Bead sight vs. front blade.

[LaEscopeta]

If this is a stupid idea, tell me; you won’t be the first.

I’m getting back into shooting for the first time since I was a kid, and I want a single $350 to $500, multi-purpose shotgun; a 12 gage Mossberg 590A1 or Remington 870P, 18†barrel, ghost ring sights.

I take the rear sight off and use the front blade for skeet/trap, bird hunting and HD.

I screw the rear sight back on for deer hunting, HD, neighborhood defense, homeland security, SHTF, etc.

(I realize HD is an extremely low probability, and neighborhood defense, homeland security, SHTF is so unlikely the probability is basically zero, but I want to be ready for anything.)

Now for the stupid questions:

Is it reasonably to try skeet/trap/bird hunting with a front blade from the ghost ring sights, or do I need a bead/vent rib?

Would I be able to screw the rear sight back on and have it be accurate, or would I need to adjust the sights at the range every time I re-attach it?

Can one use a front bead with a rear ghost ring?

Can one shoot skeet/trap/birds with front & rear ghost ring sights?

Thank you in advance for any advice or assistance.

 

[sm]

First-

Welcome to THR.

Second- you are asking a guy that learned to shoot without beads or sights on anything. I taught folks as per Brister to shoot without Beads...no sights.

I competed for years. I used a front bead, on some guns I added a mid bead. I have shot a many a straight with a gun with no beads ( sights of any kind) or - the bead fell off and I didn't realize it.

I "point" shotguns .

Personally - I prefer a front bead / front bead with mid bead for everything. I am old school. Gun fit to shooter , correct basic fundamentals, with practice and all - IF a spl task requires something- try before you buy. Consult someone like Awerbuck - take a class, somewhere and see what is best for you for task.

 

[nico]

Your best bet might be to buy an extra barrel. 18" is pretty short for shooting clays and some ranges have minimum barrel lengths (the one I shoot at requires at least 23").

 

[Matt-man]

Just get an 870 Express Combo. Under $400, comes with a 28" barrel with a bead, and a 20" barrel with rifle sights. Changing barrels on an 870 takes all of 30 seconds, so why mess around with the sights?

 

[Dave McCracken]

The bead sits about 1/16" high. The blade may vary, but 3/8" is close to average. Best guess, using the blade without a rear sight would result in POI way lower than we want. SEG, 5" low at 16 yards, 10 or more at 30.

I like Peep/GR sights for slugs and defense. That's why when I put them on my oldest 870, I used other shotguns for wingshooting and so on.

The one shotgun to do it all myth strikes again. Don't feel bad, we've all been there or will be.

Here's your better choices.

Stick with a bead. For slugs, this is not much of a handicap out to 50 yards with good technique and form. For all else, beads are fast and reliable.

Defensive shotguns and slug guns are aimed.All others are pointed for clays and wingshooting. Set up one shotgun with a peep and a similar model with a bead. Both should be the same brand to keep your "Chops" simple and practice with one will equate to practice with the other.

If your eyes are OK with the short sight radius of the 20" barrels with rifle sights, get one pump and two barrels.

Most folks really do not do well with peep sights and flying things.

Finally, the only peep I know of that keeps zero when removed and replaced is an old Lyman.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Another vote here for one shotgun/two barrels. The factory 20" rifle- sighted barrel (Remington that is, be sure it's a smoothbore, not the rifled one meant for sabot slugs) for HD, and whatever other barrel (longer) you want for clay games/wingshooting. You can go from 21" to 30" for the longer barrel with factory offerings, and a decent 'smith can make whatever length you want out of a longer barrel by cutting it off and installing choke tubes.

A shotgun with ghost rings is better used as a single purpose HD/big game gun IMHO. The sights get in the way, and removing/reinstalling the rear sight repeatedly is not a good idea.

lpl/nc

 

[LaEscopeta]

OK, you talked me into it; I’ll go with multiple barrels.

But I think I’ll start with a basic, one 18.5†barrel, bead sight set-up, and see if I can hit any skeet with it. After a class or two, I’ll look into varying chokes, and into a longer, bead or vent rib barrel for the whole range of flying targets. Then I’ll work on choosing a barrel/sights for land based targets.

Like I said, I haven’t shot since I was a kid, learning on a .22 peep sight rifle and a 20 gage bead sight shotgun. I wonder how much I remember after 28 years. Probably only the bad habits…

Thanks for all the info and advice.

 

[redneck2]

I'd give the 2-barrel combo idea another look. You can get combo's for not a lot more than the cost of the gun alone. Go back later and buy just the barrel and it's 1/2 the price of the gun new..just a thought