Ever put an aperture rear sight on a revolver?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D.B. Cooper

D.B. Cooper

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
4,396
Has anyone ever put an aperture (or "peep" or "ghost ring") rear sight on a revolver? I'm still having trouble improving my accuracy with my Redhawk, and I'm starting to wonder about a ghost ring instead of a notch rear sight.
 
IMHO, these are a gimmick. They seem to work better for those with eyesight problems but they're going to lose some precision if your eyes work like they should. The whole point of an aperture is that it is close to your eyeball. You simply "peep" through it and your eye automatically centers it in your sight picture. Then all you have to concentrate on is the front sight. Put it at arm's length and you lose its advantages.
 
Have you tried the v notch rear with a good or brass bead front? They are hard to find ut I find it works well for me over the notch and post for precision.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Has anyone ever put an aperture (or "peep" or "ghost ring") rear sight on a revolver? I'm still having trouble improving my accuracy with my Redhawk, and I'm starting to wonder about a ghost ring instead of a notch rear sight.
Click to expand...

What sights do you currently have on the gun? Factory?
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Factory rear, Hi-Vis fiber optic on the front.
Click to expand...

And what level of accuracy are we talking about?

I've noticed that my own accuracy improved with a target style rear sight from Bowen Classic arms. And though I've found fiber optic front sights, or painted ramp front sights give faster sight alignment, a matte black ramp gives better accuracy. With a painted ramp being second, and FO coming in last.

The combination of matte black front and rear eliminates visual clutter. A square rear notch in a black plate, and what looks like a squared black post in front. With just enough light between the sides of the rear and front sight to allow for correct alignment. It's a trade off, because the front sight is hard to find during presentation, but it seems with practice the front sight is where I expect to find it.

When I paint a ramp style sight, I find leaving the top 1/16th of an inch black gives good contrast, and a nice black bar to align with the top of the rear sight.

I've also found the stock rear sights with white outline to be very distracting. Glare can come back from a number of different surfaces depending on light conditions. And the white outline, whilst good for quick sight alignment, is also a distraction because it's often brighter than the vertical gap between the sides of the front and rear sights.

This is just my personal experience if course.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
Factory rear, Hi-Vis fiber optic on the front.
Click to expand...

I put a ghost ring site on a Glock :uhoh: with a fiber-optic front, after shooting that setup on an instructor's gun.
I found the (peep) hole to be too big for accuracy but good for quick sight acquisition on close/combat distances.

As I modify everything, I made several bushings with different size holes that fit into the ghost sight aperture.
That seemed to work to tighten up the group sizes at further distances but it was tiring/eye straining to shoot.
I have seen those Ruger type site blades but bought a rear site with fiber opotics instead.
I haven't shot that combo much and cannot comment on it's performance yet.

I recently found reading glasses at a local store for $1.99 each so I bought several pair in different powers stronger/mostly weaker than my reading correction and some clip-on sunglasses to wear with them.
I haven't shot any of those as yet, but my goal is to find what power is needed for a crisp front sight on both pistol and rifle.
I'm trying this because I have recently shot open sights with readers a 0.5 diopter weaker than my reading correction that made the front sight crystal clear, and shot some tighter groups than without any corrective glasses.
:thumbup:
 
Tilos said:
I recently found reading glasses at a local store for $1.99 each so I bought several pair in different powers stronger/mostly weaker than my reading correction and some clip-on sunglasses to wear with them.
I haven't shot any of those as yet, but my goal is to find what power is needed for a crisp front sight on both pistol and rifle.

I'm trying this because I have recently shot open sights with readers a 0.5 diopter weaker than my reading correction that made the front sight crystal clear, and shot some tighter groups than without any corrective glasses.
:thumbup:
Click to expand...

I am already wearing prescription safety glasses. Mine are set up for clarity at distance, but, as yet, I can still focus on the front sight. The day is coming soon when I order prescription safety glass with either a bifocal element in the upper part of the lens for focusing on the front sight, or with a near sighted lens in one side and a far sighted lens in the other (which was the recommendation of my optometrist.)

I don't think I have a vision issue; I have a shooting issue.
 
OH, OK, never mind...
Buy the sight blade linked above and report back on how it works for you.
:uhoh:
 
WrongHanded said:
though I've found fiber optic front sights, or painted ramp front sights give faster sight alignment, a matte black ramp gives better accuracy. With a painted ramp being second, and FO coming in last.

The combination of matte black front and rear eliminates visual clutter. A square rear notch in a black plate, and what looks like a squared black post in front. With just enough light between the sides of the rear and front sight to allow for correct alignment.
Click to expand...

You guys aren't going to believe this.

I spent two hours with a shooting instructor at the range last night. After about 10 minutes of watching me shoot and ruling out the fundamentals, the first thing she did was put tape over my fiber optic front sight and paint it with black marker. I immediately went from missing about 1/3-1/2 of my shots taken to missing 1 out of every 12-18 rounds fired. She pulled the tape off, and I went back to the fiber optic sight, and I immediately went back to missing half of my shots taken.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
You guys aren't going to believe this.

I spent two hours with a shooting instructor at the range last night. After about 10 minutes of watching me shoot and ruling out the fundamentals, the first thing she did was put tape over my fiber optic front sight and paint it with black marker. I immediately went from missing about 1/3-1/2 of my shots taken to missing 1 out of every 12-18 rounds fired. She pulled the tape off, and I went back to the fiber optic sight, and I immediately went back to missing half of my shots taken.
Click to expand...

Excellent news!
 
D.B. Cooper said:
You guys aren't going to believe this.

I spent two hours with a shooting instructor at the range last night. After about 10 minutes of watching me shoot and ruling out the fundamentals, the first thing she did was put tape over my fiber optic front sight and paint it with black marker. I immediately went from missing about 1/3-1/2 of my shots taken to missing 1 out of every 12-18 rounds fired. She pulled the tape off, and I went back to the fiber optic sight, and I immediately went back to missing half of my shots taken.
Click to expand...
OK, she?
Pics?
:uhoh:
 
I am not surprised at all. I have many years of experience missing the target by not using the front sight as proof.

When I start getting sloppy with my shooting I remind my myself by repeating out loud “Front Sight, Front Sight, Front Sight.” It does get some strange looks from other shooters sometimes but it also helps to get the range to myself.
 
With the fiber you are concentrating on the point of light rather than the paying attention to the relationship between front and rear sight. For pure close range SD shooting this is workable, but for target work as you've found it can be less than optimal.

SharpDog beat me to it. A red dot removes the issue of sight picture and sight alignment, allowing you to focus on trigger pull. However you will see EVERY LITTLE WOBBLE in your holding. There is nothing you can do about it past a certain point, and it can be very distracting if you're not used to it. People also tend to snatch the daylights out of the trigger rather than accept their wobble area.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
after market rear sight for the s and w 617 22lr.
Replies
7
Views
359
Catman42
C
JO JO
  • Locked
savage 11 hog hunter Iron sights
Replies
5
Views
5K
JO JO
JO JO
bikemutt
  • Locked
Smith & Wesson 66 rear sight replacement question
Replies
9
Views
3K
bikemutt
bikemutt
O
  • Locked
Aperture sight for revolver?
Replies
3
Views
620
Oldnamvet
O
N
  • Locked
Unusual Question For M1 Carbine Experts/Enthusiasts
Replies
8
Views
634
Jim K
J
Back
Top