Quote Originally Posted by DeeDubya View Post
Scopes have always been over-rated for deer hunting which in brush country is usually 25 - 50 yds. Basil won't agree with me since his shots out in West Texas could be 300 yds or more.
Actually, I killed my first deer with a .244 Remington with open sights. It was probably 35 yards. I've also killed deer with a .222, .270, and a .30-06, the latter of which is my personal gun. All of these had scopes on them. I grew up hunting in San Saba Co., which is not far from you. There is a lot of brush hunting and some people there swear by a .30-30 with open sights. There are also a lot of long-range conditions and my dad once made a shot, standing, no rest, that dropped his target at over 400 yards with the .270 mentioned above. It wasn't a fluke - he was consistently one of the better marksmen and shotgunners I've ever met.

The .30-06 was a gift from him and he justified it with the thinking that it is versatile - one of the only guns that can be used anywhere on this continent. That's probably pretty accurate. It's too heavy for central Texas whitetail unless it's a clean neck shot which is what I try for. A scope simplifies this at longer distances.