How To Zero A Rifle With Open Sights 30-30 

I have a little bit of advice for anyone adjusting the windage on an open rear sight. I place a piece of tape on the barrel directly in front of the pointer on the rear sight. I then use a fine point pen to mark the exact location of the pointer on the tape. This provides a reference point when you are driving the sight in either direction. You will know when you moved the sight and by how much. You can then make appropriate adjustments back or forth until you get the windage correct. This keeps you from banging back and forth without a reference point😊.

…And that’s the reason I installed a Williams aperture site on my Marlin 30-30. Accurate, great sight picture, and easy to adjust.

I used to hunt with an old man from Sebring FL down in the Everglades, He used a Winchester 30-30 with no sights. He always brought meat to the camp. You brought back some memories, Thank you 😎👍🍻

I really enjoyed the journey back to basics, thank you for sharing.

Just got my first ever lever gun in 336 30/30, can't wait to sight it in next week. Thanks Ron for the guidance, muchly appreciated

Thanks..its all in the rear sight. Basic move it in the direction you want the point of impact to change

The good ole reverse lead. Been awhile since I have heard that and open sights RULE.

I have a 1970 Western Field 740a EMN { Marlin re-badged for Wards } , had same problem , fought with it for years , never liked the sights , tried aftermarket day glo front sight , finally gave up on the open sights and put a scope on it 😀 Now it's a tack driver at 100 yards , nice video though .

Draw a line on the barrel with a pencil just in front of the point of the sight. That will help you judge how far you have moved the sight from the original position when you hit it with a hammer. Makes corrections easier if you go to far. When you are done erase the mark.

Finally someone that understands how irons are meant to be used. Most people think the sights should cover the target. For years I've felt like I've been taking crazy pills!

Thanks for sharing! I was needing a reminder on sighting in open sights. The last time I did that was nearly 40 years ago, with a Marlin 60. Bought a Marlin 336Y .30-30 a couple of years ago, but have yet to fire a single round. It's just been sitting in my safe.😁 Maybe this Summer I might actually take it to the range and sight it in.😎

The hold at 50 was perfect and at 100 yard’s because the bullet rises then drops. I’m watching this video because I purchased a marlin 336 to try deer hunting with it this year with just iron sights. I’ve always used 30-06, 270, 300 win mag with a scope just a bolt action rifle. I’ve recently gotten into lever actions and needed to know how to zero the iro sights so thank you for this video.

If I was sighting in this rifle I would use a white wipe off marker and draw a line on the barrel and rear sight so when you're taping the doved sight to see how much you are moving it. left or right Just a bit of a help tip.

In my opinion there is no better cartridge for deer hunting inside 200 yards than the good old .30-30 Winchester. It's mild shooting, effective, and the rifles it is often chambered in come to the shoulder quickly and swing easily. My Marlin generally prefers 170 grain bullets over 150s though I'm thinking of trying some of the 150 grain barnes tsx flatnose bullets out of it next year. With Remington corlokt factory ammo it'll hold just under 1.5 MOA out to 200 yards.

The tap it brothers. Great click and clack reference l. RIP.

Just seeing this today 9/3/22. I harvested my first deer with my 3030 Model 94 Winchester in Maine 1980 . I haven't made any adjustments ever. Now I know how to do it. I guess it's a Trip to the Tripp range lol.

You would love the Hornady Leverolution ammo. It has a much higher BC than the style you are using in this video.

Thanks for the video. I may hunt with my old Model 94 30-30 this year.

We could not hunt deer with a centerfire rifle where I grew up, we had to use a shotgun with slugs. My first centerfire was a 22-250, that is still a great cartridge. Maybe you have done a video on that, but if you have not, you should! The 220 swift is better, but not by much. I tend to like to blot the target out with irons. I really like "peep" sights better. still blot the target out for me. To each his own.

Thanks for sharing this Ron. I have always wanted a lever gun, but I want mine in either a 44 Mag or 45/70 since my brother and father have 30-30s and those cartridges are legal in my neighbor state of Ohio. I know that the principles are the same. My youngest brother shoots his Marlin 336 with iron sights and shoots it rather well.

You really are making this a bigger deal than it needs to. This is one the easiest things to do. I am 28 and have been doing this since I was 16.

After resetting, usually i apply uncoloured nail polish to see if the sight has changed after bumbing in too somthing. Only one drop of polish needed too se if somthing happend.

Well damn! Hello from the Black Hills of SD!

