Peep Sight Questions.......

[Mr. Neutron]

Made it to the range this a.m.. Many thanks to member GFK for his advice to rest the receiver on the sandbag, I feel this helped a lot.

With the .7" tall brass front sight and the RPP peep, the first group I shot was at 25 yards Almost a 2" group. Not great for off a bench, but at this point, I'm happy just to have a group on paper, even if it's still around 2.5" higher than I want (again, at 25 yds.). Looked like this:

20221014_103306 (2).jpg

Moving the same target out to 100 yards really exposed some weaknesses in my shooting. The combination of me sucking and somewhat of a warmish barrel is flat embarassing. Anyway, at 100 yds., holding the post at the bottom of the 3" red bullseye (6 o'clock hold), sent my first shot over the top of the target. The second shot, same hold, is in the yellow, upper right. Changing my hold to a 6 o'clock hold at the bottom of the target got me back on paper. Shots 3 & 4 were decent (for my eyes and shooting ability at 100 yds.). Shot #5 was a total muff on my part. Shot #6 was stacked on top of my 25 yd. group.

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This all showed me that I really need to practice with my rifle, on the bench and off. Need to show more patience and let the barrel cool more. And I still need a front sight about .075" higher......

I did get lucky this afternoon and scored 3 more boxes of the Winchester 150 Power Point. They may not group as good as the Federal Fusions I have, or the Hornady Leverevolutions, but for now, they can get me close to where I'd like to be. If I limit my shots to, say, 75 yards or less, I think I can hunt with this setup. My first bull elk was shot at 15 yards in the trees, so there is a chance........

[GFK]

Nice report! Glad that you are making progress. Keep shooting. I believe that you will find the sweet spot. At times, I may only shoot 10 rounds or so, within an hour. After then, I am done. I just take my time when squeezing the trigger. I did not know that could be so exhausting. At any rate, happy hunting!

[Mags]

... scored 3 more boxes of the Winchester 150 Power Point. They may not group as good as the Federal Fusions...

Good to see your progress. Federal Fusion for me has been the best as well. Winchester Power Point and Remington Core Lokt the worst. Even my reloads using Leverevolution powder are better than those two.

[Mr. Neutron]

Mags, I know this is "off-topic", but.......

If it's okay to ask (if not, you can tell me to mind my own business...... ), did you have to get your Leverevolution powder thru the interwebs somewhere, or did some one here in our area get some in? Has it been awhile since you bought it? What bullets are you pushin' with your powder?

[Mags]

Mags, I know this is "off-topic", but.......

If it's okay to ask (if not, you can tell me to mind my own business...... ), did you have to get your Leverevolution powder thru the interwebs somewhere, or did some one here in our area get some in? Has it been awhile since you bought it? What bullets are you pushin' with your powder?

I got walk-in lucky at Sportsmans, twice. Not sure of the dates. But I think in 2021. I've seen it on the shelf at least once since then (but seldom otherwise). I used the Hodgdon website for reload data. 35.7-36.3gr. I use Hornady #3035, a 150gr RN .308 diameter bullet.

[Mr. Neutron]

Thought I'd give abit of "update" of sorts on my progress with my sight setup........

Real quick, first: If I had settled on a BARREL Mounted peep sight, things would've been MUCH easier. Most likely I could have simply ordered a slightly taller front sight, or maybe not even needed a taller one at all, and things likely would've been splendid.

But I much prefer a RECEIVER mounted rear peep, so I had to go on a quest to get a taller front sight to work with the
taller receiver peep. I like the longer sight radius with the peep on the receiver, and I learned that I prefer the sight picture from a Skinner receiver peep over my RPP receiver peep. Just a personal (probably OCD) preference. The RPP is a fine peep, but it still needs a taller front sight to work on my rifle also. I do thnk the Skinner peep has more adjustability, as far as windage and elevation are concerned.

I took a lot of measurements on my gun to find out how far above the rifle's bore centerline the Skinner peep actually sat. I then tried to get a front sight combo that would give a value close to what I needed to match the Skinner peep's height, and allow a few turns of adjustment of that peep, I went with a Williams Streamlined Screw On Hoodless ramp. You can get these in differing heights; I bought one that was 7/16" tall. I then took my Skinner brass .7" tall post and filed and sanded it down to .6" in height. The front sight/ramp combo looks like this:

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Back sight is now the Skinner Alaskan peep: (Again, not bagging on the RPP peep. There's just things about the Skinner I prefer. Don't really care what either looks like, cosmetically. I just prefer the Skinner's sight picture and adjustability more...... )

20221026_164033.jpg

The Skinner peep/Williams ramp and brass post front sight netted a 1" group for me at 25 yards, but for some reason, I can't post the picture of it. The group is pretty well centered, but about 4"+ below where I want it to be. I'm okay with that. A needed shorter front sight is easy enough to make with the Skinner post, or buy another one. Either way, it's not too hard of a change to make.......

