- Location
- Edmonton Area Ab, Candle Lake Sk
Install a Peep Sight or Learn to shoot Buckhorns ya rookie!
- Thread starter Devlin
- Start date
Don't throw away your buckhorn just yet. There is a reason they were in use for a 100 years. It does take a bit of practice and experimentation to use them to their best
On my lever gun 357 for example, bottom of the square cut is good for 50 yds, center of the oval (like a ghost ring) is on at 100 yards, top of the horns is good for 200 yards. Very fast ranging for the practical range of this round.
On my lever gun 357 for example, bottom of the square cut is good for 50 yds, center of the oval (like a ghost ring) is on at 100 yards, top of the horns is good for 200 yards. Very fast ranging for the practical range of this round.
To the op - I am assuming you were shooting a shorter (20" or less) barrelled Henry. If you were shooting offhand with factory ammo and irons on a lever gun 2-3" at 50 yds or 6" at 100 is not all that bad.
It's all about your expectations - if you were shooting a 30"-32" sharps or hiwall with soule sights and spirit levels, 2-3" at 50 wouldn't be good at all. With a lever gun it may be fine.
Skinner makes decent sights for snap shooting at short ranges - I have owned a few sets of them. I prefer a Williams receiver sight because they are much easier to adjust in fine increments for longer ranges and are windage adjustable (shot marlins and winchesters - not sure if they make a model for Henry rifles. If money is no object - look at a MVA tang sight (Montana vintage arms) for more long range accuracy. Also, try something other than the hornady ammo - I had a couple marlins that loved to shoot the 325gr leverevolutions but a Ruger and a sharps that preferred 405 gr cast (heavier bullet at lower velocity).
It's all about your expectations - if you were shooting a 30"-32" sharps or hiwall with soule sights and spirit levels, 2-3" at 50 wouldn't be good at all. With a lever gun it may be fine.
Skinner makes decent sights for snap shooting at short ranges - I have owned a few sets of them. I prefer a Williams receiver sight because they are much easier to adjust in fine increments for longer ranges and are windage adjustable (shot marlins and winchesters - not sure if they make a model for Henry rifles. If money is no object - look at a MVA tang sight (Montana vintage arms) for more long range accuracy. Also, try something other than the hornady ammo - I had a couple marlins that loved to shoot the 325gr leverevolutions but a Ruger and a sharps that preferred 405 gr cast (heavier bullet at lower velocity).
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
Agreed.
I also use open sights on a couple of rifles that I tweeked a tad fer me eyes.
Attachments
op, thank you for this thread, been fallowing it since conception, with little hijack a question; i’ve been shooting open sights since a kid, have a nr1mk3 that is capable of 1moa+ grouping at 100, but with the ‘94 i have i am yet to shoot a group smaller then 4-5moa, it’s frustrating, it came down to either selling the gun or installing scope/peep sight, i would prefer peep at this time, could you guys suggest which brand would not require drilling and tapping? i don’t want to put in too much into this gun
I feel that learning on standard "notched rear sight" irons are better, since you can easily transfer this skill to shooting peep sight, but not the other way around.
Peep sights are generally more accurate, but most common rifles we come across have notched sights.
Peep sights are generally more accurate, but most common rifles we come across have notched sights.
I am 75 with mild cataracts. I prefer a low powered scope for hunting, but some of my rifles don't have a scope.
My Win M94 30-30 has a Williams Foolproof rear sight (peep). The peep screws into the sight. I have a big peep for hunting and a smaller one for target shooting and sighting in. I shot this in a 100 yard match a couple of years ago and it worked quite well. Can't talk about accuracy. We shot standing...
For a scope a wear my ordinary glasses. For iron sights and handgun, I wear special glasses. Left lens is ordinary; right lens has a focus about 26" in front om me. That way i can see a front sight on a rifle or pistol. Makes a big difference.
Last week I was developing a load for one of the few rifles I have with ordinary open sights. It is a 30-06 Colombian Mauser carbine. 17 1/2" barrel. Only modification to the sights is that I used a square needle file to change the rear sight V notch to a square notch.
I shot a series of 3 shot groups in 1/2 grain increments with a new powder under 147 military FMJ bullets. The hotter the load, the smaller the group. Went from 4" to about 1.5"
Until I did it, I would have thought it impossible for my old eyes to shoot open sights this well.
