Fudd Friday: Which Irons-Only Hunting Rifle?

This week for Fudd Friday, I need your help. I drew a deer tag for Utah’s “restricted rifle” hunt. The rules are simple: the rifle must be manually operated and only equipped with iron sights. If you were going on a mule deer hunt out west and had to take an irons-only setup, what would you pick? Let’s discuss.

Fudd Friday @ TFB:

• Fudd Friday: Pedersoli Baker Rifle
• Fudd Friday: The Smith & Wesson Model 29-2 Revolver
• Fudd Friday: Winchester 1911 SL - Was the "Widowmaker" Really Deadly?
• Fudd Friday: Rifle Cartridges in Revolvers - Why Keep Making Them?
• Fudd Friday: Review - The Swedish m/38 Mauser

The Hunt

Utah's restricted rifle hunt for mule deer is a relatively new opportunity. The rules are simple: the rifle must be manually operated and may only use iron sights. The regulations do specify that peep sights are allowed, though that seems to be self-evident from the definition of iron sights. My specific hunting unit is classic high desert terrain with some wide open spaces, sagebrush, and juniper trees. There are also some portions featuring taller mountains with some darker timber. This will be my first mule deer hunt, but I have hunted this type of terrain for elk previously.

Rifles I Already Have

So now it's the real question: what should I take for a rifle? Let's go through a few options that I have and a few options that I might be able to acquire, and discuss some pros and cons. And at the end of the article, please let me know what you would do, whether it is an idea I have had or some other suggestion.

First up we have the venerable Winchester Model 70 chambered in .300 Win Mag. This rifle is almost ready to go with the exception of sights. It already has the old school sight mounting block mounted up front, and the receiver is appropriately fitted for a peep sight. With the simple addition of a globe front sight and a Lyman, Redfield, or Williams aperture sight on the receiver, this gun would shoot a lot like my Model 70 Match Rifle in .30-06. The total cost to get this gun ready would be whatever it costs to score those parts on eBay. This is a very practical choice and would likely have one of the longest effective ranges of the options we will discuss.

The next approach would be taking one of my various milsurp bolt action rifles. I'm grouping these together because the pros and cons are quite similar between the various models. This could make for an interesting story, but there are many compromises that weigh against this decision. I am not a fan of the traditional notch rear sights found on many military Bolt actions. Aperture sights are simply easier to shoot well. These rifles are often heavy and in some cases not nearly as accurate as other options. But the Vibes would be good.

Among my milsurp rifles, the most likely pick would be my M1917 Enfield. The rear sight is probably the weakest point, though. The battle sight in the folded position has a 400-yard zero, meaning that the bullet's highest point of flight could result in a Miss on a deer-sized Target at 200 yards. With the rear sight flipped up, adjustments are in small increments from 200 yards to well beyond a thousand. Hopefully there will be time to flip the sight up and dial in the appropriate elevation, but there is no guarantee that would work.

One more that we have to discuss, even though it is a laughable solution, is my Zastava LK M70 Mauser rifle in .458 Winchester Magnum. Should I deer hunt with an elephant rifle? Probably not. Could I do so legally? Yes. If I was required to use a straight wall cartridge, this would be the move, but that is not a parameter I must work within for this hunt.

“New Rifles”

Now, turning to one of the best solutions, which is of course buying a new gun. Also note that I'm using the term “new” here to mean new to my collection, not necessarily new production. Here are a few ideas I've thought of. The first option and the one that I can't stop thinking about may be the least practical of all but also the most fun. Italian gun maker Davide Pedersoli announced the Kodiak Survivalist .44 Magnum side-by-side rifle earlier this year. Double rifles have a special place in the heart of anyone who has ever read a classic book about African safari hunting. Most of those doubles are chambered in cartridges like .470 Nitro Express, which would be dramatic overkill for the average Utah mule deer. The .44 Magnum, though, would be a reasonable choice as long as distances were kept close.

This gun also has the added bonus of making a hike through the Juniper and sagebrush feel like an African dangerous game hunt. Another piece of important perspective here is noting that I am a shooter who hunts rather than a serious hunter. Frankly, I am a very poor hunter, and most of my hunting is an excuse to hike around in the outdoors with a rifle and friends. Hamstringing myself with a novel firearm is unlikely to be the deciding factor in my hunting success. And that Kodiak is just so dang cool that it might even be worth missing a chance at a distant deer to have had the chance to hunt with such a rifle. I have broached the idea of using my friends as “rifle bearers” in the old African sense so I could have a magazine rifle for longer shots and a double for close country, but that would probably run afoul of the local hunting regulations (because they do not have tags for this hunt). Anyways, if anyone at Pedersoli is listening, I would love to set this up.

Another option would be a traditional milsurp rifle fitted with target sights. I love aperture sights and have thousands of hours of practice with them in various settings. Something like an m/1896 Swedish Mauser FSR would be ideal. Those rifles have a 29-inch barrel, the 6.5x55 cartridge is accurate and has great sectional density, and the receiver aperture sights offer a great sight picture and radius. A K-31 with diopters would be an option as well, but those cost a little more. In either case, the front globe sight would get a post-style insert because those are easier to use with animal targets than the circular inserts used with bullseye targets.

One of the most practical options would be the new Ruger American Scout rifle. It features a 16-inch barrel, good iron sights, and a threaded barrel that sits low enough under the sight line that a suppressor would probably work. Ruger currently offers .308 Winchester, 5.56, and 7.62x39 options, any one of which would likely work. But there is also the option of taking a Ruger American Patrol rifle in 6mm ARC and adding the H&R iron sights. The front sight costs $60, and the rear is $80, so this would be close to the same price point as the Scout version. There are other 6mm ARC Ruger Americans, but I cannot stand the spiral fluted barrels.