And this leads me to a question I have for the knowledge base here. With a rear peep sight, what type of front sight (Patridge-stype post, or a TruGlo/HiViz fiber optic) do you folks prefer to HUNT with? I get the concept of the post blocking less of the target. And it's a very valid point. But I've shot with fiber optics of some sort on almost all handguns for a long time, and just feel more "comfortable" with those. The glow from these little plastic light pipes sure seems to be easier to find in low light conditions, like I'd expect when hunting. The sky was pretty overcast yesterday, and the brass post could be harder to get more "definition' sometimes, for my eyes, anyway. Does anyone here shoot a fiber optic with a 6 'oclock hold?

Again, Thanks in advance for all your help, replies, and advice, It is SO MUCH appreciated!!

[Mr. Neutron]

Here's another attempt at my target photo. Again, it's nothing to brag about, it's only at 25 yards, but it is better than I have been getting, and a little closer to where I want the group to be, as well as easier to resolve for elevation, I'm hoping.

I'm thinking that it may lean me towards hunting with the post front sight, as I haven't yet shot a group any better than I have here......

20221026_215802.jpg

[Mags]

...Aww, crap!!! For whatever reason, it's rotated clockwise 90 degrees. Sigh. This picture posting thing is kickin' my buttocks on this message board......

Using a cell phone to take pictures? Try taking your pictures with the top of the phone rotated 90' left.

There is an old topic in the photography topics that go into this for this website issue.

[Mr. Neutron]

Hey, Mags!

Thanks man! I'll search for that thread.

But all my other pics were taken with the same camera, and there were no weird "rotational" issues with them?

Added in EDIT:
Fixed it! Found the thread that dealt with it. I guess it was the way my camera sized it? Had to edit it on my phone (resized it, I *think*). No small feat for a Tech Goober like myself.......

[GFK]

Looks nice! I use a 6 o’clock with my Marlin 1894, which has a fiber front post. Yet, it also has a semi-buckhorn rear sight. Due to the look and expected range of shooting (75 yards or less), I plan to keep the semi-buckhorn. I have not hunted with it yet. But, I would.

[Mr. Neutron]

Thanks, GFK!!

I kinda feel that your suggestion to put the receiver on the sandbags, instead of the wood foregrip, helped a bunch. I'll be eternally grateful to you for that tip you gave earlier in this thread.

And I appreciate you chiming in about your Marlin's front sight setup as well.That helps me. By any chance does your Marlin have any sort of sight ramp, or is that front sight dovetailed into the the barrel?

Like GFK, I really wanna keep my shots at 75 yds. or less. Not so much due to the sights or caliber; sometimes I have a tough time seeing antlers (or not) at distances over that without my binocs. My local gun club only lets us shoot at either 25 yds. or 100 yds.. I really have to find somewhere that I can set a 75 yd. zero.......

Almost all of my "modern handguns" have a fiber optic or Tritium dot setup sighted in at a 6 o'clock hold. Before the ammo & reloading component supply went goofy, these were what I shot the most, and I'm very much a creature of habit. I really wish I could find a flat topped fiber optic sight for my rifle that's similar to what I have on my Kimber .45. I like the flat Patridge-style post, but with a glowing dot near the top of the post. Most fiber optic rifle front sights (with the 3/8" dovetail) seem to have a rounded top.

I am still amazed at how high of a front sight I'm winding up with to get it to work with either of the receiver peep sights I have! I figure I'll end up with either a post or fiber optic front sight around .500" tall and mounted on a 7/16" tall ramp.

I may try some sight paint on my post to see if that helps some.

Thanks again for all the help, Y'all!!!

[GFK]

Hi Mr. Neutron,

The front sight is dovetail. Below is a link. Also, I have the rear sight set at max elevation. So, I may replace the front post. I got one to match the original height (.343"). It is shooting just about where I would like the height to be. But, it is a little to the right. I may adjust windage a bit. Yet, I want to wear in the trigger a little more, before I do. The trigger seems a little stiff. In addition, I replaced the hood for the post with one that has an opening. So, the fiber can get more light.

Sight:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P9 ... th=1&psc=1

1894C.jpg

For comparison, this is where POI was using the original post with rear sight at max:

50Yards-1.JPG

DSCN0535.JPG

[Mr. Neutron]

Nice Shooting, GFK!!! Very nice groups, and especially at 50 yds.!

I guess I got lucky with the trigger on my H009G. My manual (spring) Williams trigger pull scale has my trigger pull consistently breaking a 3 & 3/4 lbs.. I just received my RPP sear & spring kit this afternoon, but I'm almost hesitant to put it in.

