My older eyes are being challenged with focusing on three points these days (rear barrel bladed sight, front sight and target).
Typically the rear sight becomes out of focus.
Probably still functional to 30 yds.
Trying to decide to simply remove the stand up in the rear sight and replace with blade.
Now: Install a rear ghost ring, a reflex or a good 1 X5,6,8 scope.
I can use all three pretty well. Reflex is probably the fastest. The scope adds some flexibility and the units i have tried worked very well at 1X. Easy to shoot with both eyes open.
The rear ghost ring is likely the least likely to fail in any manner and requires no batteries.
Curious what others familiar with these options think?
This is on big bore I would not likely shoot over 100 yds.

EZ

I've been doing quite a bit of shooting lately with a 458 Lott and 375 H&H in prep for a hunt and have been using all three modalities quite a bit. The 375 is fitted with NECG express rear and red fiber optic front, as well as a Swaro 1-6 illuminated (CDi reticle). The 458 has NECG express rear (with a tritium center line) and red fiber optic front site, as well as a Kahles Helia 2MOA RD.

I'm having no trouble with the express sights on either rifle, or the Helia RD. The Swaro is an EE model and I have a slight bit of trouble with eye-box from time to time if I crawl the stock too much (even on 1x).

I'm REALLY liking the open sight setup on the 458. Tim from Matrix fitted the tritium centerline rear sight as a trial piece he's working on and it makes a quite night "dot the I" set up, similar to the Heinie Straight-8 pistol sights. With the 2mm red FO front sight, its really quite and quite easy to see quickly. I'm looking at it through (assumedly) younger eyes, so YMMV, but worth a try.

Night force makes nice 1X8X24 with sort of illuminated circle dot reticle I prefer. They note it can easily handle the Lott recoil. Looked at it at the DSC convention; nice scope.
Only issue is 3.75" eye relief.
Leupold used to offer a illuminated circle dot on their VX6HD but have not seen it lately. Perhaps a custom shop option.
A couple of reflex options with a circle dot.

When my eyes finally insisted I use something other than the irons on my #1 400 Jeff, I went the Easy Button route.

I put on a 1.5-4x20mm in low rings to solve the problem. As an aside, I'm a bit surprised the scope hasn't yet crapped out on me. It wasn't that much $$$.

eezridr,

I vote for a scope everytime regardless of what your intended use might be. Irons to me are only a back up. My big rifle these days has a detachable scope and a ghost ring that fits on the scope base. With a fluorescent dot front site and the ghost ring I'm good even with my old man eyes.

Mark

I'm in the process of building a 500 Jeff.Customer will have a Trijicon at the front ring location and back up irons

Anxious to try that out. He wisely wanted back up irons because doesn't FULLY trust any battery operated device.

I put a 1-4 Kahles on my own 500 way back when..Dumb idea!

I use Brockman peep which is basically a Talley base with a peep on the back. I do have that on three rifles. ; A 375 Weatherby, 416 Remington and 458 win mag.
Not certain if Brockman makes a base for a CZ 550.
I know CZ/BRNO at one time made a peep that was milled into the rear of the receiver and you could "pin" it down and still mount a scope base on the pad.
Probably just a milling operation if the peep components were still available.
NECG makes peep that attaches to the rear part of the receeiver but would block adding a scope. Mixed reviews on that option.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
eezridr,

I vote for a scope everytime regardless of what your intended use might be. Irons to me are only a back up. My big rifle these days has a detachable scope and a ghost ring that fits on the scope base. With a fluorescent dot front site and the ghost ring I'm good even with my old man eyes.

Mark

I am blessed and can still see a gold center-lined, wide V rear express sight well enough, and allow it to blur a bit, so that I can focus on my red fiber optic bead front sight well enough, to pull the bead down into the very bottom center of the V.

And still shift focus well enough and see my target well enough to aim the rifle at it.

That combo of gold line rear and red fiber optic front iron sights has always worked and continues to work well for me.

Knock on wood.

Although I use a scope on everything else, I use a Lyman 48 receiver sight in conjunction with a sourdough front sight on a Williams ramp on my .505 SRE.

Consideering how close the ranges were that I used the rifle at, it was a good choice, mated with a stock which fits perfectly and lines my eye up with the sight automatically. It has never failed me.

A proper pair of glasses and a Receiver sight with a post have worked for me at 88 years old, over the last few years on the real big bores..I liked the 3X Leupold and still do on a 404 or 414 Rem..I have also noted my LOP has required changing from a 14.25 to a 13.5..As you age the shoes don't fit!

flash: You have never been able to bore in on 3 objects, only two and one blur since birth, same for the rest of us..Peep sight corrects that as do scopes..gives you only two to concentrate on..

If you have a nice set of barrel front and rear sights, usually a V, then sight you rifle in with a picture of a pistol sight, the post flush with the top of the V, an old Texas Ranger trick and it works as well and as fast as a receiver sight..We all have to deal with this as we age, so don't give up..

quote:

Originally posted by Puddle:
When my eyes finally insisted I use something other than the irons on my #1 400 Jeff, I went the Easy Button route.

I put on a 1.5-4x20mm in low rings to solve the problem. As an aside, I'm a bit surprised the scope hasn't yet crapped out on me. It wasn't that much $$$.

I have a Leupold 1.5-5x on my 500 Jeffery, no issues and it hasn't bit me. I don't shoot the 500 prone though.

It may be just me but I have never seen the need for a scope on a real big bore, 458 Win and up. An elephant at 15 yards or a buffalo at under a 100 seems to be a pretty easy shot to make, no matter how you cut it..I would think a hunter could hit a washtub at 200 plus yards with irons..Some might be better off with a replacement scope in their duffle..

As for me I enjoy shooting irons while hunting or busting rocks..If one has not shot running jack rabbits at 25 to 300 yards with irons, they have missed a kick! and absolutely become better shots...Don't get upset over a miss, it happens a lot..