Peep sights on a Marlin 1895 in 45-70.

[Nobody]

11111

[kimwcook]

It's up to you. If you're doing fine with open sights than why change other than preference. Most the time peeps help focus and center up on the front sight.

[Old Savage]

The most accurate shooting I have done with iron sights has been with open sights but as has been said - depends on you.

[claybob86]

Peeps work better for those of us whose eyes aren't what they used to be because the aperture helps bring the front sight and target into better focus, plus you don't have to focus on the notch in the rear sight, you just look through the hole. Peeps mounted on the receiver or tang also increase the sight radius, which helps with accuracy too.

[J Miller]

Bob,

At 59 I can still shoot with open barrel sights pretty good. But, it's easier to shoot with peep sights.
Two of my lever guns wear receiver sights now, the rest will eventually. The way I look at it is if you can shoot well with the open sights, once you train your eyes to use them you'll shoot better with peep sights.

Joe

[Nobody]

11111

[claybob86]

I think we're all talking about peep (aperture) sights. In some cases a shorter or taller front sight front sight than stock is required with a peep sight.

[Nobody]

11111

[Chuck 100 yd]

They are the only type of open sight I hunt with.
When I shoot my old timey Kentucky long rifles I have to use a Merit diopter to see the sights to get any kind of sight picture.
No problem when using a aperture rear sight.

Generally receiver sights are called peep sights. Commonly any sight you look through a small hole is called a peep sight.

You may or may not need to change the height of the front sight. Depends on the rifle and the loading you are shooting.
I have not HAD to change out any front sights on any .30-30 or.32 Win. ,.444 or .45-70 rifle I have them on.

I have installed .500 high fronts on a couple rifles due to the stock being straighter than I liked and the higher front sight allowed me to elevate the rear sight for more cheek room on the comb.

When aiming a peep sight, just look through the hole and align the front sight with the target. Don`t worry about centering the front in the peep hole. your eye will do that automatically. The most light comes through the center of the aperture and the eye will naturally align with the center.

[AJMD429]

Are you just making sure the top of the front post is on the thing you want to destroy and it has to be close to the center of the circle?

Pretty much. You can basically ignore the rear sight - your eyes will automatically seek the center.

The thread I link to here has lots of pictures and types of aperture sights, if it is of any help - some of the pics show a fairly good idea of what you actually 'see' when you look through them.

• Link - http://www.levergunscommunity.com - Tons of Peeps

Here's a few pics from that thread that might help you see how aperture sights work:

See how this first one (Williams WGRS on a Guide Gun with a Williams FireSight front) just sort of automatically makes you want to 'fix' it by aiming 'down' a bit, to make the fiberoptic dot be centered...?


Likewise, this one (a Williams FP on a 98 Mauser) makes you intuitively want to aim just a bit to the right*.
(I didn't take these that way on purpose, it's just hard to center a camera that precisely.)

*What actually happens is that you'd slightly adjust your eye position to the right to center the front sight in the opening. Then of course your front post won't be on-target anymore, so you put it back on target by aiming the gun to the right. It sounds complicated if you describe it, but it really just happens automatically.

Finally, this one (a 'target' aperture on a Taurus tang sight, with a wide light-shield - not good for hunting because it would block your view) is perfectly centered on the Lyman 'Globe' front sight on a .357 levergun.


That's how the sights work. There are two other things to consider; calibration and location.

• An ADDITIONAL advantage of 'receiver' sights is that often they are calibrated, so you can make precise adjustments, knowing that twelve clicks will be, say, three inches at a hundred yards, so if you change loads or even want to adjust sights for a different distance, it is easy and fast, and you can put them exactly back where they were just as fast. That isn't ONLY a feature of 'aperture' sights though, because some 'open' ones have that (and you can get an 'open' blade for the Williams FP's if you like), and of course a few (not many) open sights are so calibrated.
  
