Angle of open rear sight?

[Rob]

re: The angle of the standing blade on an open rear sight.

On factory rifles, I see sight blades that angle forward, others that tilt back, and some that are just straight up.

What are the arguments in favor of the different positions?

 

[chasseur]

I guess the angle would be to try to deflect the amount of glare of sunlight on the rear sight ,so in some circles the belief is that there is less glare in one or the other types of positioning of the rear sight

 

[Rob]

camps?

 

[Potashminer]

Not certain that angle of the standing blade makes much difference - likely a "looks" or "marketing" thing - or perhaps a maker's "cost" thing - would think the relative angle of the notch edges would be most important for aligning the sight - related to glare that the shooter sees? Might be some allegations about relative strength to withstand impacts - not sure of that.

 

[OkayShooter]

Maybe the angle back is to prevent it from snagging against clothing and gear.

 

[Canuck65]

My guess is that it makes no difference at all, other than looks.

 

[guntech]

The rear sight - a slight angle back is better than an angle forward as far as reflecting light and the image you see.

Concerning the tip of the front blade, I always filed a top forward slight angle to it so when overhead light was on it, the tip sort of lit up and was very visible. I never used sight hoods.

 

[kamlooky]

Perhaps it was in the direction it was whacked?

 

[MiG25]

re: The angle of the standing blade on an open rear sight.

On factory rifles, I see sight blades that angle forward, others that tilt back, and some that are just straight up.

What are the arguments in favor of the different positions?

Depends on if you are hunting in the morning or in the evening.

 

[9.3mauser]

The slant-forward sight was popular on British rifles, particularly large bores, so it could be easily seen in low light and at speed. The disadvantage is, with the sun at certain angles it can cause glare and make it difficult to get a precise sight picture.

I prefer a straight vertical rear sight, which gives a nice clear definition most of the time. Tradeoff is it can disappear in poor light, particularly if the sight notch is small.

I suppose a back-slanting sight would be another way to reduce glare and reflections. I've never really used one like that.