Why do folks put scopes on their deer hunting rifles?

[svsboris]

when the deers give up their scopes I'll give up mine

 

[Comanche]

I'm just saying pointing a loaded gun at something that you don't intend to shoot is breaking one of the safety rules.........is it not?

Well.
The way I hunt is that my gun is on safe with my finger OFF the trigger until I am sure my target is aquired...then click, squeeze, bang!
I have scanned several deer through my scope that were moving in front of me.

Did not mean to upset the Internet police.

 

[longslide10]

Number one: If you're just shooting "the deer in it's side," you're doing it wrong and inhumanely and you probably shouldn't be hunting in the first place.

Probably?

 

[rOmiLaYu]

You guys must be teenagers.. My 62 year old eyes cant focus on iron sights and a target. I can do one or the other hence a scoped rifle me. And yes I have taken groundhogs in excess of 600 yards.

This mounted on either the 220 Swift or the 22-250 Prairie dogs fear me ...

Mmmmmmm......Unertl

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I can just see you with the helmet with the side coasters and hoses.
Boilermakers *****es!!!!!!!!!!

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Probably?

I was being kind

 

[meastt]

Either he really was trolling or he just now realized that shooting big game "in the side" is retarded.

 

[jstephens99]

my deer huntin rifle doesnt have irons... otherwise i would go with irons. but then again i got the sight with the gun in a trade

 

[DaveTheMinion]

I use scopes on rifles for many reasons.

1. Deer can spot movement like hawks and the less unnecessary movements I don't have to make the better.
I can get a good, magnified look at the deer I am watching to make sure it's big enough, mature enough or meets antler requirements especially when they are moving in cover.

2..I don't want to move my rifle and risk moving again to bring binoculars up to my face, then moving again to bring my rifle back up....that's a lot of possible movement that the deer can see to get spooked and run.......I spooked a trophy buck of a lifetime at a WMA for doing exactly that last season.
I lost sight of him when he stopped and I blinked my eyes and he disappeared.
After a couple minutes of zero movement I debated using my binos to search him out and when I brought them up to my face...he jumped up and bolted like lightning and was gone.

3. I can use my scope as I would my binoculars......get a good look at the deer or several deer to pick the one I want and maintain a magnified look on them without switching from rifle to binos back to rifle and never have to make barely any motion at all other than following the deer as it moves.

I'm sticking with scopes all the way.

Agreed, I've also known several people that have taken deer at 500-600 yards on leases (They're not all densely wooded, and as NWSharpshooter said, just because you don't hunt inareas that afford long shots, doesn't mean there aren't some circumstances that require long distance shots). Also have to Agree with CCW, I'm not the biggest fan of Optics, it builds shooter skill using irons vs Using an Optic, but for a "meal gun", you want the best shot possibly afforded. And who said shooting a deer "In its side" is in humane? A well placed shot behind the shoulder will go through both lungs and the heart and is an instant stop 99 percent of the time with effective calibers and placement...a head shot is a VERY small shot on a deer.

 

[DaveTheMinion]

But if hunting with optics is too easy well all use .17hmr with iron sights, fmj to keep hunting a "skill"......

Deer are a highly populous animal in the south...Hunting is not just a sport, it is a necessity, both for their eco system and our property. Max the bag limit, stuff the freezer, repeat.

 

[Hasselhoss]

Scope schmope.... I usually just chase them down with a football bat.

 

[57tr6]

I cant see the iron sights anymore but I can see my target clearly. If I put on my reading glasses I can see the sights but the target is blured. Had to go to a scope. My grandchildren will all get proficiant with iron sights beore they ever look through a scope.