My Win M94 30-30 has a Williams Foolproof rear sight (peep). The peep screws into the sight. I have a big peep for hunting and a smaller one for target shooting and sighting in. I shot this in a 100 yard match a couple of years ago and it worked quite well. Can't talk about accuracy. We shot standing...
For a scope a wear my ordinary glasses. For iron sights and handgun, I wear special glasses. Left lens is ordinary; right lens has a focus about 26" in front om me. That way i can see a front sight on a rifle or pistol. Makes a big difference.
Last week I was developing a load for one of the few rifles I have with ordinary open sights. It is a 30-06 Colombian Mauser carbine. 17 1/2" barrel. Only modification to the sights is that I used a square needle file to change the rear sight V notch to a square notch.
I shot a series of 3 shot groups in 1/2 grain increments with a new powder under 147 military FMJ bullets. The hotter the load, the smaller the group. Went from 4" to about 1.5"
Until I did it, I would have thought it impossible for my old eyes to shoot open sights this well.
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Dang.... I'm only 66 and was thinking of putting a low-power scope on my Husqvarna 9.3x57. I think I just need to do see if I can fit an aperture sight to it. Not easy on those old military actions as the Hellqvist, Jagdiopter and Buhler peeps are unobtanium these days.
If it is D&T for scope bases, a 2.5 or 3X scope would be wonderful.
As for a peep, Williams makes a Foolproof* for Mauser actions. I should put one on this little Mauser.
*Called the JEMS, I think. Jap, Enfield, Mauser, Springfield
As for a peep, Williams makes a Foolproof* for Mauser actions. I should put one on this little Mauser.
*Called the JEMS, I think. Jap, Enfield, Mauser, Springfield
Sidearm Sambo
Regular
I have open sights on my 3030 Winchester. I am usually pretty acurate. I do only take the tip of my front site and i am a bit low at 100yards. Better to be low as i have noticed when a deer jumps up at that distance most shoot over the intended point of aim
It had a side mount when I got it, but typically for a European mount, the scope sat quite high and I sold it to someone on CGN. The mounting holes are still there but I doubt there's an affordable mount to fit (Thus ruling out EAW!). It's possible to put Weaver 43 & 55 bases (I think that's right) on although it requires milling off the stripper clip guide to fit the rear base. I was thinking of a low-power scope. Someone here had a Balvar for sale but it looked like it had a very fine reticle; a German #4 would be ideal. I do have a modest Weaver 2.5, however....
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
There a couple of things to consider that might have been missed. A rectangular post front sight is superior to a round bead in that it provides an index of elevation. The flat top of the post equates to the horizontal wire of a scope's cross hair, and the eye easily discerns the center line of the post, which equates the vertical wire of a cross hair. Viewed against a round bulls-eye target that subtends to the width of the post at the range your are shooting from, its easy to find the center of the bull, since the width of the sight will appear wider in any other position on the target, thus groups are smaller since there is less vertical sighting error under conditions of consistent light. Bright sunlight tends to burn out the height and/or width of the front sight, and a good rifleman must be cognizant of this.
The thin rim, large aperture rear ghost ring rear sight is superior for field shooting than the thick rimmed small aperture target sight, even though the smaller aperture improves one's focus of the target. Focus should be on the front sight rather than the target anyway, and since the ghost rings blurs out of your perceptible view (hence its name) you don't attempt to consciously or subconsciously center the front sight in the visible aperture, so your shot is made faster, with little precision lost. This is important due to the open ended timing of field shooting, you don't know how much time you have to make the shot, so you must shoot as quickly as you can shoot with precision. Simply acquire your sight picture, shift your focus to the front sight, then press the trigger. Provided your cheek weld on the stock is repeatable, with a little practice your groups will become pleasingly tight.
The thin rim, large aperture rear ghost ring rear sight is superior for field shooting than the thick rimmed small aperture target sight, even though the smaller aperture improves one's focus of the target. Focus should be on the front sight rather than the target anyway, and since the ghost rings blurs out of your perceptible view (hence its name) you don't attempt to consciously or subconsciously center the front sight in the visible aperture, so your shot is made faster, with little precision lost. This is important due to the open ended timing of field shooting, you don't know how much time you have to make the shot, so you must shoot as quickly as you can shoot with precision. Simply acquire your sight picture, shift your focus to the front sight, then press the trigger. Provided your cheek weld on the stock is repeatable, with a little practice your groups will become pleasingly tight.
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