Peep or Buckhorn? What is better in low light?

Mount Sweetness

Mount Sweetness

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Looking for first hand knowledge from guys hunting the bush in low light.

What gives you more hunt time....Aperture Peep Sight (Lyman receiver) or Standard Model 94 Buckhorn iron sight?

Much difference?
 
Mount Sweetness said:
Looking for first hand knowledge from guys hunting the bush in low light.

What gives you more hunt time....Aperture Peep Sight (Lyman receiver) or Standard Model 94 Buckhorn iron sight?

Much difference?
Click to expand...
I dont fire really anything with open sights but a buddy of mine hunts thick brush with a remington 750 and was originally using buckhorn and he said he was having trouble lining everything up properly in low light. He switched to a peep sight but removed the insert so it was pretty much a ghost ring rear sight but a little bit thicker than the ghost ring. He said it made a huge difference and was much easier, I handled it and shouldered it before and after and I really liked the peep sight with the removed insert (ghost ring style). If I ever put together a similar firearm thats what I will be putting on top.
 
I use a full buckhorn on my blackpowder. I can certify that they are really more efficient than regular buckhorn sights at dusk. The first time I used it I realized that this desing was not cosmetic at all.
 
Can anyone help me out here:
Specifically comparing original iron sight on Winchester 94 to a Lyman and/or Williams Receiver Peep Sight.....low light, do you prefer one over the other?
Can you see through the peep in low light?
 
Peep sight

Install a good receiver peep sight. Then, you take the insert out of the peep sight, and use it that way. This allows a larger aperture, and a better sight picture under low light conditions. You can put the insert back in for use on the range when testing loads, as it will be more accurate that way.

With a peep sight, you look THROUGH the rear sight, and you eye automatically centers on the hole. When shooting, you have to align three things, the target, the front sight, and the rear sight, if you use an open or buckhorn sight. With the peep, you only have to align the target and the front sight, as your eye is aligned with the rear peep sight hole.

With a buckhorn sight, part of your target is obscured by the sides of the sight. This allows less light to get past the rear sight. The peep sight without the insert shows more of the target, and thus more light.

Think about this! When the British developed the Mark 4 rifle, they used a rear mounted peep sight. On the British models, and some of the early Canadian models, there were two sizes of holes for the sights. The adjustable ladder for elevation had a small hole for more precise shooting, but the Battle Sight had a large aperture hole. This Battle Sight was zeroed at 300 yards, and gives a wider field of view, but is still considered accurate enough to hit a man sized target at that range, and lets more light in for lower light conditions.

If the British military, with 40 years of experience, and the Boer War and WWI behind them, thought that the open sights were the way to go, they would not have considered putting peep sights on the No. 4 Rifle. Also, look at most modern military rifles today in the Western Hemisphere, they have peep sights. The M-16, the FN-Fal, HK, and most of the rest use peep sights.

You were given an answer, but you seem irritated that it was not SPECIFIC to the Model 94 Winchester. Well, here is another answer, Sonny. It is based on 55 years of hunting experience, 30 years of shooting on a target range out to 1000 yards with open sights, and some practical experience at the sharp end of the stick.

.
 
buffdog is absolutely right. The peep with aperture removed is far better in low light than buckhorns or any other open sight. Anyone who tells you different either has never used one or is nuts. Another benefit of peeps is that your eye only has to focus on the target and the bead as you look through the aperture not at it. Other open sights require the eye to try to focus on rear sight, bead and target at the same time, a difficult task with young eyes, an impossible one with aging eyes.
 
I just switched from the original Model 94 sights to a Williams FoolProof peep with the Firesight front post last season and there is no comparison in both accuracy, speed and low light shooting.
It was the best $130 I spent on hunting gear in a long long time!
 
