Iron Sights!

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300dakota

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So as a personal challenge this year I will not be using a scope
Bought myself a gorgeous blaser with good sights and i AIM to put it to use ....
My backup rifle however is a older Sako L61R Carbine full stock in 30-06 and it has this nasty rear sight from Williams is it possible to have a different one installed ?
 
Personally I will be using a Bowie knife this year... a Swiss Army knife in 2015 and the Swiss Army knife on the "spoon" setting in 2016...

I am sure that you can find an aftermarket peep for your gun... try Brownells.
 
300dakota said:
My backup rifle however is a older Sako L61R Carbine full stock in 30-06 and it has this nasty rear sight from Williams is it possible to have a different one installed ?
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I've seen rear sights filed to a wide VEE for a big improvement. Cheap and easy for a starter project.

OTOH ...... NECG might have something to suit.
 
hoytcanon said:
Personally I will be using a Bowie knife this year... a Swiss Army knife in 2015 and the Swiss Army knife on the "spoon" setting in 2016...

I am sure that you can find an aftermarket peep for your gun... try Brownells.
Click to expand...

Awesome..... I will one up you by pulling out the tiny tweezers and toothpick in 2017......
 
The Sako peep is set up for 100 and 200 m (presumably) by turning the sight 90degree. Also has W&E - pretty good units and employ the existing dovetail. ... worthwhile improvement over the stock rear sight BUT assumes that foresight is appropriate height.
 
Just curious: Is the Williams rear sight "nasty" because of it's type (notch, not peep/aperture,) or does it have a specific problem (eg. lacks adjustment, has damage, etc.?) All my rifles have iron sights as "back ups," with one rifle sporting Williams-brand sight... and I find that it does the same job as any other notch-and-post style open sight.
 
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TAP375 said:
Just curious: Is the Williams rear sight "nasty" because of it's type (notch, not peep/aperture,) or does it have a specific problem (eg. lacks adjustment, has damage, etc.?) All my rifles have iron sights as "back ups," with one rifle sporting Williams-brand sight... and I find that it does the same job as any other notch-and-post style open sight.
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For those who like gallows style peep sights, the Williams Fool Proof are excellent, with positive adjustments for windage and elevation. The Williams rear folding open sight is another matter. The notch is too shallow and too small to see, does not allow for sufficient space between the notch and the front site bead, so aligning the front sight with rear is slow and imprecise. The retaining screws for elevation adjustment provide no positive adjustment, and it can be tricky to adjust elevation once the retaining screws have dimpled the sight blade. Windge is adjusted by moving the sight in it's dovetail, so fine adjustments are not possible without a sight pusher.
 
I'm a big fan of iron sights, and don't have a single rifle that lacks them. The excellent SAKO aperture sights are out there, but becoming scarcer - most folks who have them won't part with them. I think the last two I bought cost me about $100 apiece.

My favourites are the Lyman 48, with the Lyman 57 close behind. In thick bush or in bad light, just unscrew the aperture and use the loop - but those sights are getting scarce as well.

I don't care at all for folding leaf sights; when you need it, you can bet it's 'folded'. Any kind of buckhorns are as bad or worse. A broad "V" is fine, especially if it has a bright white or coloured post directly under the "V". The front sight should also have a good contrast, and I like either off-white or gold.

To my taste, stock fit is especially important in a fast handling iron sighted rifle. A good fit will have you looking right down the sights when you shoulder the rifle - I recently sold a beautiful HVA to a fellow down east that did just that (and I'm still mourning it! Give it a hug for me, ph1!). Unfortunately, 99% of rifles made today are intended for scopes, and fail miserably to fit with iron sights.

The main thing with iron sights is to practice with them! It's remarkable how well you can shoot with them once you're comfortable. You'll be hitting pop cans 10/10 at 100 m. before you know it.
 
I have some rifles with sights (most are also scoped)... but the majority of my rifles are clean barrelled... in 40+ years of hunting with scopes, I have yet to have one crap-out on me during a hunt. I did buy some lowend optics for plinking and rimfire rifles and had those go bad... but I would never have used them on a hunt, particularly a remote hunt... even so, my backup rifle will often wear both optics and irons... just in case...
 
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