Ron, without fail, every Marlin 336 I've ever owned, I could not get point of impact (POI) to point of aim (POA). I was always too high by at least 6" with the rear sight at its lowest notch. I would have to order a taller front sight and begin the process of filing it down slowly until POI was the same as POA at 50yds with the rear sight still at its lowest setting. Then by moving the rear sight up 1 notch, I was usually about 2.5" high at 100yds (150gr winchester power points). Never liked peep sights. Too hard to find the target in the woods in a small peep. Another trick I used was to file the sides of the front blade evenly until the blade was smaller than the bullseye at 100yds. Much easier to see the target this way. No front sight hood either. Can't find the target quick enough with a sight hood in place.

Or you could mount a red dot on it :) This was awesome!

That "first deer ever" story is absolutely fantastic, Ron. Probably why you ended up making a whole career out of it! Because just like that shot, it was just meant to be. I have to say, watching you bang on that rear sight was a lot of fun. And a little cringe worthy too! But the first rifle I ever "hunted" with was a 22 Hornet with open sites. Although, it did not need to be sited in. It had already taken 2 doe, both shot between the eyes. So, accuracy was not an issue. My granddad was very frugal with his ammo. So I had only shot it once before my big hunting debut. I had hit dead center on a soup can lid at 35 yards, so my grandad said I was good to go. There is obviously a huge difference between a sitting soup can lid at 35 yards and a trotting spike buck at 65. I was only 6 years old at the time, so I feel like it is ok that I didn't take a shot. And honestly I did the correct and ethical thing by not pulling the trigger. Because I couldn't even see the deer and the iron sites at the same time. He was going to shoot also with his 30/30 anyway, to make sure it was clean kill. So he ended up taking it by himself. He seemed really disappointed, I felt bad for him. But I made up for that in a big way this last 20-21 season though. Although my granddad was not with me, I feel like he is always there when I am hunting on my property. You see, my great grandfather bought 67 acres for my granddad back in the early 50's. Just so he could have a place of his own to go deer hunting. It has provided us with much game every year since, way back then. My grandparents built a beautiful, stone home there in the early 90's. That is where they lived when he passed on. I will tell this story right now because the gun I used had also been my grandfather's. My granddad had bought a replica, 9mm Spanish Military muzzleloader kit, sometime during the 50's. He had shot this gun many times on the property before, but he never used it for deer hunting. When he passed away I inherited it and was extremely impressed with the accuracy. Instead of .356 round ball, I just use 125gr 9mm hollow point pistol bullets. But as far as sites go, these things are about as impossible to see as they can get. There is no adjustments whatsoever and the rear site is a cast bulge in the breech with a slot filed into it. I am serious that this thing is hard to see. It only sets up about a 1/16th above the barrel. So basically you are just looking down the top of the barrel. I decided to use it for hunting this last year, because I has already missed the whole season. And it was the last week of muzzle loader. I used to go out to the property all the time, whenever I wanted to. And have always hunted every year during archery and rifle, but never during muzzle loader. But I am currently taking care of my dad, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's back in 2016. So, I just can't make it out there conveniently anymore. That is some of why I enjoy watching Ron's videos so much these days. Because he is doing all the things that I used to love to do all the time. Ok, back to my story: I had taken a few practice shots at the same distance I was planning to be away from my feeder where I would be set-up at. Knowing that the sites are almost impossible to see, I decided to set-up on the ground with a shooting bipod I bought a couple years ago. I was going to sit on a hunting, stadium-style-seat with adjustable straps for setting the angle of the back. While pointing my gun atop of my new shooting sticks, exactly where I knew the deer would be. I hadn't got to use them yet, and they were almost 40 bucks. It was time to finally get my moneys worth from them. So the morning of my hunt, I'm perfectly in position. The feeder goes off and I am ready for action. Checking down the barrel to make sure there is enough light, so I can see my sites when the time comes. I was caught completely off guard by what turned out to be a little, legal spike buck. Little joker snuck up behind me and snorted about 5 yards away. Startled me pretty good, but I maintained my position. Expecting him to end in my field of vision. But after about 10 minutes of hearing him snort and stomp around behind me, I realize I might need to try to turn and take a shot. Well, this was not going to be easy. I was basically stuck in that dang new hunting chair! And I don't know what has happened to my freaking neck, but it sounded like I was breaking a bunch of sticks when I tried to turn my head! Seriously, I was all the sudden thinking I was going to do some real damage just trying to get a look at this thing. So when I realized my neck was not going to stop making all those ridiculous popping sounds, I decide to get where I could at least be on my knees. So, as slowly as I could I lay the gun down, and proceed to get on my hands and knees. There was enough brush that the deer and I could not see one another. So I was able to get to my feet, grab my gun and slowly raise up. Only to see this little spike buck looking right me and "about to lift tail" and run off. So I quickly shoulder the rifle, as I see a big buck running broad side to me about 40 yards away. I had one chance and it had to count. Enough time for my brain to start telling me, "don't look for the sites, just look down the barrel" I saw the side of the buck on top of my barrel, so I literally dropped the hammer. At the same time I ducked down and proceed to load another round. I stand back up and there is that same little spike buck running in circles about 25 yards out. He did not want to leave, because his buddy was laying over there on the ground. The buck I took ended up being a really old 9 point. Pretty cool when I realized, that hunting for the first time with my antique 9mm muzzleloader, was also the first time I had ever shot a 9 point buck. So I got a 9 with a 9. The bullet hit dead center in the rib cage. Breaking a rib, punctured a lung and broke the spine. I loaded with a lighter than normal charge, or it would have been a pass through. Because it had only punctured one lung, I had to finish him with another round. One of the most exciting hunts I've ever had.

