With antler restrictions in place and no scope, how do you make decisions on whether or not a deer is legal? Do you depend on a good set of binoculars or just keep your shots limited to what you can safely recognize with the naked eye?

Earlier this year I shot a deer for the first time with an open-sighted 30-30. I thought it was a doe but it turned out to be a spike. I wasn’t bothered at all that it turned out to be a spike, but it did make me recognize the challenge in using the naked eye to judge deer at a distance.

If you tell the GW that you were using open sights and actually thought the Deer was over 13 inches he will cut you some slack.

Ha Ha

Sights or scope, I still check every deer I think about shooting with good binoculars.

If I say Holy S#$[ then it is legal.

Yes Sir.

It seems this is a topic that might create good discussion beyond what I expected.

Using binoculars would seem to work best when you have plenty of time to watch a given deer, like when sitting in a box stand and watching a feeder. I’m thinking someone hunting with open sights would more likely be in a closer and more restricted setup and with far less time and space to make a call and get off a shot. He/she might be positioned near a travel route or pinch point where they only have a few seconds to decide to take a shot.

At my age and with my eyes, I’m wondering if I will just have to accept the fact that open sights will only work for me in the closest setups.

Still, I’m sure there are others like myself who would enjoy hearing tips from those who frequently use binoculars to judge deer. Can you routinely judge a deer and get off a shot in 30 seconds or less?

Like I tell my family that I let hunt on our place, if in doubt, dont.

It's a choice you make to hunt with open sights. It doesn't matter if you can't see as well or as far, or that your shot opportunity is minimized due to closer shots. By choosing open sights you also choose to handicap yourself. That being said, I hog hunt with an open sights 45-70 marlin. I decided to deer hunt with that gun this year, and scoped it just for that purpose.

If I hunted an AR county, I would mount 14" long boards painted white at about 100, and 200 years in several place from the blind, so I could compare them tp the deer. First time I saw the ones my buddy had in his pasture, I couldn't wait to ask him what those boards were for, made sense after he told me.

I spend a lot of the season carrying open-sighted rifles and, while I don't personally have to deal with mandated antler restrictions, I still want to KNOW what I'm considering dropping the hammer on. Binos just become part of the equation.

Mark

8x32 binocular

they have a wide fold of view and lightweight so you can keep them handy around your neck.

Yes.

I always use bino's mainly just to observe the deer with my old eyes.
When it comes to figuring out if a deer is 13" don't try to over think it.
If you aren't sure let it walk.

With open sights your sight picture of the deer is covered up at 100 yards or so. Why would you jeopardize wounding an animal? Scopes allow pinpoint placement of your bullet. Maybe hogs and varmints but deer? No way.

As far as being able to get off a shot in 30 seconds, if I'm paying attention and not on my phone, ( like now), I can throw up my binos, stick an earplug in my left ear and get off a shot in 10 seconds or less.

I often hunt with a levergun with peep sights. I too have shot a spike thinking it was a doe. If you are taking shots at over 100 yards, yes, open sights is a bad idea...but who takes a shot with a levergun at game at over 100 yards? Under 100 yards, it's not too tough to figure out if he is legal. Same principal as with binos...if you are not 100% sure, then don't shoot.

the hardest part of this method is training the bucks to go hold their antlers up to the board to make sure they are wide enough.

Why not just use the ears....?

Dan, nobody longs for the nostalgic days of open sights more than me but you have to rednekonize that it has a limitation.

It does nothing to enhance your limitations which is its only limitation.

I, personally, only use iron sights when hunting in the woods where my shots are <40 yards. My .357 is deadly under those circumstances. However, for guys who are more comfortable I would guess it would be necessary to use some binos for insurance.

If I'm not confident in placing a bullet where it needs to go, I don't shoot...scope or not. Iron sights simply result in more hunting and less shooting...and I'm perfectly at home with that equation.

Mark