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.

[kjunman10]

I don't want to go through the expense of a tang sight for my Henry Frontier so would like a suggestion on a peep sight for that gun. Skinner makes a groove receiver which I am thinking about as it does not need to be drilled and tapped. Does anyone have suggestions on it and if so, what front sight is used as they recommend a higher front sight? Also, somewhere I read that while using that peep sight you don't have to center on the peep just align the front sight on the target and ready to so. Is that correct?
I want to keep this rifle as close to original but want to be able to see what I am shooting at.
By the way, whoever owns that Sharps rifle, you have the rifle of my dreams.
Thank ya'll for any assistance!!!

[tractortad]

I've got the Skinner rimfire rear peep sight(mounts on the grooves) on my 24" Frontier with a .494" Lyman Globe on the front - works real good for me and my old eyes....

[North Country Gal]

Can't help you on the Henry specific questions, but, yes, as far as how to use a peep sight. On all peep sights, regardless of type, you look though the peep and then forget about it, only concentrating and focusing on the front sight. Your eye automatically seeks the center of the peep sight if you do this. DO NOT make any conscious effort to center the front sight in the peep sight hole.

There are two advantages gained, here. The first is potential sharpening of the front sight/target, depending on the size of the aperture (hole in the peep) and distance of the peep from the eye (the closer the peep to the eye, the better, hence the advantage of tang peeps). Because of differences in our vision, of course, this can vary from one shooter to the next. No guarantees, here. One of those things you have to try and experiment with.

The second is a sight picture that consists of ONLY the front sight and the target and this one IS guaranteed, no matter the type of peep or distance from the eye. In other words, a peep takes the rear sight out of the sight picture, completely. You see only a front sight and the target. For us oldsters, this one is a biggie, since it's the rear open sight on a rifle that is the hardest for us to see, sharply, due to the fact that it is actually too close to our eye.

You can use any type of front sight with a peep. There's no peep sight specific requirement. I much prefer either a blade front or a globe front for target work, but bead front sights are more traditional on lever guns and for hunting, fiber optic front sights are popular for their visibility, especially in low light. Not very traditional, but they do work.

[RanchRoper]

I saw an 1860 Henry with the rear ladder sight replaced with a Skinner peep sight. It didn't look half bad. Would take some getting used to, but better than wasting ammo downrange if you're struggling. Might end up on my Henry some day.

[CLA]

Timely discussion... I just bought a Golden Boy and as soon as I picked it up and looked through the sights at the gun shop, I knew they had to go... not compatible with these 65 year old eyes.

I've been looking at the Marples "Bullseye" peep sight and the Skinner sights. I've never used a peep sight before, so I ordered the less expensive of the two and got the Marples for about $13 to try them out.

I wear progressive lens tri-focals, they haven't worked too well with any iron sights period, I'm hoping it's different with the peep sight... my other thought is to have a set of glasses made up that will work just for using iron sights.

Optics will be my last resort, wanting to stay with the traditional look.

[BrokenolMarine]

I put the skinner sights on my 357 Carbine, and the group shrunk dramatically. Easy to install as well.

[Ojaileveraction]

I have Williams fp gr w/tar knob peep sights on my three Henry Octagon rimfires. I've added a gib lock knob on all of them
They are adjustable and the settings are repeatable.

[Squatch]

I've got Skinner peeps and Lyman globe fronts sights on all my Henry's. Love them.

The Marbles Bullseye sight is an inexpensive sight and an easy replacement for the factory buckhorn. I had one for a while on my Golden Boy. it is a big improvement over the buckhorn in my opinion. But it is too far from the eye and being black it gets lost when shooting it in dappled sunlight or in the woods. Not bad for the money but no where near the quality of sight and sight picture you get with a Skinner on the receiver.

[ditto1958]

I’ve been wearing glasses for nearsightedness since 1968. For the last 5 or 6 years, however, I have been shooting 3-5 times a week. I think that if anything, my vision has gotten better during that time.

I find that peep sights work really well. So do patridge style “target” sights. The latter work best using a 6 o’clock hold. Practice, practice, practice. Oh, and also have good teachers like North Country Gal.

[Squatch]

Just a note on glasses. I too wear progressives and love them. But they have a small window for distance vision and it can be hard to line up through the sights. Years ago I had a 2nd pair of glasses made as a backup that were regular bifocals. Never wore them. I couldn't walk down the hall without tripping and getting dizzy from the line. I rediscovered I had these not long ago and took them to the range. They work great for me shooting at the bench.

Once you get good sights you might also try shooting without your prescription glasses. Sometime that can work well. Peep sights sorta work as a lens. I know at 100 yds plus I can see where I hit if I look at the target through the sights. But not if I just look at the target downrange. Kinda weird but it does work.