Peep Sights in heavy woods???

[uckayak2_mn]

How well do peep sights work in heavy brushy woods? I live in MN and we have heavy poplar type forests here. Just curious how hard it is to pick up a target with the peep sight. I have used them out at the range and really liked them. I have always shot open sight while hunting but have seen posts about them on their accuracy. I was just hoping to find some input on them before I make any changes.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[sundance44s]

Sundance44s

Our military famous m16 has peep sights ..tried and tested in the dense jungle of the Republic of Nam .

 

[Aries-]

yeah but i dont think vietnam is the best war to prove a point of peep sights in the forest

 

[Steve499]

I use a tang sight on my muzzleloading deer rifle. For early and late low light conditions, I just unscrew the aperture cup and use the threaded hole. I shot two deer like that this year and it worked fine. I like the peep better than open sights for hunting in the woods if the rear aperture is large enough.

Steve

 

[uckayak2_mn]

Thanks for the replies

Great reference to the M-16. That is the reason that I was asking in the first place. This past weekend my Son in law and I were shooting his AR-15 out at the range and I really liked the peep sight on that gun. I was given a link from a guy on another site for a Williams peep sight. I am going to get one ordered soon. There are two different models available for my gun. One style that mounts where the previous rear sight was located it is a ramp style sight. The other one mounts to the side reciever and has more adjustments available. This one looks like it would be great target peep, although it has a great review fronm a deer hunter from MN. Is there any preference to which style would be the better sight?

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[MutinousDoug]

Yeah Aries,
We might have to go ALL the way back to WWII prove the uselessness of the "peep sight" to you. None of those were sucessfully used in the Pacific rim "forests".
I have yet to see any anyone of any credential blame the USA failure of will in Southeast Asia on the M-16A1. Maybe you could point me to that resource?
Seen any new Mil spec design long arms using Patridge sights other than communist block in the last 50 years? URAFDA. Rant off.
uckayak2_mn:
I use a tang sight like steve499 on my muzzleloader and remove the aperature in low light to get a ghost ring. Front sight has to be wide for an old guy like me to see it. the more I can see of it, the better I shoot. I use a patridge sight to shoot bullseye in good indoor light. Not as well as I once could.

 

[Caimlas]

Aperature sights are the best there is available in terms of non-electronic or non-optical sights.

I used to be a big fan of the small front post and groove rear post. I still like them, in many respects, but I've found that my accuracy is surprisingly better with my AR at longer ranges than with a similarly equiped rifle using only notch/groove sights - even good ones.

 

[sundance44s]

Sundance44s

One thing for sure about peep sights ...you eaither love`m or ya hate`m ...i don`t like `m never have and i was in the military when we carried M1 Garandes in boot camp ..also peep sights ...which i hated ...then came the M16 with peep sights which i hated ....oh well Uncle Sam had a hard time pleaseing me anyway ..But i did manage to shoot Expert with the M16 ...means something i suppose . I wouldn`t want one as a civilian though because of the peep sights .

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Take it easy boys...,

The comparison to the Garand and the M16 peeps when talking black powder style peep sights may be apples and oranges. (Both are fruits but aren't the same) The standard Garand sight is considered a large hole by target shooters, and the match sights for Garands have a much smaller hole. The M16 is fitted with a flipable peep sight, with the "low light" option being a much larger hole than the standard option, AND some after market match sights on the M16A2 are much smaller holes than standard issue. The British MK4 Enfield and authentic Enfield jungle carbines too had large openings as their rear peep sights.

The tang sights one often finds offered for black powder rifles tend to have target shooter type apertures..., very small, for precise shooting on a range, not in low light conditions in the woods. So the answer is a peep style sight may work fine, IF the aperture is big enough, but most of the black powder vernier tang style sights are too small for low light conditions (imho). Steve499 hit on an excellent option, unscrew the aperture, and use the threaded hole for low light. I have done the same using a redfield sight on my mauser, and it works fine.

My hunting BP rifles are all fitted with a thin, silver front blade sight, which is well visible in low light, and I noticed a dramatic increase in my ability to shoot accurately when I made the modification.

LD

 

[Shawnee]

Hi UCK...

Generally - the style of "peep" sight that mounts closest to your eye will be the fastest/easiest to use.

