Do you have trouble seeing iron sights?

[JDeere]

@hps1 Nice idea there and there are other rails you can get for mounting optics. If it works for you then that's OK as well. Except for M1Cs and Ds IMO opinion its just not right for the old girl. Kind of like the folks I see wanting to put dots on Pythons. I just moved to the M14s with glass since the mounts are easy. I guess I'm just a little old school and like to leave the WWII and Korean classics the way they were used. Take care...

 

[S.Crockett]

Was issued my first Garand in the mid 50's, shot them in unit competitions for 7 years or so and a year on post AMU. Upon separation, shot personal M1 in civilian service rifle matches until I could no longer see the front sight then retired the Garand and switched to bolt guns which allowed a front aperture sight. With a Merit adjustible rear aperture sight (http://meritcorporation.com/) and the proper sized front aperture sight (shooting bullseye targets), shot the bolt guns in NRA cross the course matches (200-600 yds.) until I finally made high master at age 63, in spite of declining eyesight. Did do a lot of glasses changes toward the end, but where there is a will, there is a way. Wish I had hear of the stick on bifocal lenses back then.

Iron sights w/declining eyesight are fine on targets, but hunting game, not so much. As has been alluded to, aperture sights require good light, not always present in prime hunting time.

A few things I learned over the years.
1) Sight alignment is more critical than sight picture. An error is sight alignment error grows as range increases. Sight picture is what it is.
2) Sharp front sight is most important part of the equation.
3) Adjust rear sight aperture to focus vision on front sight.
4) Smallest front aperture front (which allows sufficient light) will sharpen image of target. A greying out of target calls for larger aperture.
5) Rule changes late in my shooting "career" allowed for a single corrective lens in either the front or rear sight. I chose to place the lens in rear sight, choosing the power based on light availability and to focus on the front sight.

At age 64 arthritis set in and I switched to coyote hunting/scoped rifles, which brings me back to the quote above. . Again, where there is a will, there is a way.

Devised a no-drill base, which replaced the rear sight on my M1. Took three tries, but finally found the right optic and after a number of years of forced retirement managed to get the old girl out of the safe.. A recap of that journey:

First mounted a FFII, which worked, but the red dot was a bit too large and beginning cataracts cause a starburst instead of a round dot. Better than irons, but still not quite target quality. A bit of scrounging in my junk box turned up a Millett red dot sight. Hmm, it would fit and not interfere w/clip loading/ejection
.

Clean red dot helped accuracy, but my 80 YO eyes at the time still needed some help. If only someone made a compact red dot w/a little magnification.

A year or so went by and I discovered the Primary Arms 3x compact scope and the Garand graduated from plinking to some serious paper punching to predator rifle in one fell swoop.

The 125 gr. NBT has the trajectory of a .270 and hammered this coyote @ 175 yds.

Had cataract surgery a couple of years ago and, lo and behold, can see iron sights reasonably well again, but not as well as w/optical assistance. Always chose the scopes for hunting due to superior light gathering ability in poor light.
One more tip, the target size/shape is all important to shooting those tiny groups. Experiment and find the best size/shape of target for your optic.

Nicely done on the M1.

For the vision-afflicted who still want to shoot their M1s at targets, or maybe critters too, the HOPCO mount, a non-permanent platform that replaces the rear sight on M1s and M1As, allows you to shoot more precisely with a mini-RDS. (Vid review below).

My choice for an RDS with be the Leupold Pro, due to the ease of installing/replacing the battery from the top of the sight, but the mount works as described and doesn’t interfere with loading or ejection of the clip or cartridges.

 

[hps1]

Nicely done on the M1.

For the vision-afflicted who still want to shoot their M1s at targets, or maybe critters too, the HOPCO mount, a non-permanent platform that replaces the rear sight on M1s and M1As, allows you to shoot more precisely with a mini-RDS. (Vid review below).

My choice for an RDS with be the Leupold Pro, due to the ease of installing/replacing the battery from the top of the sight, but the mount works as described and doesn’t interfere with loading or ejection of the clip or cartridges.

Yes, unbeknown to me, HOPCO was working on their base at same time I was. I wish I had known they were coming out with it, as they released theirs shortly after I built mine and sold them for very close to what it cost me to have mine made. I like the fact that they used the existing elevation/windage assembly to anchor their base rather than the mounting screws I chose. Much less machine work than my design. Wish I had known theirs would soon come to market, as their price was very close to what it cost me to have mine made, but have to admit it was fun when the plan came together.

I made a wooden "dummy" base that fit between the ears on the receiver and took it and an FFII to a gunsmith friend and a few weeks later picked up the finished product.

The base block pivots on two screws turned to fit holes in the "ears" and is locked at desired angle to achieve elevation zero by two small allen screws, one in front of and one behind the mounting screws:

​

With sight mounted:

I guess I'm just a little old school and like to leave the WWII and Korean classics the way they were used.

Me, too, but my pet M1 had languished in the safe for many years and when I figured out how I could shoot it again (without drilling or tapping), I went for it. While she no longer enjoys her original girlish figure, she shoots better than ever with the 3x optical assist, and what the heck, I've put on a few pounds over the years, as well.

Regards,
hps

 

[IndianaBoy]

For those of you 40+, the older, the more I’d like to hear from you, do you have trouble seeing the front sight post on apertures? Assuming a 20” barrel and your choice of a tridium or plain front post.

I assume that it would most likely be fine because presbyopia should only affect at a reading distance and the apertures should help mitigate that as well.

I am deciding if I should dedicate my love towards irons or optics. The carry handle is classic and gorgeous but I cannot see the point of being skilled with irons if, eventually, I won’t be able to use them anymore.

Not yet but age is coming for all of us.

Speaking for practical matters, optics are better than irons in every way. You can be the best iron shooter in the world but when the lighting conditions are bad, optics are like having superman's eyes. I have shot three gun matches where there was heavy fog/haze in the morning, and sun in your face. Irons were a nightmare, scopes made the targets pop right out into the open. Same thing with shooting a major match where it was an issue getting every stage shot before dark. When the light starts to fade, glass is your only option.

Just like night hunting for coyotes. You can try to muddle through with various red lighting systems and try to see through a day scope or you can buy a thermal and play the game with a cheat code.


I like to hunt with iron sights because I enjoy the challenge. If I had to hunt to fill my stomach, I would always choose a rifle with optics.