Peep sights - big improvement for military rifles?

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Robert Nicholson

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I have been having trouble with using the sights on my Russians and have considered getting PEEP sights
because they are highly reccommended as an improvement for older guys like me who want to continue
shooting in original (or close) configuration.

Certain rifles CAME with peeps, like the LE No4 and the Garand. These rifles also benefited from longer sight
radius because of mounting position. Was this a big improvement for military use in combat?

Did soldiers have an easier time acquiring targets and being accurate?
 
Yes, I started with peeps on the FNC1 and finished with peeps on a carbine, with scopes it between. Peeps are easier to train over v notches and easier to maintain over scopes. The big issue comes with modern battle rifles in small calibres where the splash is harder to see. Also there is a situational awareness issue with peeps during alot of rounds as you tend to focus on the front blade through a hole and not notice the guy about to stick a bayonet in your side. Scopes were supposed to rectify this but in my experience I fiddled more with getting my helemt to clear the scope than I practiced my SA.
 
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I can't speak of what the soldier thought of the peep sight, but I find my eye automatically lines up when I use the peep on my Lee Enfields and Garand, but with v notch rear sight I have to "find it".
 
I've had different results- I find my SMLE's, Mosins and SVT's every bit as easy to shoot at 100-400m as my No. 4's, P14's, or other "peep-sight" equipped rifles. Specifically looking at the No.4, the aperture is very large (0.100 inch) and because of the sight protectors the sight picture is full of junk. Those ears are often a bit asymmetrical which causes me grief in certain light conditions. Long story short, I shoot equal groups with both types. Remember- those combat peep sights are not for target shooting. On the other hand, I have a LB NO. 4 with a Parker Hale target sight and a tunnel front sight and that is another story entirely- very, very nice to use.

milsurpo
 
Philthy1 said:
There's a reason the military still uses diopter sights. In many ways they are still the ultimate sight system.
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Not all militaries. Many still use V-Notch tangent sights.

I'm biased against peep sights. I can shoot accurately out to 500 yards with v-notch tangent sights. With peeps/diopters, I can shoot accurately out to 50 yards. On a good day.

Try before you buy. For some people, peeps are absolutely NOT the best solution. If it works, go with it. If not, stick with tangent sights. The right solution is never the same for all people.
 
If you wear glasses you can use a pair of clip on sunglasses and drill a small hole at the appropriate location on the lens. The small hole acts like a camera aperture and increases the depth of field and what is in sharp focus. This holds true for barrel mounted sights or aperture sights. If you do not wear glasses then just use a cheap pair of sunglasses and drill your hole in the lens.

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My eyes got to the point that even the trick above didn't work well enough and I sold off the majority of milsurps and bought new rifles I could put scopes on.

I even had to give up my part time referee job because of all the bricks and bottles that were thrown at me.

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Peep sight - eye is supposed to automanticly centre in the aperture and put the front bead on the target. For minute of moose or relatively short range that will work pretty well. For looong range or target work, the eye may not centre precisely enough, therefore smaller aperture for target work or telescopic sight. With front bead/blade and rear notch, in a quick sighting shot, there is a tendency not to pull the front sight all the way down into the rear notch. See the front sight over the notch and pull - shoot over your target.
 
bushwhacker;12140316[B said:
]Peep sight - eye is supposed to automanticly centre in the aperture and put the front bead on the target[/B]. For minute of moose or relatively short range that will work pretty well. For looong range or target work, the eye may not centre precisely enough, therefore smaller aperture for target work or telescopic sight. With front bead/blade and rear notch, in a quick sighting shot, there is a tendency not to pull the front sight all the way down into the rear notch. See the front sight over the notch and pull - shoot over your target.
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Ya, thats what i was getting at. Although as other posters noted, it may not work for your eyes. For many shooters the peep will outperform anything out to 200yds...not so much for other folks. They're also good for moving targets
 
Yowzers, guys! I just learned a whole lot from these last four posts! Now I understand why someone was saying LE No4 to 400m and then
LE No3 to 1000m And I love that sun-glasses trick, gotta try it!:wave:
 
I have Tech Sights on two SKSs and find i shoot much better (accuracy and speed) with them than the original ones. My range tops-out at 100m, so I can't speak to longer distances.
 
phins13 said:
I have Tech Sights on two SKSs and find i shoot much better (accuracy and speed) with them than the original ones. My range tops-out at 100m, so I can't speak to longer distances.
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TS-200's on my SKS's as well. I zero at 19m/170m and shoot to 200m easily. (Beyond that you have to adjust sights.... which TS's are not really designed for, or change your hold).

Mine also have the thin Tech Sight front post. Very little seems to make SKS more accurate but IMO the TS actually do. Work much better for me than the stock sights.
 
IronCanadian said:
I can't speak of what the soldier thought of the peep sight, but I find my eye automatically lines up when I use the peep on my Lee Enfields and Garand, but with v notch rear sight I have to "find it".
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Same here.

That's probably why most military rifles have peep sites. I always have a hard time lining up V sites, especially on my K98 and similar rifles. Imagine trying to do that in the stress of combat.
 
I shoot about the same with both types. For me, the price of Ammo dctates what I shoot more but I think I would get a little better with whichever type I practiced more with.
 
I am at an age where a V sight is just about useless, whereas a peep works well.

I have used precision peep sights on target rifles and have found them as accurate as a scope sight on the same rifle.

For hunting, the big advantage of a peep sight is that it does not blank off the bottom half of the target, the way a V sight does.
 
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