Buckhorn Sights

[JEBar]

OK .... I have a confession to make .. .. when it comes to open sights, I like classic a Buckhorn rear sight like the ones OEM's installed by Henry and other similar notch rear sights .... I guess that stems from early on firing my Grandfather's Model 94 30-30, his Remington Model 12 22LR pump, my Remington Model 742, Ruger 44 Mag carbine, and the rear notch sight on my BLR .... during those years we were bear/boar hunting in the mountains of Western NC in areas where 50 yards was a long shot and didn't come around very often .... once we moved to flatter lands and started hunting on land where shots of hundreds of yards, I moved to adding scopes to our rifles .... the only peep sights I find like are adding a flip up rear peep that turns the factory buckhorn into a middle sight ..

[Cofisher]

True confession time. I have always been only average at shooting. The addition of the Skinner peep was an amazing improvement. Apparently, I never developed the sight discipline needed for the buckhorn rear.

Actually, I am glad to have gotten to this day with improved sights. My pride has always been able to take the back seat when an idea needs to change.

Kind of like my fly fishing. We don’t need no stinkin rules. Just fish and have fun.

[Mistered]

Can I shoot with Buckhorns? Yes but it depends on the Buckorn/front sight combo and that can take some experimenting to get right. Sorry to say but the stock Buckhorn on my Henry BBB leaves a lot to be desired. Thin narrow blade and I had to enlarge the U groove on it to get any kind of consistency with it. The older Winchester Buckhorns (and some other brands) were pretty nice with wider 'Horns' and thicker, and easier to adjust blades. Bottom line is for me there in nothing other than a Williams receiver sight for my levers and I can usually put a Williams on any lever and shoot quite well with whatever front the rifle has on it. A peep sight works by simply forcing your eye to naturally center any object in the center. I can't emphasize enough for anyone who is serious about their shooting to try a rifle with a peep sight - you may become a convert!

[PT7]

I'd really like to be able to shoot with the Henry buckhorns, JEBar, and they look cool on the rifles.
Sadly, with these elder eyes, no can do.

Agree with Cofisher & Mistered that peep sights are very good to shoot with.
Love the Skinner receiver-mounted ghost-ring on my Henry SGC.

[JEBar]

I tend to believe that much depends on what you are used to and on the conditions under which you are hunting/shooting .... in my case, my number one choice for a rifle sight is a scope (point in fact, a Nikon scope) .... the one exception is if I'm hunting at very short ranges, basically buckshot range .... then I want a buckhorn type rear sight with some florescent accents .... understandably, other folks will make other choices .... we each want and need to use what's right for us

[PT7]

Could you expand on what "fluorescent accents" are? Not familiar with that for buckhorns...

I tend to believe that much depends on what you are used to and on the conditions under which you are hunting/shooting .... in my case, my number one choice for a rifle sight is a scope (point in fact, a Nikon scope) .... the one exception is if I'm hunting at very short ranges, basically buckshot range .... then I want a buckhorn type rear sight with some florescent accents .... understandably, other folks will make other choices .... we each want and need to use what's right for us

[JEBar]

they are standard sights that have a couple of florescent dots on the rear sight and another on the front sight .... they are common on many handguns and I have seen them on hunting rifles .... I believe that Williams makes them for Marlins and Winchesters .... years ago I had them on an Ithaca Model 37 Deerslayer with a slug barrel .... they really worked well in low light conditions and in helping to quickly focus on a target

[RanchRoper]

So far, I really like the challenge of the 1860 factory sights. My rifle is pretty accurate with the ladder down out to 50 yards, and it's fun to play with the ladder out to 100+ yds. I shoot lots of 8" splash targets which I can spot up to 50 yds, but I need to get some larger paper splash ones for the longer shots. Or a set of binoculars. My plan this summer is to get on some sort of a target at 200 yds from a one-knee position. Old time cowboy shot. We'll see.