 

[gezzer]

On Lyman’s and Williams’s style sights I remove the screw in aperture and just use the ring for the rear sight. Fit a Fire Site up front and it is like having a battery lighted dot.

 

[Smilin Jack]

Peep sight on blackpowder

uckayak2_mn, I have a Lyman target peep on my Lyman 50 Great Plains and enjoy hunting with it. Low light conditions require unscrewing the insert and using the "ghost ring". Just don't loose the insert. I have a Williams (flat top lever gun) peep on top my Navy Arms 58 cal Hawkin and got my elk last month with it. My older eyes don't do so well with iron sights, so need the peeps.

Oregon doesn't allow scope, fiber optics etc. The blackpowder hunts are "primitive" so they have lots of "special" rules. No copper bullets, no sabots, only loose powder?, no closed ignitions and more... see their website below.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/big_game/regulations/2006_reg_book.pdf

It was a great week of hunting in the Cascade mountains about 4 to 5 thousand feet in the snow, rain, wind, fallen trees etc. I ended up getting the cow elk on the last day of season at 9:30am. It was just getting dark when all the meat was in my truck. I was one tired grandpa.

The 58cal minnie ball (577611 Lyman ahead of 120gr of 3FFF~about 1250f/s) hit in the front of the chest and came out under the tail and kept going. The elk only went a short way and was done. Took pictures, then the work began.

See other posts I've made for pictures.

The peep sight helped me put the slug just where I aimed, and was quick. I only had a few seconds from seeing the animal, until it was turning it's head to run back. The bullet went front to back, while it's head was turning away to run. I heard lots of others running away, but saw none of them. It seemed to be the lead cow. We've eaten elk every dinner since...

Next fall, I'd like to return to Alaska to hunt with Captain Bob. He lives near Homer, and spends spring, summer and fall on a 50 ft boat, fishing and hunting. His website has pictures of the fishing and hunting. I went a few years ago and really enjoyed the trip. Yes, I'm plugging them, but don't get anything for it.

http://www.ninilchik.com/

Smilin Jack

 

[.38 Special]

I use the aperture sights from NECG on my Rugers. The large aperture combined with the large white front bead is a very shootable combination even in pretty low light. Nothing beats a moderate power scope with a large objective lens for low light conditions, though.

 

[uckayak2_mn]

Thanks for all of the information!

A big thanks to everyone for all of the input. I am going to go ahead and order in a Williams breech mount model FP. I really like the idea of being able to switch the appertures out quickly. It will make it very convienient for stand hunting and then stalking.

Smilin Jack, congrats on the Elk. I wish that I had taken up muzzleloading last year. We had moved out to Alaska last year with intentions of staying there. Unfortunately the job was not quite what had been promised to my wife, so we ended up coming back down to MN again I guess like they told her was the difference between the lower 48 and up there, she was not used to bush medicine.
The amount of wildlife there is unbelievable. Being from MN the ocean really was my passion while we were there along with the Mountains. We were in Valdez, two blocks to the ocean and six blocks to the Mountains. I was in Heaven! I sure miss it there. I was supposed to go Moose and Caribou hunting quite a bit North of Valdez with a local that I had become friends with. We were supposed to hunt on the day we headed back down South late last September.

Have fun up there if you make it up there hunting next year. My wife and are are planning a trip on our Harley up there again in the next few years. The only thing good about being back down here was Mcdonalds. We used to have to drive 300 miles to Anchorage to shop & the only thing our neighbors asked for were the gut bombs. I could have sold them for three times there value if I had wanted to.

Thanks again,
Mike

 

[Plink]

Peep and aperture sights work great for quick snap shots in the woods. The problem with them is they don't work as well in low light conditions. As my eyes get worse, I'm having to use them more on guns. I still don't care for them as I get vertical stringing using a post front, but fast, centered groups with a bead, so it works out in the end. Anyway, if you don't do a lot of dusk/dawn hunting, I think they'd be a good choice to consider.

 

[CZguy]

On Lyman’s and Williams’s style sights I remove the screw in aperture and just use the ring for the rear sight. Fit a Fire Site up front and it is like having a battery lighted dot.

Plus 1, great advice.