You bet, the bead is about as useful as shooting from the hip. Your chances of hitting something exist... They're just not good. I've got some random parts that are shaping up to make a really sweet sight setup. The rear sight base from a Zastave MP22 is close to the same radius as the barrel and by some stroke of luck, the mounting screws are the same thread as the bead. Might go GRS but I'll probably go simple with a front post for speed and better cheek weld.
truck / hike gun
- Thread starter popcanhunter
- Start date
Pietro Beretta
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Ontario (G.T.A.)
Bead sight isnt totally useless. Its more of a point of reference when aiming. A rock solid stance and firm grip while lining up the front bead sight with your target slight lower to compensate for the massive recoil of a 1 oz deer slug in a super charged 3" Magnum....lot more accurate than one would think.
Just walk your rounds in...by the 3rd shot youve got the sweet spot. But yes, Ghost Ring sights on an M590A1 are VERY accurate and precise.
Practice makes perfect
Just walk your rounds in...by the 3rd shot youve got the sweet spot. But yes, Ghost Ring sights on an M590A1 are VERY accurate and precise.
Practice makes perfect
When it shoots a foot high it is useless. I'm good with a bead on a typical bbl length and I know how to shoot. A bbl mounted bead on a shorty puts POI way above POA. I'm not into "walking shots in" on a charging bear. Sounds like video game fantasy.
Bead sight isnt totally useless. Its more of a point of reference when aiming. A rock solid stance and firm grip while lining up the front bead sight with your target slight lower to compensate for the massive recoil of a 1 oz deer slug in a super charged 3" Magnum....lot more accurate than one would think.
Just walk your rounds in...by the 3rd shot youve got the sweet spot. But yes, Ghost Ring sights on an M590A1 are VERY accurate and precise.
Practice makes perfect
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Maybe not completely useless, but given the time it takes to find the bead, then drop the muzzle just enough that the bead disappears from sight, and then attempt to keep our composure well enough to make a good hit on a threat, that is not the way we should want to do it. I'm frankly amazed by the number of short barrel shotguns that have the bead mounted right down on the barrel. Maybe this is evidence of how many short shotgun owners actually shoot their guns. If there was sufficient complaining and threats of boycotting, you can be sure that pedestals of the correct height would be placed under those beads. Or perhaps this is just their way of getting you to purchase a $200 ghost ring and post.
Mounted a Trijicon raised bead on mine a couple days ago, have yet to get it out and see how that affects it. It isn't quite parallel to the tope of the receiver, but if it gets it close, I'll be happy. A bit of a 6 o'clock hold isn't hard to figure out.
I've noticed the "shoots about 1 foot high" with my Norinco 12.5 with a bead. Would anyone mind explaining what the actual problem is? Why would I raise the bead to correct this - isn't the issue that one sights down the barrel lining up the receiver with the top of the bead? This sight line brings up the muzzle shifting the POI high. I would have thought the fix is to add something at the receiver end...
Thoughts?
You could file down the receiver(joke) but it's safer and easier to raise the front bead.
if the front bead goes up and everything else stays the same you would need to lower the muzzle to get on target which will lower your "shoots 1 foot high" problem.
I prefer to have the bead be "on target" rather then below it when I'm aiming but the way the guns come with a low bead that's how you have to aim.
For iron sights you adjust the rear sight in the direction that you want the shot to go and the front sight gets adjusted in the opposite direction of where you want your shot to go.
Aim your finger and imagine a taller front sight then imagine what you would need to get it back on target.....
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Raising the front bead/sight effectively lowers the muzzle when lining up the bead with the rear sight or receiver.
This is a diagaram for a scope, but should give you roughly an idea how it lines up. The rule of thumb for adjusting iron sights is "Front post, drift into the miss. Rear leaf drift away from the miss." If you're hitting to the right of point of aim, then you drift the front sight to the right to line things up, or the rear sight to the left. If hitting high, raise the front sight or lower the rear sight.
http://2.bp.########.com/-j3-YkZmTpYw/UKHgRSxpojI/AAAAAAAABW8/PVBtatOFcV4/s1600/TargetShooting.gif
No problem.
p.s. Got my shorty out to the range yesterday to give it a go with the new raised bead (not really a bead, actually, an XS Tritium). Threw some tennis balls out onto the ground anywhere for 5 yards to 35-40(ish) yards, and it was trivial to line up send them sailing.
http://www.brownells.com/shotgun-parts/sights/front-sights/shotgun-big-dot-tritium-front-sight-prod24532.aspx
You'll want the plain barrel version. And yes, ships to Canada and clears customs. Took a little over a week to arrive, most of that sitting in customs waiting for CBSA to shred up, inspect, and duct-tape the shipping box back together.
