six 'o clock hold w/ peep sights?

[spalit]

I have a question for all you die-hard iron sight shooters. I've recently put a Williams FP receiver peep + fibre optic firesight on my new Marlin 1894c. I've been experimenting with various screw-in aperture sizes, and was finding it difficult to use a six 'o clock hold with some of the smaller sizes.

With peep sights, how do most people shoot? Is there still a way to make a six 'o clock hold work with small apertures? or do you put the front bead on the POA?

thanks...

 

[JohnKSa]

Bead sights are hard to use with a 6 O-Clock hold.

 

[mattw]

There are two correct sight pictures when using peep or apeture sights. The most common is the one you described, the six o'clock hold. I forget the proper name for the second but instead of a six o'clock hold on the bullseye, move your sight to the center of the target. You'll have to drop some elevation but use the center hold. It should look like there is a semi-circle ontop of your front sight. almost like the bullseye is the sun and it is setting and the front sight is the horizon.

so basically just change from a six o'clock hold to POA = POI

 

[spalit]

ah.. so instead of putting the entire bullseye on top of the front sight like with 6 'o clock, i put the bullseye half way down on it.. ??

also, like Johnksa said, the fibreoptic bead is a little hard to use with a 6oclock hold.. but on the other hand, i have no trouble focusing on it to the exclusion of all else, unlike a std black post. life is full of trade-offs...

of course at a 100 yds, the bead covers the entire bullseye, so center hold works really well for that known range

 

[AZ Jeff]

In the High Power world, we call the hold where the front post is centered on the black the "Navy hold".

Now as to whether it's better or not, it depends on what you are shooting for a target, coupled with the actual sight picture and the lighting conditions. Sometimes (but not often), a "Navy hold" is better........

 

[Dave R]

FWIW, I have never been as accurate with a 'Navy Hold" as I have been with a 6 o' clock hold. I'm not a competitor, but I've tried both ways and 6 works better for me. Easier to get a consistent sight picture. With a center hold, its really hard to tell when you are almost centered vs. really centered.

 

[cracked butt]

6 Oclock hold works best for punching paper in most situations. If you have a lot of mirage the target can become distorted, the point of impact will also tend to shift if the sun is in different positions relative to the horizon if you sight the rifle in on a clear afternoon and try shooting with a six Oclock hold on another cloudy morning.

If you are going to use the rifle for other activities besides punching paper, I strongly suggest a sight picture where the bullet will impact at the top of the front sight. This is also known as a 'center hold' when shooting at a bullseye.

What I like to do when just plinking and punching paper, is to use the smallest target that I can see- usually a bull that is 2" or less for a 100 yard target. Focus on the front sight and center the tiny dot of a target on the front post, I usually shoot the best groups with iron sights this way and use this method for load development.

 

[Preacherman]

It helps to use a flat-topped front sight, rather than a round bead, when shooting this kind of hold. One's judgement of elevation on a round bead is invariably "off" a little compared to the greater clarity of sight picture with a flat-topped sight.

 

[hksw]

Huh, I always called 'Navy hold' - center hold.

 

[wallysparx]

as a beginner shooter; i have no idea what these holds you're all speaking of. got any good online sources to learn more about these?

 

[CrisOR]

Wally,

Here's some good stuff on aiming, sight pictures, and FOCUS:
Sight Alignment, Trigger Control and The Big Lie

 

[30Cal]

Sight it in for what works best. For a bead front sight, I like to cover the target with the bead. For a blade front sight, I prefer a six o-clock hold

Of the hard holding Highpower shooters I knew, the split between center and 6 o'clock is pretty even. Some will use both during the course of the match. The best answer is use what works for you.

Ty

 

[Father Knows Best]

Sight it in for what works best. For a bead front sight, I like to cover the target with the bead. For a blade front sight, I prefer a six o-clock hold

Me, too. I would add that the bead is great for close-up work, but is a poor choice for long range precision shooting. Besides the lack of precision that comes with a bead, any decent sized bead will obscure large portions of your target at ranges close to or over 100 yards.

I use a 3/32" gold bead front on my cowboy action rifles. I use either an open barrel-mounted rear, or a tang-mounted aperture sight (Marbles) with the disc removed. Using the latter is very fast. The rear sight becomes much like a ghost ring -- just put the bead on the target and press the trigger, without worrying about alignment issues. The 3/32" bead is much too large for shooting at 100 yards, though.

 

[Steve Smith]

I am a Highpower shooter as well. I have now gone exclusively to a center hold. I used 6 o'clock when I was a beginner but now I understand that the shape of the bulleye changes depending on light but the center never moves. If you aim for the edge of the bull (6 o'clock) and the shape is different, then you are aiming at something that is changing, thus making your group bigger. The center never changes. In addition, I really like the idea of putting the sight in the middle of what I want to shoot, in case I ever need to shoot at something other than paper.