Great video, looks like patience and a box or two of ammo would fix the average ‘94. Ron, have you ever used one of the Marbles Bullseye type rear sights? The typical buckhorn sights cover too much of the target to me, my opinion.

My 22 has a rear sight like that

Like watching a caveman build a fire. Lol, I enjoyed the video.

Hi Ron, would you be able to do a review on the 300wsm? Please

Awesome

On a Marlin 336, do you adjust the front sight for windage?

why havent they improved this sight? You shouldnt have to hammer a sight into alignment

I have used .30 caliber rifles most of my life hunting deer here in southeast Oklahoma. Mostly open sights. I have used the .30-.30, .300 Savage, .308 and the .30-06. In sighting these guns in open sighted I have always used a fine sight (front bead in the bottom of the notch in back sight). I have always set my target at 25 yards. According to ballistics of the .30 caliber by sighting your gun in at 25 yards it should be around 1-2 inches high at 100 yards and back on target at 200 yards. Now I am 68 years old and have used this method since I was around 14 years old. I haven’t missed many deer using this method and those that I have missed was not because my sights were off. You must understand that this is no where near precise shooting as they do these days but my method will keep you in the game with a .30 caliber gun!

Anyone else miss buying bolt action rifles with open sights? Me too.

Growing potatoes, wearing flannel and shooting a 30-30. Three of my favorite things to do. Great video as always Ron.

In the Navy, we always said if it doesn't work, use a hammer. If the hammer doesn't work, use a bigger hammer. And adjusting windage is always tricky, but well worth it.

Thank you for the great video. This one was particularly helpful to me since I do most of my deer hunting with an open sight m94 Winchester in 30-30.

Thanks for this video Ron! I love the lever guns and have several. Use them on our farms/ranches here in Saskatchewan. I would also like to put a plug in for the 32Win Spl! My 30/30’s are awesome but I also love the 32Win Spl. Great cartridge and underestimated in my opinion. Maybe you have the juice to bring it back to life. 😀 Stay well.

Hey Ron can't wait for more vids from you, I'm kind of addicted to your vids now, plenty of knowledge and wisdom, I think I'm buying a 30 30 next, Thanks Ron

Thanks Ron for going into details about use of the open sight and adjusting it. I was taught some many years ago . You just made it easier for me to see how to do it . Keep up the good work and teach us what you know and like to past on to the rest of those that are willing to learn.

Sold my Winchester 30-30 when I was in my late 20s, because i knew everything back then.. stupid move..very ashamed of myself because my dad bought it for me when I was 15...I bought another one in my 50s..but that allways bothered me for the little amount I got for it

Next time adjusting windage, use a strip of "salvaged" paper bar coding from whatever and clear tape it to the barrel right under the arrow tip at the end of the horseshoe sight. use the lines for calibration marks. mark one in center and go from there. Also, use base of spent brass cartridge butted up to sight when hammering to avoid marring or scratching.

Take a no2 lead pencil and mark the rear sight and barrel so you can see if it moves and how much it moves. When done use your gun oil on a gun rag and wipe your pencil mark off

Thank you once again for your instruction. Would love to see you do a sight in with Win. 94 30-30 using peep sights. Just a thought…. Thanks again

Oh man I hated this ive but nicks in my old gun by accident even using brass. Got my GPas model 94 built 1896.

