I was taught as a young kid how to shoot with Irons, something I learned to value through out my shooting life! Sadly, most folks think shooting with a scope is the only way to go, or that it makes them better then they really are! I learned back when scoped were not all that reliable, so it was drilled into me constantly! It also helped that my brothers and cousins and I would always have shooting contests to see who was the best shot, something I won far more then I lost!
Open sights, if you still have your eyesight, mine is nearly gone, the batteries never go dead, they have worked well for several hundred years, and some specialized one are very accurate. While tritium will help, they will not give you control of the night like the modern military optics do, but the military has both the supply chain and a very large budget to support the sights.. Personal opinion is every one should start with either a 22 or pellet gun and open sights and shoot a few thousand rounds and when everything is totally automatic, hopefully after Appleseed or similar training, then graduate to a semi auto with a more powerful cartridge and optics.
Iron sights is the way I was raised and taught . I still try and use the iron sights , but my vision makes it a little harder these days . I'm not as accurate as I once was , but I'm usually still in the kill spot , or at least in the badly wounded range .
I try to get all of my rifles with iron sights even if I put a scope on them in case the scope gets busted or won't stay true I can always swichs to iron sights.
If you have astigmatism there is always trouble trying to figure out which one is the correct front sigh.
All of my rifles have iron sights except for one Marlin 22 bolt. One should learn the old ways first that move on to optics.
I feel the same pain as several others one here. I shot exclusively with iron sights for 30 years or so. Then I shot mostly with a scope for another 30 some years. About a year ago I tried to go back. It don't work no more for me. The old eye balls can only focus on the sights or the target, not both. Old age ain't for sissys.
Finding the older I get the more I like ring sights. Only use scopes on the long range varmit rifles.......... Hard to make out coyote from brush at 150+ yards Since you admit to shooting BB guns LOL I will confess as well. I do 95% of my rabbit and Squirrel hunting with a old crosman 2200 magnum pellet gun, box of .22 pellets is a whole lot cheaper than a box of .22 LR even cheaper when you cast them yerself. And those old crosman air rifles packed plenty of punch to knock a squirrel out of a tree or stop a rabbit from hopping. Course to many pumps and they crack as loud as a .22LR when the pellet exits the barrel. 495FPS at 5- 6 pumps and 980-1000fps 10-12 pumps ain't a toy which sadly is how many view pellet and BB guns.
My PCP 22 Cal ccan get about 68 full power shots before a refill I was going to do a video on it today but have to get some o rings for my pump I can shoot crows out to 100 + yards useing the mildots in the scope hunt squirrel all day and can take deer and hog if I had to. to