sights

[buttonbuck]

well I am getting older. I cant see through the newer style TC sights very well(semi buck horn?). The Partridge style are great, the peep are great. I may have to use the TC fiber optic style in the dark timber if the Fishing lure paint does not cut it. I need to do a late afternoon squirrel hunt prior to deer season. I hate the idea of using the fiber optics but wounding a deer is much worse. I still have good vision 20/20 it is just the dark timber at dusk that is tough to see my sights, the last 20-30 min of legal shooting time when the deer come. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[smokeum54]

i wouldnt hold it against you for using fiber optic sights. i have more respect for someone who uses equipment that allows them to make a clean kill rather than take the chance of wounding an animal.
also try this little trick. pick up a pair of cheap yellow safety glasses, some yellow shooting glasses work to, put them on at dusk and suddenly its an hour earlier. and they work even better when there is snow on the ground.

 

[morehops]

I can appreciate your concern about sights as my eyes are almost 60 now. On just about every ML I have I've filed or ground down the front sight to a smaller width. On my T/C Hawken, I also filed the rear sight to a narrower notch. I got 2 different colors of day glow paint at a crafts store and put a tiny dot on each sight. It helps a bit. I also tried peeps for the first time and may be switching over to them if my eyes get worse.
I put fiber optics on one of my guns but found the diameter to large for my liking. They do stand out in the woods though. If I were to add another set of fiber optics, I would try to find the smallest diameter rod for the front sight that I could get. The one I have now is mounted inside a steel sleeve so I can't rework it myself.
Sights are a very individual thing. I hope you find a combination that works for you.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Take a good look at the Lyman 57 peep sight. It has very good adjustments and the Williams apertures will fit this peep as well as the TC peep. This allows you to use a larger hole as the light requires. Midway has the Williams apertures.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Making adjustments as we age is a necessity just to stay in the game. Do wat ye need to do with the sights. I'm sure in ages past as men got older the younger generation took over meat gettin' responsibilities. That or a lot of game was wasted with wounding shots or missed completely. My treasured Jaeger is sitting unused in my safe because of shoulder problems. I just can't lift it anymore. Now using a lightweight smoothie. Stuff changes.

Edit: forgot, I don't reccomend the use of peeps for hunting. Target acquisition can be very slow and difficult in a hunting situation.

 

[Ken Rummer]

I have the same problem. The one rifle that has sights I can see is a Lyman Deerstalker. I have a Lyman 57SML peep on the rear and a Lyman 17A target sight on the front. For some reason this combination works with my eyes. I can see the sights without glasses. The downside is it costs about $125 to buy both sights.

 

[BrownBear]

I've given the fiber optics heck and find they don't live up to claims. If it's light enough to light them off, it's also light enough to see regular sights even with my old eyes. That critical half hour you're talking about when light is really low isn't helped much by FO.

My solution is real easy, but doesn't do the economy much good by stimulating spending. I just dab the rear of the front sight with the old "white out" for typing corrections. You have to go to a regular office supply store to find it any more, because not many folks are using typewriters, but it won't set you back much and a little jug will last for years.

A bottle is not much bigger than a cap tin and doesn't take up much space in your bag. The stuff dries instantly and has it's own little brush in the lid.

Best thing about it, you can flick it off with your thumbnail when the light is better and you don't need it.

 

[50cal.cliff]

I will agree with BrownBear on this one. I tried several different colors on my front sight. Including florescent orange,green, red, but white seems to work best with my eyes in a low light situation.

I use model paint on my front sight.It works well for me!

 

[upperplains]

I do the same with my wife's white finger nail polish by adding it to the back of the front sight blade with the handy applicator brush. The polish can also be scraped off easily when you don't want it to be there.

 

[BrownBear]

I do the same with my wife's white finger nail polish by adding it to the back of the front sight blade with the handy applicator brush. The polish can also be scraped off easily when you don't want it to be there.

Dang, that has to be easier to find than white-out. Waterproof, too! Gotta give it a try, and I thank you for that.

Of course, I'm gonna rely on this forum to send me a cake with a file in the middle when they put me in jail. Just picture this bearded, scruffy 6'4" old man digging through the cosmetic department at Walmart. Heads will turn! :rotf:

 

[dc7x64]

You just destroyed my grandeur vision of Alaska...Walmarts there too? :shake:

 

[BrownBear]

You just destroyed my grandeur vision of Alaska...Walmarts there too? :shake:

Ayup. McDonalds. Safeway. Subway. Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Flush toilets.