Ron, thanks for the model '94 and 30-30 video, any video with those two in it is a hit with me!

Great video and story! Just a little while ago Who Tee Who was showing Remington producing 30-30 at an amazing rate. My 30-30 story is about my daughter In-laws great uncle. Him and other men guarded the Hoover damn with their 30-30's during the second world war against Japanese fighter's. That's cool, I wish I had met him. By the way I asked Adam from WTW channel to send me a couple of boxes of 30-30. Have a great day Ron and be safe! Sincerely Ruger Rich

As always thankyou for the video i love watching and learning from you. I have old eyes and unfortunately yesterday with my new Marlin 336 .30-30 i had lots trouble trying to sight in with open sights. The trouble i have is even though the front sight post is reasonably clear I can’t see the target well enough to line up the post consistently for each shot, therefore the groups were just terrible. I love open sights & really didnt want a scope on this rifle so i am thinking of a red dot 🔴 instead. Anyway didnt mean to whine about my problems! Thanks again for an informative and entertaining video 👍 Cheers Jeff (Down Under Australia 🇦🇺)

That should help a lot of people who don't know how to sight in an open sight rifle. Good video!

I’d like to go on a pheasant hunt with you , even if it’s only on yt

Thanks Ron, enjoyed watching, very informative. Been waiting for my Henry .30-30 side gate since spring.

Good video Ron, love the old 30/30! I've owned several and a couple of 32s also. My last one was a octagonal barrelled rifle. I still think the carbine with an aperature or a red dot is about as good as it gets for the Whitetail woods!

Great video! Thank you

Awesome vedio love the 30 30 🇿🇦

My eyes suck with buckhorns these days. I’ve gone to peep/ aperture sights on my lever guns. A couple even have low power scopes. Even on one power the cross hair make fast shots easy to see. I don’t care a lick what people say about scopes on levers, my freezer is full. Hunting isn’t a fashion show…

so what I do is pencil mark where sight is then tap it so you can see how much you moved it

Great Rifle Choice Ron 😀👍🏼 Thanks For The Tips 😀

Thanks for a wonderful video. Great dog and I'll bet those potatoes were delicious!

If i may Suggest Ghost Rings sights they are just as fast as factory sights. With out any Caveman Adjusting needed.

Memories, I remember my first centerfire, Winchester 3030, used half a box of shells. Re read Mr. Jack and got on the black at 50yds.He was my mentor and hero.

Great video Ron, Thanks, and I'm glad I'm not the only one that shoots for east overshoot with iron sights. just giving you some razz. I always used clear fingernail polish to coat the dove tail area so the sight will stay put. It's just a bit of assurance that it doesn't move in case the rifle gets dropped or I fall in the field with it. My first deer rifle was a good old 30-30.

Thanks Ron for sharing. I do this a little different to save ammo: using a tape measure and vernier caliper and the idea of similar triangles. For example, take the depth gauge end of the vernier (pointy pin that sticks out from the end when you move it), and get the horizontal distance from the barrel or stock edge to the side of the rear sight. Get a few readings to make sure you're consistent. Then press the zero button on the caliper. The formula for moving the sight (convert all numbers to inches first) would be horizontal rear sight move needed (inches) = sight radius x error / distance from front sight to target. In your case the numbers are 50 yards or 1800 inches, 2.5 inch error, 17 inch sight radius, using the formula will result 17inches x 2.5 inches / 1800 inches = 0.024 inches. So you tap the sight in the desired direction until your previously zeroed vernier reads 0.024 inches. Note that this formula also works for vertically raising the rear sight, so you could have measured the sight notch difference, and using the result above, noticed that a difference of 0.024 would give you about 2.5 inches change at 50 yards and 5 inches at 100 yards. I'd be inclined to make a shim because those notches are around .080 inches apart, (going from memory) and will make too much of a change. Note that the formula above can be used to calculate approximate front sight adjustments, but using the target to rear sight distance if a more exact value is needed.

So did the cute dog find what it was looking for? I have an English setter and he might be one the coolest dogs I have ever met. He is a llewellin. Super smart dog.

I use a pencil to make a mark on the barrel where the point of the rear sight is so I can see when the sight moves.

