Ghost ring vs. rifle sights vs. bead sights on a defensive gun

[natedog]

Which do you prefer for a shotgun (for a defensive gun): ghost ring (these are just peep sights with a large rear aperture, correct?) or rifle sights (these are traditional leaf and post, correct, like what's found on AK or SKS type rifles, correct), or a simple bead?

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Gost rings. they're more precise and faster.

 

[Smoke]

Rifle.

The rifle sights Remington puts on their "Deer" guns are ideal for me.
My preferences run contrary to most. I've put a lot of time in behind those sights, see no need to change now.

Smoke

 

[VeT|Us]

Im with Smoke on this one,
I love the riflesights on the 870 Deer-guns.

With riflesights Im on target fast and precise,
with bead its a miracle if I get some lead off in the general direction of my target.

Havent tried out Ghost Ring on shotgun yet.

 

[MrMurphy]

For close range and buckshot, the bead is extremely fast.

For buck and slugs at all ranges, the ghost rings are faster.

Considering all my rifles aside from my AK have had aperature sights, and I've got years of time behind aperatures (Lee-Enfield, M16A2, various AR15s, CETME, FAL, etc), i stick with ghost rings.

At close range, sometimes I look over the rear and just front sight press for buck, but at long range with slugs (out to 100 yards) it's just a big aperature. Good accuracy too.

 

[sm]

I have more trigger time with front bead / mid bead set up.

 

[Das Pferd]

Whatever works.

 

[TrapperReady]

Out to 25-35 yards (well withing MOST defensive scenarios), I'm most comfortable with a bead. Much beyond that, and I'd prefer ghost rings. Rifle sights are fine, but I'm a little slower using them.

As a brief aside... earlier this week I patterned some low recoil #4 and 00 buck, along with some 1 oz slugs in my HD shotgun. The last time I'd done this, I'd shot the gun like a rifle, and was carefully aiming. It shot much higher than I would have liked.

This time, I pretty much ignored the sights and just shot it like I was shooting at clay targets. Lo and behold, it was patterning exactly where I wanted it to. In fact, I was playing around with a mixed load (2 shells of #4 buck, followed by 3 of 00, followed by 2 slugs). On a fresh sheet of paper at 15 yards, the two #4 shells patterned about pizza-sizes right in the center. All of the 00 went into the center of that pattern, about the size of a saucer, and the slugs went into the middle of that, just a hair to the right of dead-on center. I wasn't "aiming" per se, I was just watching the paper and shooting as fast as I could.

Several iterations of this exercise provided similar results. So, based on this experience, I'm totally happy with the bead, and probably wouldn't notice too much if the sight was gone altogether.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Whatever works.

There's some old threads on this, a search will provide plenty of input. Briefly....

Beads do the job, are fast and easy to use under stress. A touch of bright paint or one of the F/O jobs can help in low light. Even with a bead, a good hand is deadly out to 50 yards or so with slugs.

Rifle style open sights work for some, and are easily available. They have little more sight radius than handguns, and offer little the bead doesn't for me. YMMV.

Peep sights with large apertures, AKA Ghost Ring Sights, get all the press and are quite effective with practice. I use them simply because my "Serious" shotguns double as deer guns and the groups with proper slygs are excellent.

Many shotguns, regardless of sight system, do not put slugs and buck together. Only testing will tell.

 

[sendec]

My preference are for ghost rings- they are fast, accurate, durable and allow a certain commonality with battle rifle sighting systems.

Beads are eminently usable at the ranges shotguns are typically employed. Once a consistent check weld is ingrained they can be suprisingly accurate.

Kudos to those of you pleased with rifle sights, you are doing something I cannot. I find the way too small or "fine" and horrifically fragile. Not usable for me.

 

[El Tejon]

Like, you know, whatever [gum chewing noises]!

I prefer ghost rings as I STILL [aaahhh!] have a habit of looking over the gun, especially when moving. Ghost ring force me down on the down, maybe a placebo, don't know.

 

[Bill B.]

I bought a Remington 870 Express with the 20" imp. cyl. barrel and rifle sights and actually had planned on trying to trade it to a 21" turkey barrel for general home defense work. I was planning on going to a skeet choke since the turkey barrel did take choke tubes. After a trip to the range and seeing how well it worked with the sights I am pretty much sold on what I had with the rifle sights. Target's were found fast and precise and it worked great. Keeping my 870 as is!

 

[Okiecruffler]

How about nothing at all.

My current set up is a SXS with about 20 inch tubes and no bead at all. Longest SD shot I can imagine around here is about 7 yrds (man this house is small) so I can't imagine the difference it would make. But I just put a Tru-glo "bead" on a shortened barrel for my Maverick reciever and it's kinda neat.

 

[lbmii]

I currently am using a laser on my HD shotgun. Also I really like 1X red dot scopes. Go to evil Wal Mart and buy a ~$30 BSA red dot scope. Try it out and I guarantee you will prefer it to ghost ring sights. If you decide to keep it on your shotgun, take it back off and reinstall it with thread lock then rezero it. The military and police are all going to red dot scopes and if you try it out you will probably also convert to it!