New gun. Woo Hoo

[Stoner creek]

I'm picking up my new Mike Brooks gun tomorrow. That's the one posted here on our "for sale" forum. 54 cal.  This one has that wierd little peep half buckhorn rear sight. I'm an offhand shooter, always have been and have never seen or shot one of these sights. I'll keep you all posted about how this thing works. I'm really curious how it will work on woods walk or on a whitetail. New guns are fun!!!!

[moleeyes36]

Yes, please let us know how that sight works for you.  I'm particularly interested in how it works out in lower light conditions like you get in early morning or evening hunting situations.  In my experience that's when peep sights let you down. 

For those of us that are no spring chickens anymore, open sights can be a challenge to see well (or at all).  The set-up you have on the gun you just got from Mike Brooks could be a really nice solution.  I'm still a few million dollars short of the one hundred million dollars Mike asks for his guns  . 

Looking forward to hearing how it does at the range. 

Mole Eyes

[tuffy]

Most of the grey beards have shot this type of sight while they were in the service. From the M1 Garand to the M16, they have all had battle (peep) sights on them. Great for daylight but not so much in dwindling light.

           CW

[Molly]

I asked my eye dr if there was something he could make to help my shooting, such as a special lens for range use only.  His response was shoot at targets that were closer and bigger!  Some advice that was!  Mike posted a comment on that listing, I think, that the sight was a help to him.  It seems to me that to be effective it would need to be much nearer to the shooters eye that a typical sight would be.  It's an interesting concept but I'm not sure how much it would help.

PS....just noted the other thread on the peepsight experiment.  Seems the normal position of the rear sight proves to be "too far up the barrel" as I thought would be the case.  Another poster somewhere posted a comment to simply tape it on and try it before cutting the dove tail.

[Hungry Horse]

Molly;

  You need a new optometrist for starters. Mine had me bring in my long rifle and made my glasses to match the sight spacing.
 I have a set of sights that have a piece of refrigerator magnet material hot glued on the bottom so I can move them around and get the optimum spacing.

     Hungry Horse

[EC121]

Years ago Jeff Cooper recommended removing the insert from a target peep sight and using the larger outer holder to sight.  Works similar to the ghost ring sights on double rifles. Might not work for target shooting but it should work under low light.  I believe the hole in the sight from Track is large enough to see through under low light conditions.  Close to the eye the hole looks huge, and the ring goes out of focus but your eye will still center the front sight. 

[moleeyes36]

...I have a set of sights that have a piece of refrigerator magnet material hot glued on the bottom so I can move them around and get the optimum spacing.

     Hungry Horse

That's a good plan, I'll have to try it.  Better than using double sided tape like I always do.  Thanks for the tip.

Mole Eyes

[Maven]

I've had similar problems with accommodation as I've aged.  A piece of electrician's (or similar) tape with a small hole in it taped to your shooting glasses works, as does a Merit Optical Sight.  The tape, however, is loads cheaper and easier to adjust.  You may also want to try +1.0 - 1.5 diopter clip on reading glasses.  You'll have to experiment with just how much correction you'll need, but they really work.

[Molly]

I also some years ago purchased a small peep sight that stick to the lens of a pair of glasses via a very small suction cup.  Problem is that the lens needs to be basically flat or the suction cup won't stick.  It also can mess up the lens if any grime gets under the cup.  I also have tried it on the safety glasses I use when shooting.  They are flatter and it sticks better.  But it does not seem that it helped that much.  I saw a rifle recently that had a peep sight mounted on the side using a base that mounted near the side plate.  Sort of awkward looking but the owner said it was very effective.  He also used a very unconventional front sight with a white dot.  I think these things are certainly exactly like what they used in 1785........NOT!

[Stoner creek]

Well, I got the gun, took it down to the range and gave it a try. My first mistake was taking a full bead sight picture. I used an 8 ring big bull target. The first attempt with that full bead sight picture completely hid the target. I changed to a fine bead and that helped. After that I shot with both eyes open. That made a big improvement.  I filed the blade to bring it upon the target ( got it up to 6 o'clock 9 ring) and filed a 45 degree angle on the top of the blade to catch a little light. Tomorrow I'll get it in the 10 ring. I think the sight will work well on the small bull target. Will see and report. Novelty targets should be interesting.

[Tony N]

Curious!!  How'd you do?


~Tony

[Stoner creek]

Got it in the 10 ring. It seemed like the more I shot it, the better I could see the 10. I'm going to the small bull today. The gun weighs close to 10 lbs. so I have to recondition these flabby muscles. My House gun weighs 10 lbs. and I can recall the day when that was just right.

[Tony N]

Sounds like a shooter! Good luck in the woods this fall!

~Tony

[Daryl]

Well done, Stoner - 10 pounds is a good weight for an offhand rifle.

[Don Steele]

I wear a pair of shooting glasses with removeable lenses made by Bud Decot. When I began to experience the "Aging eyes" syndrome I called them to discuss what we might do. I don't know all the proper "Optometrist" terminology, but in simple terms, the solution was to keep the weak side lense as it was, for seeing at distance ( the target) and use a new lense on the strong side, specially ground to see the sights, then keep both eyes open. The brain will figure it out.
A couple of other observations on the vision/iron sight topic I've made over time. These are not opinion, but rather based on my experience shooting with bad eyes :
1. Peep sights, like the Lyman 57ML work well, but you surrender the ability to shoot in low light. Of course, you also have left the more traditional "fixed sight" game behind. That said, I still enjoy using such a setup for shooting bench rest on a nice sunny day.
2. Using a "peep" type sight I have learned that my precision ( i.e.: SIZE of groups) varies directly with the size of the opening. I have screw in inserts with several different opening sizes. I have spent a fair amount of range time doing test and evaluation for my own edification. Larger sized "peep" openings work better in lower light levels, but you give up a little on precision ( groups open up as peep size opens up).
3. Removing the "peep" insert altogether and shooting a "Ghost Ring" works just fine for hunting in my area. Shots on game tend to be pretty close...well under 100 yds...and "minute of deer/hog" is still quite achievable using a ghost ring set-up.
4. Adding something like the Merit Eye Disc definitely helps see the iron sights but can be a little clumsy in the woods. I never got "a piece of electrical tape on the strong side lense" to work for me, but I know some who have.
For those new to the "Aging eyes" situation, I hope at least some of this helps. 

[moleeyes36]

I shoot with Don Steele and whatever he does works well for him.  He's a good shot, especially when you consider that he regularly shoots a right handed flintlock from the left side.  That takes good follow through with the priming powder going off right in front of his nose.

Mole Eyes