Install a Peep Sight or Learn to shoot Buckhorns ya rookie!

Devlin

Devlin

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Good evening CGN


Recently picked myself up a Henry 45/70, lots of Youtube reviews led to curiosity getting the better of me and I had to see what all the fuss was about with this cartridge, I'm used to large calibres and have been shooting most of my adult life so the recoil component didn't put me off. I shoot a 375H&H without issue.

What I am struggling with is getting proficient with the buckhorn style iron sights, within 50 meters not too much trouble at all and am getting decent groups for this calibre within the 2-3 MOA range at that distance so fine for deer hunting which is the intended use primarily.

Get out to 100 yards and I am struggling to see the target and ensure I have a good 6 o'clock hold going and am holding in the same spot on a 6" in diameter bullseye my best group of the day was approx 4.25". Now I of course don't expect this to be a 1/4 minute precision lever gun with iron sights but I'm wondering what's considered "good" with this calibre and these sights?

Ammo used was Hornady LeverEvolution 326 grain FTX

I am considering putting a peep sight from Skinner sights on the rifle to see if that improves my groups at 100 yards and wondering what folks think of going that way? I do like the rifle a fair bit and it will see use in Northern Ontario most typically shots are less than 100 yards where we hunt but there is the occasional longer poke but this is meant to be a walking through the bush or deer drive gun.

Interested in your thoughts on whether a peep sight is worth the small investment to get better groups out of this setup.
 
Peeps will give you better groups in my experience, all of my rifles have them but my CZ 527 and it will probably have them soon. Size of the front sight blade also influences the size of your group at 100 yards, but larger sights are easier to snap shoot with at 50 in my experience.

In before a bunch of guys claim they shoot 1 inch groups with iron sights at 100 yards.

edit: when I say size I mean size of the bead or thickness of the blade
 
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I’m not one for lying. I had a Belgium browning bar 30-06 with some super nice irons on it. I could shoot a 3 shot group at 100 around the 1/2” -5/8” mark. If the sights r right I can do wel with irons. Especially peep sights! More fun than a scope I gotta say
 
Mike112288 said:
I’m not one for lying. I had a Belgium browning bar 30-06 with some super nice irons on it. I could shoot a 3 shot group at 100 around the 1/2” -5/8” mark. If the sights r right I can do wel with irons. Especially peep sights! More fun than a scope I gotta say
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:rolleyes:Laugh2 Laugh2 With a BAR yet?? credibility is in the sink here.:bangHead:
 
I just shot a 3 rnd group with a BLR on Friday. 1 3/4"@100M, old 180gr factory ammo, stock sights. That being said, peeps are much easier for me to use. Past mid 40's, eyes restrict most of our irons accuracy. I could shoot them better 15 yrs ago.
 
Mike112288 said:
I’m not one for lying. I had a Belgium browning bar 30-06 with some super nice irons on it. I could shoot a 3 shot group at 100 around the 1/2” -5/8” mark. If the sights r right I can do wel with irons. Especially peep sights! More fun than a scope I gotta say
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You are underestimating your audience.
 
I am also one not to tell lies, but I have been known to be quite liberal with the truth on occasion.

I do a lot of shooting with peep sights- at the range. Lee Enfields and Ross rifles with original battle sights.
Pushing 60 yrs old now and my eyes are not as sharp as they once were.
Most of my hunting rifles have scopes on them. I am quite confident I could hit just about any moose or deer out to 200 yards with the peep sights but in the thick cover and low light conditions so common here during hunting season, I am unlikely to SEE any moose or deer at that distance.
Scopes and good binoculars allow me to see animals I would otherwise not have seen.
 
About 4" groups at 100 yards with buckhorns isn't too bad. I have found that the biggest limiting factor in shooting for accuracy with a front bead is making sure that you can resolve your target and get a consistent point of aim. I have found that for me personally, that making sure that the black round bull is big enough to just have a halo peeking around the edge of the brass bead was a big help in shooting accurately. If I remember correctly, for my Marlin 30-30 with the factory bead that was about a 9 or 10" round black target. You can actually cut them in half, with buckhorn the whole bottom is obscured anyways so you just need the top half to aim at.

Edited to add: it's a bit of a trial and error thing to get the bull to show just barely bigger than the front bead. If you have a set range, say 50 75 or 100 yards then I would bring some black construction paper along with scissors to the range and try cutting out a few different sizes to see which one works for your bead.
 
I like peep sights , but I'm pushing sixty now and the eyes aren't what they used to be . When I could see , 2 inch 100 yard groups with an accurate rifle and aperture sights weren't too hard to manage , buck horns would usually double that . I wish I could still use peep sights , but I've switched to fixed low power or low power variables instead , biology demands it .
 
Gday mate, for what its worth, on a model 94 Winchester, my groups closed up dramatically with a peep sight, under less than ideal benchrest conditions......

peep it!
 
I used to have a Browning single shot in 45/70 with buckhorn sights. I could shoot 1.5MOA@100m with it quite regularly. The thing with it was the front sight was a nice thin blade and it was very easy to line up with the target. I also had a Browning BLR in 30-06 that had excellent iron sights. Perhaps your front blade is so wide it makes it difficult to line up consistantly?
 
I agree with the comments on aperture sights. Even my old eye produce decent groups with them.
I have a Winchester reproduction M94 in 38-55 that is a fairly accurate levergun. I have a Williams
Foolproof at the rear, and a firesight front.
With the Barnes original 255 grain Jacketed [.377"] bullet designed for the 38-55, chased by 32 grains
of H322, It will occasionally print a group close to 1" for 3 shots, but the average is closer to 1¾ moa.
With the original open sights, I was hard pressed to keep it under 3" But part of that is the old eyes
Hard to maintain elevation properly.
Eagleye.
 
Mike112288 said:
I’m not one for lying. I had a Belgium browning bar 30-06 with some super nice irons on it. I could shoot a 3 shot group at 100 around the 1/2” -5/8” mark. If the sights r right I can do wel with irons. Especially peep sights! More fun than a scope I gotta say
Click to expand...

I also got a good laugh here. With a .30 cal bullet, all three holes would be touching. Out of a semi. With irons. Under 1/2 MOA is custom precision rifle territory.

...You sure you didn't miss twice?? Lol
 
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