Total came to $72CDN after taxes, shipping, exchange rate, etc. Which is maybe a bit steep over just buying it with ghost ring sights attached, but I'm Ok with it because I prefer the cleaner lines the way it is now vs. all that metal and crap sticking off the top of the receiver and barrel with a ghost-ring setup.
You'll have to unscrew the stock bead, and screw in the bead that comes packaged with the tritium sight, then epoxy the tritium post over the bead and barrel. Took about 15 minutes. The threads on the new bead don't match the old threads, but I just muscled it in and it went in rock solid - the brass bead is a lot softer than the barrel metal, so it was kinda sorta self threading (a thin shaving of brass stripped off the new bead as I threaded it in). Not even a little worried about that. This shotgun (for me) is so far past being stock that one more permanent mod is nothing, as far as I'm concerned.
Couple of crappy pics of the end result. Took these last night after getting back from the range. If I cared more, I would have cleaned it before taking the pics instead of after. But you get the general idea of the end result.
That looks great grelmar. Simple and clean.
I like it when my SG puts slugs where I am aiming at short range instead of having to hold over.
Thanks for the compliments.
I was just shooting 7.5 bird and 00 Federal - the police issue ammo that comes up for bulk buys every now and then... I didn't have any slugs with me. In my experience, slugs really rainbow arc out of these short barrels at anything past 25 yards, so if it's still hitting a few inches high at those ranges, that's not a really bad thing because it will drop into line at 50 yards or so.
I really should give it a test, though. Not much of a slug shooter, but it does interest me, just to see how it performs. The only thing I can think I would be throwing a slug at would be a "bear sized object" - and they aren't exactly a small target, a few or 6 inches of elevation in either direction isn't going to matter much. The patterning I was seeing lead me to think centre of pattern was still about three inches or so high at 25 yards, but that's tolerable.
I was just shooting 7.5 bird and 00 Federal - the police issue ammo that comes up for bulk buys every now and then... I didn't have any slugs with me. In my experience, slugs really rainbow arc out of these short barrels at anything past 25 yards, so if it's still hitting a few inches high at those ranges, that's not a really bad thing because it will drop into line at 50 yards or so.
I really should give it a test, though. Not much of a slug shooter, but it does interest me, just to see how it performs. The only thing I can think I would be throwing a slug at would be a "bear sized object" - and they aren't exactly a small target, a few or 6 inches of elevation in either direction isn't going to matter much. The patterning I was seeing lead me to think centre of pattern was still about three inches or so high at 25 yards, but that's tolerable.
Careful with these. I did backcountry weeklong canoe routes for a week for a few years every summer, and we packed one in a sealed plastic bottle, so it was kept dry. One year at a really remote site we got to thinking we'd never tried it. You know that line about a click on an empty chamber or dud primer being the loudest noise on the range? The firing pin wasn't the issue, good impact. The screw on flare/bangers don't really let you reload quickly, so this would have done nothing in a pinch. Sobering moment.
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- Location
- Central Alberta
I went with a Maverick 88 with way too much aftermarket crap.Before you know it, you have significantly more in accessories on it than the base price of the shotgun.Butler creek steel side folding stock, upgraded forearm/action bars,6round side saddle, a set of advantage tactical sights.The sights helped with the 12" high POI at 15 yards though.Voila! Like having an '86 Chevy Citation with purple color change paint and gold spinner rims.Only consolation is that it runs smooth.Good to carry, not that comfy to shoot.Those stocks are pure punishment.Especially as I like to pound out the slugs like they are going out of style.
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The Maverick 88 is utterly "cheap & cheerful" - mine just wears a nylon sidesaddle for shells, a sling and a Hi-Viz snap-on front-sight. I've learned to love the factory stock.
Get a Spec Ops recoil reducing stock. I can shoot slugs till I run out of money with almost zero discomfort.
My backpacker just got in, I was hoping to use it as a hiking/trail gun as well and I've noticed while looking through the bore that a portion of the bead that was screwed through the barrel is sticking out right in the pack of whatever happens to be shot out. I haven't taken it to the range yet, but has anyone else noticed this? Last thing I need is the front end of my muzzle to blast off with the first shot. Although I'm sure the added shrapnel would aid in penetration.
