Just so long as you didn't blame the tool for not being able to hit a damned thing 
Nope, pretty sure it was the user! I was young and impatient and lazy, so I preferred a scope to the time spent practicing with iron sights. It was a top-eject model so it would have required a side mount scope on the left side, but I shoot left handed (plus I think it would have looked ridiculous). The Ruger M77 Mk.II Ultralight I got to replace it didn't even come with iron sights.
After my dad out-shot me with his bolt-action .22 with iron sights against my scoped semi-auto, I finally realized there was something to gain from the fundamentals learned using iron sights, and I started practicing more that way. It has improved my skills all around. As I am teaching my kids to shoot, I am making sure they are proficient with iron sights before I let them try with a scope.
My optics make more sense now, too.
- I have a 3-9x variable scope on my .308, as we hunt on a combination of wooded areas with open fields. If I ever replace the scope, though, I may go to a 2-7x variable.
- My Marlin .22 has a 4x scope,
- but my shorter ruger 10/22 has iron sights. BTW, the iron sights on my 10/22 suck; anyone have any good recommendations, without breaking the bank?
- My AR-15 has iron sights, but I have been considering a non-magnified red dot for it.
- all my handguns and shotguns have stock iron sights/beads.
I particularly like the target sights on my ruger 22/45. Even with a 4" bull barrel, that thing is a tack driver. I'm not a particularly good shot, but I have put a whole box of cheap .22 ammo through a half-dollar size circle at 25 yards (shooting from a bench).