Scope or Irons?

[Win1917]

What would you guys choose to use in the woods for handgun shots on deer under 50yds? Scope or iron sights?

I have a Bushnell Trophy 2-6 and even when set at 2x when I drew on deer at 10-20yds from a 25' stand all I could see was fur in the scope. Having iron sights on my gun seemed like it would've made life a lot easier. On the other hand, with irons you cut your hunting time down and it's harder to see those pesky little twigs and branches that are always in the way.

[RockinHRacin]

If it were me and I were using my FP or BB gun, I would use iron sights at anything less than 100 yds. I know you asked about 50 yards, but I thought I'd clarify my position. At 100 yards a deer size target (even these "neighbors-dogs" size deer called white tails we have around here (I grew up hunting mulies...) would fill my scope to the point of being a hindrance. I figure if I can hit a BB Pig sized target CONSISTENTLY at 100 yds with iron sights, I can reliably hit a deer in a kill zone with it. Admittedly, I have not hunted deer in a few years, but I am planning to take my 7TC/U out this year and get me some wild pork. From everything I've heard about them, I don't want to fool with a scope anyway... LOL (I'm wondering if a single shot is the way to go... LOL)


Chris

[Win1917]

I appreciate your advice. I'm new to handgun hunting and have only been hunting dense woods for a couple years so I'm learning both things simultaneously. Where I grew up out west, being too close wasn't really an issue.

This morning I came up with a couple of different ideas. The barrel I was using last year isn't D & T for irons so maybe some kind of red dot sight might work well. The other is that I have a 18" 357 max that is D & T. It's a little long to use as a handgun but I have a fixed 2x I could put on it and use see-through rings (which I'm not normally a fan of) but they may work good in this situation. Any thoughts?