When I see hammers combined with rifles; I have nightmares. Being current prices of 94 models or ones like it have serious price tags now days. I would add a simple and more useful aperture sight for about $50 dollars. You might not look like John Wayne using one but, you have a better chance of shooting as well as he did in his movies. The 30-30 was never a bad hunting cartridge but, the rifles are another story. If you used Buck Horn sights very much and upgraded to a peep sight you will be amazed to the ease of using one. Considering the price of ammo and rifles they are great bargains. That is what suggest; Pilgrims. 🤠 Williams 5D Series 94/36 Receiver Peep Sight.

Brilliant, thanks Ron !!

Hi Ron, love your easy going attitude! I have a question about bolt thrust. Just me, but I don't see how the diameter of the round base has anything to do with thrust when a 30-06 and .308 have the same rated thrust, yet the 30-06 is a more powerful round and would seem to push back harder than the .308. Maybe you can better explain this to me, thanks!

My luck I'd spend a week trying to get it right only to drop the rifle right on the rear sight getting out of my truck opening day.

Dang them some great lookin taters .Heck yea.

Thank you for pushing it too far on the first hit with the hammer. I really didn't fully understand how the sight was set into the gun. The visual helped a lot.

Best upgrade for model 94 is a set of aperture sights. Many companies offer them and they're easier to adjust and shoot well with. After replacing the sights there is a plug for the rear sight dovetail available. Aperture sights also change where the light reaching your eye is focused and this creates sort of a lens, which can help those of us with older eyes.

Ron is that guy you wish was your neighbor. Or your uncle.

I really learned alot from this video. Sight adjustment simplified and demonstrated in fine fashion. Love my 30-30s!

🇦🇺😎👍Interesting content

Thanks for making this video I've been wondering how you zero open sights

Use vernier caliper to measure amount base of sight protrudes from barrel

Great video. Nice to show the real work it takes to adjust iron sights. On my 30-30s I used to get a rectangle of masking tape and draw incremental dots and lay it on the barrel. I’d line up the centre dot on the point of the windage sight and so I’d have a reference when drifting it. This seemed to help a lot if I went to far but I’d just go one dot at a time.

When I have to move a rear sight like that I place a piece of tape on the barrel in front of the sight. Place a mark on the tape in front of the point on the sight. This will let you know how much the sight moves. I carry a piece of plastic, I have some 1" square plastic left over from other projects, to use as as punch. This won't hurt the gun. On some of my older military rifles the rear sight don't move, so you move the front sight. The same works on them too.

Open sights can bee fun.

Great video Ron, I spent years trying to teach my Greek uncles you don’t take a hammer to a rifle, then you make this video lol. They never took care though, love that 94

Great video - there is just something special about a lever-action 30-30.

Lead pencil to mark sight location helps

Thanks, Ron, for showing us how to get the job done! Great video!

Hi Ron. Thanks for the refresh. I like my open sights. Wish I could see better!

Where'd you find ammo for a 30-30?...I've only seen 4 boxes of it in the past two years and it was $50 a box for so so quality

Beautiful rifle - mine is a model 94 30-30 made in 1957

Yıllardır tüfeklerimi 25 m ye sıfırlarım ve asla dürbün kullanmam. Evrensel kabul de bu şekildedir. 50 yrd a sıfırlayarak ne yapmaya çalışıyorsun.? Ayrıca elindeki model 94 güzel tüfek ama yerinde olsam,çekiçle o boktan gezi düzeltmek için uğraşmak yerine güzel bir diopter gez takardım.

I was always told as a kid going to gun shows with Grover Johnson a gun collector I knew that the Buck horn sight was to be used as if it was one half circle of a peep sight.

That was very good information. Reminds me of shooting archery. Open sight? That might be fun. 150gr in 30-30 and 350 legend are the same in drop at 200 yards. Thats with the Winchester calculator.

Thanks for the info Ron your the best

Having Ron as an older Brother growing up would’ve been cool !

Thanks Ron.

You should of used a black marker to mark where your starting point was. Then you wouldn't guess and it would save time and bullets.

I have marlin 336. Bought from pawn shop used, in perfect condition. Paid $185.00 have fired several hundred rounds in 42 years of ownership. Liked it when you said, "I reckon "........cool. I use open sights, semi buck horn zero 100 yards.

Never zero on a single shot. You zero on the average of three or five shots. Using a single data point, you could be chasing flyers around the target all day.

First rifle I used was a 32 win special. First I bought was a 30 06

My first rifle a few years ago is a 1927-ish model 64 lever action Winchester 30 30...I cherish it

Thanks Ron. Be Well.

I love the 30-30 round and lever action rifles. I don't hunt much anymore simply because I just don't have the time but I still have all of my rifles. Great tutorial, sir thanks.