Changing sights to help older eyes

[Matureshooter]

Just checking to see if anyone has experience with a Marble's tang sight on a Frontier .22. I'm thinking of making the change since my eyes don't work as well as they used to. It has been years since I've done any shooting at all. I have a lot of experience, shooting large bore matches before being drafted and then in the Army, served in Vietnam as a sniper. Just trying to get back into the fun of shooting. Shot in a few small bore matches while in the Army too.

[Les]

I don't have any experience with Marble's tang sights, but I have fitted Skinner peep sights to my two Henrys and I can now see clearly with iron sights for the first time in 30+ years.

I'm sure the Marble's tang sight will have the same benefit.

[JEBar]

thanks for raising this question, I'm looking forward to reading the responses .... I wear trifocals and for the most part, I gave up on open sights and began mounting scopes on my rifles many years ago ...

[Ojaileveraction]

I'm wearing progressive lens glasses now (last month) and my shouting has improved.
I can concentrate more easily on that front sight.
I shoot my lever guns at steel targets were I have a large area (several square moa) on the target that means a successful hit. So I'm able to have a lot of fun using receiver peep sights out to even 500yrds.
There is no way I could use peep sights to shoot paper targets out past 50 yards and have any kind of success.
I've got a new to me leveraction in 35 Remington I'm going to make a more less dedicated hunting rifle that I'm going to scope.

[North Country Gal]

Either a receiver peep or a tang peep will help with your shooting with old eyes. How much will depend on the individual. The peeps still work pretty well for me, most days, but there are days when switching to a red dot or even a scope is a huge relief as far as eliminating eye fatigue. Going optical with a red dot (great alternative to iron) or a scope definitely allows for longer shooting sessions before fatigue and fuzziness set it. I still keep some guns set up with a peeps and even open sights, though, because I love shooting with iron sights and always will.

Peeps help in two ways with old eyes. The first is that it takes the rear sight out of the sight picture, so the only thing to focus is the front sight. This is especially important benefit for me on rifles where the rear open sight is so close to my eye that it turns very fuzzy. Hand guns are better for me in this respect because I can keep that rear sight out far enough to be a bit sharper. Even a barrel mounted peep will do this for for me, so still an improvement over the old buckhorn sights or typical lever gun open sights.

The second is the sharpening effect on the front sight/target. To be the most effective, here, you need the smallest possible aperture size that the light will allow. A peep that puts the aperture up closest to the eye will allow the smallest aperture size and provide the highest amount of sharpening. In this respect, a barrel mounted peep way out there doesn't do much for sharpening, but is still a benefit, as above.

I love a tang peep. Have one on our 1885 Low Wall Classic 22 LR. A tang peep allows for closer placement of the aperture to the eye than the typical receiver mounted peep that you would put on a lever gun. The only receiver mounted peep that can compete with a tang peep is a full blown competition grade receiver peep with a bar that extends back to also put the aperture next to your eye. A peep with the aperture right next to the eye really is the most efficient peep. The only problem, here, is that most lever guns, these days, will need to be drilled and tapped on the tang to take a tang peep. Much easier these days, to go a receiver peep on your lever gun. Very few guns, anymore, are set up from the factory with a drilled and tapped tang.

I think the tang peep is the classiest looking of all iron sights, though, so well worth the extra work. Just so happens that my 1885 Low Wall Classic 22 LR WAS drilled and tapped on the tang for a peep so I wasted no time in adding a Marbles.

[Matureshooter]

Thanks to those that have responded. I have a lot of experience shooting with receiver peep sights since that is what we used in the Army. I'm getting some Kelley Soule type sights for my 45-70 Sharps and looking forward to doing some long range, 800+ yards with it.

[North Country Gal]

We'd love to hear about it!

[Squatch]

I love my Peeps. I haven't used a Marbles yet on my own rifles. I have a project going on now with a Stevens 1915 Favorite. I intend to add a Marbles to that. The tang is drilled for one.

I believe on the Henry 22's You have to drill one hole and tap it. Then use a longer screw for the tang screw. This is what I've read about the Golden Boys anyway.

[Sir Henry]

Four of my Henrys wears a Marbles tang and a Lyman globe. The combination is excellent and I highly recommend them both. In addition I also have a Steven's 3-hole peep which is great because it allows using the best peep for the light as NCG mentioned.

[Squatch]

The Merit adjustable aperture works well also.