Golden Boy 22LR with Skinner peep sight

[deano5150]

A few months ago I put a Skinner barrel mounted peep on my Golden Boy 22LR. I really liked the look of it and it makes seeing the front sight and target MUCH easier. However, I didn’t seem to be quite as accurate with my groups so I replaced it with the original semi-buckhorn sight. My eyes are starting to show their age (48) and seeing that front sight in the buckhorn notch is putting a strain on them. So I put the peep back on a couple of nights ago. I took the rifle out this afternoon to sight it in. I didn’t have to adjust them a bit. Here are pictures of 10, 25 and 50 yard shooting from a rest (my range bag). The first three rounds at 25 yards I was covering the black sticker with the front sight. Those went high so I “split” the target (covered the bottom half) with the front sight and started hitting the black. My group opened up quite a bit at 50 yards. At that distance, the front bead covers the entire 6” black sticker. I’d love to hear your honest opinions. Are these decent groups for a peep and factory bead at those ranges? Or do I need to put in many more hours of practice? Either way I’m happy.

[North Country Gal]

Honest opinion? Those are very reasonable groups for using that kind of sight picture, covering bull with the bead. You can easily squeeze those groups tighter by using a six o'clock hold with the bead tickling the bottom of the bull, rather than covering it.

Another way to get a sharper sight picture when bullseye shooting is to use a blade front sight instead of a bead. A bead is traditional and some like it for its visibility, but it's tougher to draw a sharp sight picture on the bullseye with a bead.

The fact that you're keeping all but a few shots in the black, though, suggests that your technique is good. Do try a different sight picture and see if that helps.

[deano5150]

Honest opinion? Those are very reasonable groups for using that kind of sight picture, covering bull with the bead. You can easily squeeze those groups tighter by using a six o'clock hold with the bead tickling the bottom of the bull, rather than covering it.

Another way to get a sharper sight picture when bullseye shooting is to use a blade front sight instead of a bead. A bead is traditional and some like it for its visibility, but it's tougher to draw a sharp sight picture on the bullseye with a bead.

The fact that you're keeping all but a few shots in the black, though, suggests that your technique is good. Do try a different sight picture and see if that helps.

Thanks for the advice. I’ll try a six o’clock hold next time. Even if I shoot low, maybe my windage will be tighter. I’ve considered a blade front sight as well. I’ll do a little research on that and get some recommendations. Also, I noticed that shooting at a round target through a round aperture can be a bit confusing to my eye. Next time I’ll just take some plain sheets of white paper and draw a square black box for the bullseye. Maybe that will help.

[North Country Gal]

Remember, with a peep sight, look though it and then ignore it, focusing and concentrating fully on the the front sight and the target. This is relatively easy to do with a tang mounted peep and even a receiver mounted peep, but it can be a little tougher with a barrel mount. Your eye will automatically find the center of the aperture for you if you let it. The eye naturally seeks the brightest spot in an aperture and that, of course, is the center of the peep. In other words, don't consciously try to center the front sight and target in the peep. Let your eye do it. See if that helps when things get a little confusing.

[deano5150]

Remember, with a peep sight, look though it and then ignore it, focusing and concentrating fully on the the front sight and the target. This is relatively easy to do with a tang mounted peep and even a receiver mounted peep, but it can be a little tougher with a barrel mount. Your eye will automatically find the center of the aperture for you if you let it. The eye naturally seeks the brightest spot in an aperture and that, of course, is the center of the peep. In other words, don't consciously try to center the front sight and target in the peep. Let your eye do it. See if that helps when things get a little confusing.

Will do. Thanks! Heck, now I’m ready to go back and try again. Oh, well. I’ll have to wait for Saturday. Hope it doesn’t rain.

[North Country Gal]

You're very welcome. Hope all this helps.