Short range optic for heavy woods whitetail

[Choupique]

I painted the front post on all my rifles with some shitty craft store glow paint. Gotta redo it every season, but it helps a lot. Holds just the right amount of brightness late in the evening. In the morning, you have to hit it with your flashlight and be quick about it, because if you leave it on it turns the sight into a glow plug and you can't see shit

 

[Wolfshead]

We hunted Thursday afternoon with snow in the forecast.
The property we were at is very close woods with “long distance” being 50 yards. The plan was to still hunt around a point into the swamp and meet my Brother In-law and Father In-law at end of shooting light.
I chose my Model 94 with a Williams peep sight and a .125 apreature on it. With all the snow in the forecast, and what we actually hunted in had I brought my scoped rifle I would have spent a majority of time cleaning out my lenses to be able to see.
My Father in-law shot a Doe around four-ish, and with him being 84 we decided to forgo our last few minutes to go help him with his deer.
We located the deer and my Brother In-law went back to the truck to get the four wheeler to get the deer and my Father In-law out of the woods. I decided to wait it out on the trail the Doe came in on in hopes that maybe a Buck might be following her from where she came.
With about ten minutes of legal shooting time left I see movement from the trail and see another Doe coming along. Without a Doe tag I just watch her, but knowing that it is really low light I wanted to see about my sight picture and to see what it looked like in under the circumstances.
I was able to see well enough with the .125 aperture and the low light conditions that I could have taken a shot had it been a Buck.

 

[Macintosh]

^^For sure. With all of this I highly doubt there is any “correct answer”. Everything is a compromise to at least a degree, just have to make the most educated choice and try it, and adjust as needed for the conditions that are normal for you…eyesight, light, vegetation, range, familiarity, etc. And outright preference.