[North Country Gal]

Actually, the original idea of buckhorn sights is pretty cool. You could use the bottom notch with the bead for precision work, then use the center of the buckhorn kind of like a crude peep sight for longer distances or quick shots and, finally, the very top of the buckhorn for way out there. Must have worked, given they were so common in their day. Have to wonder, though, if folks back in the old days had better eyesight than use modern shooters.

[RanchRoper]

Hombres shooting back at you might make one a better shooter in a hurry....

[Steve51]

I can shoot okay with the Henry factory Buckhorn sights but must confess that I do prefer the Skinner peep sight. My Henry classic .22LR has a scope for the grandkids. All my other Henry rifles now have Skinner rear peep sights.

[Mistered]

Here is the restored Buckhorn on my 1899 Mod 94. It was severely bent and rusted when I got it and it took some careful work to get it back to (near) normal!

[ditto1958]

Actually, the original idea of buckhorn sights is pretty cool. You could use the bottom notch with the bead for precision work, then use the center of the buckhorn kind of like a crude peep sight for longer distances or quick shots and, finally, the very top of the buckhorn for way out there. Must have worked, given they were so common in their day. Have to wonder, though, if folks back in the old days had better eyesight than use modern shooters.

Well, with almost anything, you get a lot better with practice.

[Colt46]

I learned to shoot using Buck horn sights and a grove on shotguns. In basic training I learned to use the peep sight.the peep sight is easy to learn, looking threw the peep your eye is forced to center the post aline the post on the target. Most good peep sights will be adjustable.

[Rustbelt]

Could you expand on what "fluorescent accents" are? Not familiar with that for buckhorns...

Truglo makes fluorescent sights for some of the Henry rifles.

[Ozarkridgerunner]

Reckon if there has been any thoughts of Henry and Skinner teaming up to factory install the Skinner sights on new production Henry rifles. The amount of interest in the Skinner sights and the number of folks who are changing the factory sights out seems pretty convincing. Nothing against the buckhorn , I've used them on a lot of different rifles for many years but my eyesight ain't what it used to be either. There certainly seems to be a lot of appealing styles in the Skinner sights too. I think it would be great for both companies , perhaps as a special order option ? Lot of strong evidence out there on improved long range accuracy of the peep sight set up from Skinner , IMO.Personally , I want to stay with open sights on my Henry. I have several rifles with scopes just want to keep my Henry old school and nothing at all against the folks who prefer to outfit theirs with a scope. We all have our preferences.

[tractortad]

Reckon if there has been any thoughts of Henry and Skinner teaming up to factory install the Skinner sights on new production Henry rifles. The amount of interest in the Skinner sights and the number of folks who are changing the factory sights out seems pretty convincing. Nothing against the buckhorn , I've used them on a lot of different rifles for many years but my eyesight ain't what it used to be either. There certainly seems to be a lot of appealing styles in the Skinner sights too. I think it would be great for both companies , perhaps as a special order option ? Lot of strong evidence out there on improved long range accuracy of the peep sight set up from Skinner , IMO.Personally , I want to stay with open sights on my Henry. I have several rifles with scopes just want to keep my Henry old school and nothing at all against the folks who prefer to outfit theirs with a scope. We all have our preferences.

Take a look at the sights on Henry's Small Game Rifle/Carbine.

[Ozarkridgerunner]

Thank you sir I will do that

[Ozarkridgerunner]

And there it was in black and white. You will have to excuse my lack of knowledge in the Henry world! Great addition on the little gamegetter I'm sure. Hope they team up on more models in the future. Thanks again.

[Mistered]

Nothing against the buckhorn ,

Nothing at all, providing it is a quality sight, easy to adjust elevation blade, with a sharply cut or machined 'U' groove to clearly see the front post, blade or bead - but the stock Henry sight ain't this. One of the best stock rear buckhorns I have seen recently is the one on the Miroku Winchester Mod 73. Nice, full size buckhorn that gives a very clear sight picture.