A ghost ring, that is a peep sight with a large aperture and a thin rim, combined with a wide rectangular post front sight is the best sighting arrangement available with irons for practical shooting situations. The flat top of the front post provides you with an excellent index of elevation which is not available with the bead sight or for that matter the new hi-tech fiber-optic sights. Due to it's well defined edges, the rectangular front sight is easier to focus on than the bead which tends to blur out of focus. You will probably find that the installation of a Lyman or Williiams aperture sight on a M-94 will require a higher front sight, so you might as well upgrade to the rectangular post once you've determined the height you need, or purchase the highest front sight available and carefully file it down till it matches the height you need. If you are concerned about loosing the front sight in reduced light hunting conditions, consider having the front sight made out of brass. I have one on my .375 which has proven amazing. I appears white on a dark background and black on a light background.
 
"...take the insert out..." Turns it into a 'Ghost' style sight. If you're planning on putting an aperture sight on, buy a set(front and rear). Keeps the heights right.
The standard Win 94 rear sight isn't a great sight at the best of times.
There are aperture sights known as 'Ghost' sights that have a large aperture for just such emergencies. Pity that William's doesn't make their WGRS sight for a Win 94. They make a Fire Sight Ghost Ring Aperture($9.95US) that fits on all their WGRS bases.
 
Mount Sweetness said:
Can anyone help me out here:
Specifically comparing original iron sight on Winchester 94 to a Lyman and/or Williams Receiver Peep Sight.....low light, do you prefer one over the other?
Can you see through the peep in low light?
Click to expand...

Peep with insert removed works the best for me. I use a similar set up on my scout rifles. - dan
 
Dan,
Like the idea of removing the insert, I took mine off and looked through...

But...How accurate will this be with the larger peep....did your groups open drastically, it seems if the front bead isn't centred just perfect you could miss the animal....thoughts?
 
Mount Sweetness, dont try to centre the bead in the ring, simply look through, put front sight on target and squeeeeeeeze!

Yes, a bigger aperture will probably cause your groups to open up a bit, but in low light, most of your opportunities will be a closer ranges, no???

At least thats how it is for me in the woods where I hunt.
 
Just concerned since I've had times bow hunting were I couldn't even see through the peep and it was very large. Thought that atleast with the buckhorn I could still look down the barrel if close range, this is why I am debating whether or not to go peep.
 
I've taken plenty of rabbits and raccoons in the dark with iron sights. Here's my 2 cents.

aperature sights don't work well as it's too difficult to center the front post in a wide aperature at night. There isn't enough ambient light to get it centered. Your experience may vary. A narrow aperature won't allow you to even see the front sight post. You simply won't find it in the dark.

Fiberoptics are great. Tritium notsomuch. Animals will see your tritium sights and freak out. I think they must think they're eyes staring at them.

truglo notch and post sights work well for me for dusk/night shooting. I put a dot of black paint on the muzzle end of the front sight so animals don't see it. The rear sight is looped around so this is not visible to them. On a half-moon-lit night, you can get a solid bead on anything. The 1/16 front post is good for 2" groups in daylight. The 3/32" front post I have on my .22 is sometimes too bright during the day. Looks like it has a halo and is difficult to use in bright light. At night, it works better and is that much brighter. On nights when a 1/16 post is invisible, the 3/32 still works well.
 
You don't see the peep anyway, you look through it at the front bead, which can be gold (works pretty good in low light), ivory (better), or one of the glow in the dark sights (varies on conditions and the particular type, I find some fuzzy). I've used mine in swamps in the pre dawn/post sunset hunting times, and they work quite well. As for groups opening up, a wide aperture works fine out to 100 yards/meters or so. Maybe further for people with better eyes then me. I wouldn't use that particular set up for LR shooting (although with a fine aperture, you would be amazed what you can hit with a peep set up). It certainly works fine on deer and moose out as far as I will shoot with irons of any kind. - dan
 
purchase some 3M VHB luminous film squares, or a roll.
http://cgi.ebay.com/5-GLOW-DARK-2-x-1-TAPE-STRIPS-Multi-Purpose-/320458154515
its a thick, highly adhesive tape that has excellent glow in the dark properties. you can cut a small rectangle of it to use on your front sights. if you have buckhorns you can also use it on the rear. the 3M VHB stuff sticks very well, though i use a tiny dab of fletching adhesive just in case.

they are usually charged enough to be visible - if not, simply charging them for a few seconds with a compact flashlight will make them glow extremely bright for a very long time.
 
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