most factory rifles came with open sights (probably because it took a long while before scopes became reliable enough for hunters to put their trust in and not worry about having "back-up" irons). I like having open sights for rifles being used for hunting big game, even if the primary sight is a scope. However, I do have two Ruger Model 77s sans irons and I wanted to have open sights from the Williams Gunsight Company installed. Those plans were jettisoned after they quoted me the prices for the sights and installation.
So my advice is that if you want open sights on a rifle, get a rifle that already has them, even if you have to buy used. Last I checked, the Ruger "International" MKII rifles came with very nice open sights-but I haven't checked in a while.
 
The iron sights that come on most factory rifles are one step better than useless. Most are more for decoration than practical use. If you want good quality iron sights you need to go aftermarket and be prepared to pay as much for a decent set of iron sights as a decent scope, (around $200). If the rifle you buy isn't drilled and tapped for irons it isn't terribly expensive to have it done, ($50-$75).

Personally I'd just buy a decent ($200-$300) scope, they do everything better and are proving to be every bit as rugged and reliable as GOOD iron sights. MORE rugged and reliable than the junk irons coming from the factory. A decent quality 1-4X scope is faster to get on target when set on 1X or 2X than irons, and precise enough for 300-400 yard shots on 4X. And will add about 20-30 minutes of usable hunting time in the morning and another 20-30 minutes in the evening when it is too dark to see the sights. The military isn't even using iron sights anymore.

If I had to have irons I'd buy the Savage Hog hunter. Not available in 7-08, but 308 is its ballistic twin.

https://www.savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57020
 
If you can get ahold of a pre-Accutrigger Savage 10/110, there are pre-1974 all-steel Lyman #57WJS to be had on eBay. Some of those can be had New Old Stock for decent prices depending on who's selling and who's bidding. Same story with front sights by Lyman and Redfield. If your rifle was drilled and tapped before you got it, you're probably good to go.
 
Wow, I just did a quick and dirty check on several brands and other than rimfire and express rifles there are no iron sights to be hand.

Move to Europe, problem solved, kind of. The American versions of all these don't come with the iron sights or the battue ribs unless you happen to want an elephant gun.

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Question: DIY install or gunsmith?

Installing iron sights properly is supposed to be gunsmithing 101 (but not always -- see my recent posting Front Sight Lemonade).

Since I presume you can fit a Weaver/Picatinny scope base to the receiver bridge, you can find a number of aperture rear sight options that you can screw on yourself. Skinner makes the 860 rear sight that screws directly into the receiver's scope base holes. http://www.skinnersights.com/

Most modern sporter barrels lack enough 'meat' near the muzzle to cut a 5/8" dovetail directly into the top of the barrel, so for the front sight you have the attachment options of a banded or sweat/screw-on base, or a unitized base and blade. NECG is a good place to shop around for various permanently attached options. Some target rifles have muzzles with a short pair of parallel grooves like a .22 receiver for mounting a globe front sight. That may or may not be suited to milling onto a hunting-weight barrel and don't know how rugged the attachment method would be for a field rifle, but you get a great sight picture that way:

GlobeDovetailFront.jpg
 
I like iron sights too, and I found out how uncommon they have become back when I was looking for a bolt .223 rifle. It is probably one of the things I appreciate the most about my Hog Hunter.


I am guessing it would be a tall order for the average 7mm-08. If there was a gun I really liked that ticked all the boxes except that one, I think I would just have them installed professionally.
 
All Remington Model 7’s have 20”, not 18.5” for last 20yrs.

I’ve removed the sights from my three. They wear Leupold scopes, therefore they don’t need iron sights.
 
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