[GFK]

3 and 3/4 pounds seem good. I don't know what my 1894 breaks at. But, it seems firm to me. My Henry seems to have a softer break. Yet, I plan to shoot the 1894 some more. I rather wear it in. As often as I shoot it, it may be another year or so. I cycle through my firearms about once a year. So, not much shooting. However, I am hoping that will change, when I decide to stop working. Until then, I just shoot, when I get a chance.

[Mr. Neutron]

Well, it had been awhile since I originally checked the rifle's trigger pull, & I guess I forgot what it was when I posted above. I actually just re-checked my rifle's pull again, and the gauge consistently read 3.5 lbs. after numerous readings this morning. Maybe my old gauge is flaky, but I think I may not put the new sear in. I think I'll put the trigger, hammer, and lever shims in, and lube the hammer & sear's engagement surfaces with Brownell's "Action Lube Plus" and re-measure.

Added in EDIT: I decided "What the heck....." and decided to put the RPP Sear & Spring in while I had the gun diassembled. It reduced the trigger pull to 3 lbs., and sometimes the high 2 lb. range (2 & 15/16??). I'm no Trigger Snob, but it's a nice feeling trigger. I like it. Hoping it may help shrink my groups a bit......

[Mr. Neutron]

Well, hoping for a bit of “closure” for this front sight/Skinner receiver peep saga. I just couldn’t get over how high of a front sight my rifle required to work with my Skinner Express front sight. I don’t think I’ll regret all I needed to do to get it working, but man, oh man, was it ever some effort to get there………

I’ve wound up with a Williams 7/16” Streamlined screw-on front ramp and a .450” high brass front Patridge post. I still need to bring up my grouping an inch or so at 25 yards. I’m hoping to get a 75 yard zero, mostly because my dominant eye cataract makes it tough for me at any longer of a distance. I also need to remember to bring tools (hammer and a punch) to knock the back sight around for windage.

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There are two 3-shot groups in the pic. The bottom one is with some 150gr hand loads, while the slightly tighter upper group is from Hornady 170s. The 170 Interlocks may be what I pursue for my reloads, I think……..

A04CDC6E-F189-4851-B3DC-A29980AE19CD.jpeg

In summary, it would definitely be easier & simpler to have just gone with one of Skinner's barrel mounted peeps. Probably wouldn't have needed the extra hassle of a sight ramp, and possibly just drive out the factory sight, and replace it with a slightly taller one in the factory dovetail, and call it done. Simple.

But I much prefer having the peep as close to my eye as I can get it (the receiver mount Express peep like I went with) for a coupla reasons. Longer sight radius, easier for me to see and look through, and etc.. So, I went that way, and needed a much taller front sight. I think it's gonna be worth it. At the same time, I "switched horses", and decided that I really like the Patridge style post with the 6 o'clock hold, instead of the fiber optic, which does block a lot of the target at longer distances. I now have a similar front sight on my .22 Golden Boy, along with a Skinner receiver mounted Express on the back, so both rifles have near identical sight pictures. Be good for practicing my off hand shooting, which I really suck at. Another switch I did midstream of all this was to move from 150 gr factory loads to 170 gr hand loads. This kinda muddied things up a bit, even though I know from past experiences to not make more than one change at a time. I really wish that brains and some self discipline came with age……

Thanks to all who helped here, and for putting up with this long-winded affair!

[Mike_S]

I had read that most of the receiver mounted sights will require a higher front sight. If I was to install a peep on my 30-30 I'd have stuck with the barrel mounted peep or change them all to the fiber. I have to be honest, the 357 X was staying black and getting a red dot but after shooting it with the fiber optic sights they will stay and the black will be replaced with walnut.

I replaced the rear fiber barrel mounted sight on my 357 BBX with the RPP aperture on the receiver, filled in the barrel dovetail, perfect at 25 yards offhand on a paper plate. So far I am tickled the way it worked out.

[Mr. Neutron]

Glad that worked out for ya, Mike_S!!!!!

I too have an RPP rear peep (non-cloverleaf), and have nothing bad to say about 'em. One thing that I Really Liked about it was that it took less of a height adjustment than the Skinner Receiver sight I'm now using. I could have just bought a very tall Patridge-style sight and used the RPP, albeit pretty much bottomed out for elevation adjustment, due to it shootin' too high with whatever front sight I had on at the time. I *think* it could've gotten by without having to resort to screwing on a ramp/front sight combo that the Skinner required. On my rifle, anyways...... That gun shot obscenely high with the factory Buckhorn sights, for some reason, and made getting things dialed in for a peep kinda tough to do while still having some adjustment left for elevation/load changes & etc..