Progress? :rotf:

 

[mr.flintlock]

I also have Ageing Eye Syndrome.
This is my main hunting rifle. It is a 58 caliber half stock.It has a 32"Green mt.barrel, L&R Hawkin lock and Davis triggers. I installed a TC peep sight and had trouble seeing the front sight in low light conditions. I drilled the aparture out with a 3/32 drill bit and painted a white dot on the tip of the front site. Problem solved.

 

[mr.flintlock]

I also have Ageing Eye Syndrome.
This is my main hunting rifle. It is a 58 caliber half stock.It has a 32"Green mt.barrel, L&R Hawkin lock and Davis triggers. I installed a TC peep sight and had trouble seeing the front sight in low light conditions. I drilled the aparture out with a 3/32 drill bit and painted a white dot on the tip of the front site. Problem solved.

 

[buttonbuck]

The model paint looks good so far. I need to go after the bushy tails with the renegade once we do her check up at 50 yards. I found some f/o on flea bay fairly cheap. I have the peep configured on my 54 hawken barrel that sets on a renegade stock. I also have the partridge sights on the 56 smooth bore barrel. I may pirate those partridge sights for my 54 renegade. I hate to alter my guns by filing sights accept on the ones with fixed sights. I think Brown Bear has a point in that the fiber optics on things like a compound bows sights do not work unless they have a blue light? I have a blue light headlamp but that would be cheating in my mind. I could use a new pair of yellow glasses my youngest son broke the last ones. I may reconsider filing a little with a jewelers file. since I see what old partridge sights are fetching on e bay. I also like the green mountain IBS barrel sights a ton with the brass bead and wider notch. That is a totally beautiful flintlock Mr.

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Don't hold fiber optic against anyone our age (over 50 ). I juat came home from the firing range tonigth at 9pm, night fire for my agency.The yellow glasses a must, I used them tonigth help see well as it was getting darker. O.K. want to paint the front sight try this. oh by the way I have tryed all things That I have read here tonight. New one Metallic silver Sharpie,stays on real well wipes easy with acloth with a little oil;.

 

[Ken Rummer]

That white dot shows up great on the side of a deer. Not so good when using targets on white paper. Nail polish or white-out allows a cheap and easy way to puty the white on for a hunt and remove for the range.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I've given the fiber optics heck and find they don't live up to claims. If it's light enough to light them off, it's also light enough to see regular sights even with my old eyes. That critical half hour you're talking about when light is really low isn't helped much by FO.

My solution is real easy, but doesn't do the economy much good by stimulating spending. I just dab the rear of the front sight with the old "white out" for typing corrections. You have to go to a regular office supply store to find it any more, because not many folks are using typewriters, but it won't set you back much and a little jug will last for years.

A bottle is not much bigger than a cap tin and doesn't take up much space in your bag. The stuff dries instantly and has it's own little brush in the lid.

Best thing about it, you can flick it off with your thumbnail when the light is better and you don't need it.

Your experience exactly parallels my own. The fiber optics are dazzling in bright light and go black when they're really needed. I've demonstrated this with two handguns, one having a red fiber optic front and the other having a white front bead. Holding both in front of me I walk very slowly into an unlighted walk in closet. The fiber optic just disappears into the darkness while the white bead is still visible.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Edit: forgot, I don't reccomend the use of peeps for hunting. Target acquisition can be very slow and difficult in a hunting situation.

You should contact the Defense Department, the U.S. military doesn't seem to know that, they've been putting peeps on rifles since 1917. Such notable riflemen/hunters as Townsend Whelen and Elmer Keith equipped their rifles with peep sights before reliable scopes and mounting systems became available. The noted African hunter John Taylor also thought highly of peep sights, especially for quick shooting on charging animals.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Edit: forgot, I don't reccomend the use of peeps for hunting. Target acquisition can be very slow and difficult in a hunting situation.

You should contact the Defense Department, the U.S. military doesn't seem to know that, they've been putting peeps on rifles since 1917. Such notable riflemen/hunters as Townsend Whelen and Elmer Keith equipped their rifles with peep sights before reliable scopes and mounting systems became available. The noted African hunter John Taylor also thought highly of peep sights, especially for quick shooting on charging animals.

CJ, I was sure there would be a response similar to yours. You are right in everything you say, I can't argue your points. I also know the Lyman company was built on a peeper for hunting. Most of us are not Elmer Keith's or John Taylors. And I doubt most of us are highly trained 20 year olds. Using a peep on a moving target in a stress situation is very-very difficult and takes a great deal of practice.
I stand by my comments for 99.99% of most ml'ers and other hunters.