  The other difference is location - some people want their sights out on the barrel, as that seems easier to focus on, so they prefer 'open' sights, since you DO have to focus on them a bit to center the dot/post in the notch. Others want their sights back on the receiver, or even on the tang of the rifle, and will not try to focus on them, but rather look 'through' them; of course they tend to want aperture sights for that purpose. You'll not see many 'open' sights back on the receiver, for nobody could focus on them enough to use them, but you'll occasionally see an aperture sight up on the barrel, where they actually CAN be used. One of my favorite sights is the Marble's "Bullseye" sight (pictured below), and it is a barrel-mounted ghost-ring (large) style 'aperture' sight that replaces traditional dovetailed-in rear barrel-mounted open sights. My only dislike about it is that it adjusts the same way most barrel-mounted sights do - 'drift and tap'. But once you get it set where you want it, it IS a fast and accurate sight.

This is actually my favorite sight as far as the 'view' - and it looks just like the photo does, with just that amount of 'blurring' - which means you can use the outer 'thicker' ring for a snap-shot say at a hog coming towards you, and the inner 'fuzzy' ring will let you perfectly center the bead if you just take an extra second. I've not seen ANY other iron sight that leaves you with such an unobstructed view, in all directions.

Someday I'm gonna mount a Marble's Bullseye top on a Williams FP bottom, and put it on the forward scope-mount holes on my Marlin 1894. THAT would be the ultimate sight...

[Blaine]

Just look through the ghost ring and put the front sight on your target. I have a Ashley Outdoors Ghost Ring, and a small diameter green HiViz front....it's just like using a red dot scope if you do it right. I also have a Leupold Scout Scope on it. I can group about as good with the Ghost Ring as I can with the Scout Scope.

[piller]

I spend 40 hours a week or more just staring at things less than 1 foot away. My eyes aren't what they used to be, and the peep sight on my 1895GS gives me a much better sight picture. With open sights, I have to choose between which two of the back, and which two of the front sights that I see. If I close one eye, then I only see one of each, but with a rear peep, I have a very clear sight picture even with both eyes open. Having both eyes open allows me to have some semblance of a judgement of the distance to the target. Eventually my 336 will have a scope or a peep sight on it, but I am not quite sure which yet. I'll probably get another Skinner sight, but I am just not finding enough time to go to the range, and no time at all for hunting, so I can wait on the sight.

[Old Savage]

I'll say this again. Try both and see what works for you. I was quite surprised that the rudimentary fold down sights on my 94 BB 444 allowed me to hit a tennis ball or golf ball at 100 yds depending on the ammo on the good shots. With a military Mauser with those pointy military open sights I managed a .9" group. What one person sees and has work for them may be different than someone else regardless of the reasoning used. I also found that years ago with a BLR and it's very basic sights I managed a 1" group. Vision changed after that and I got 8 to 10" groups with my 94 for a while. A scope brought that back under and inch. Vision changed again and then I could shoot again with the open sights - age and eyes are a funny thing. Use what works for you. The whole both eyes open thing doesn't add anything for me. I already know the range when I mount the rifle and it doesn't aid concentration but ... others really like the idea. This is one of those subjects that brings a lot of opinion out the the woodwork.

[AJMD429]

I was quite surprised that the rudimentary fold down sights on my 94 BB 444 allowed me to hit a tennis ball or golf ball at 100 yds depending on the ammo on the good shots.

I'll bet there's not much left of a golf ball when a .444 hits it. . .

You're right about just trying different ones and seeing what works though. Kind of like shoes; everyone knows what works for their own feet, but hard to predict what someone else will really like.

[Old Savage]

Yes - even the new Surylin cover won't take that.

[JBledsoe]

.

Peep or aperture sight are no more accurate than the open factory sights. The advantage is for those with poor eyesight or some of us who shoot long range and need the extra elevation. If you can shoot well with factory sights, why change? Spend your money on something useful. I use aperture sights to get more elevation which is not available with factory sights. The photo below shows a "peep" sight on Marlin 38-55. You have all seen this sight but probably no on a Marlin.



Peep sights are also a favorite sight system for shooting Peeps.

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[hightime]

I like them on my pistol cartridge rifles, but I think on mt 1895 Cowboy 45-70 the recoil will get me hurt with a tang peep. I'm shooting 46 gr of 3031 on 405 gr Speer and it kicks hard. There's no way I want my eye that close to the sight.
Maybe one of those reciever peeps.

Owen