what effect does front bead size have?

[gofastman]

I just got a HiViz comp sight to replace the crappy Truglo Fat Bead I had on my Benelli.

It comes with interchangeable "litepipes"
I want to use the green ones, there are 4 of them sized from .090" to .135"
I like the look of the largest one, but I'm wondering do the smaller sizes have the potential do be more accurate? Specifically if I were to shoot slugs out of it.

 

[waidmann]

What ever you do on the muzzle end of the barrel will have the opposite effect on your point of impact. Too high and you will shoot low. This is of course more critical with slugs but it will do the same with a shot pattern.

With a shotgun you have to pattern-pattern-pattern.

 

[RickMD]

If its primary purpose is to shoot slugs you'd be wise to purchase a dedicated slug barrel with rifle sights. Shooting any shotgun with just a front bead is going to give mediocre accuracy results regardless of the bead size. For wing shooting, the size of the bead is irrelevant as long as the gun fits you and you're using proper technique.

 

[Tom Held]

front sight

The only thing I ever found valuable for a front sight on a shotgun is for patterning. After that you can take it off and throw it away. As mentioned earlier if the gun fits you well you're going to be shooting with your eyes alighned on the barrel. To me those high viz sights just create a distraction from the target. I've never understood why they are needed. I'll bet that most shotgun shooters never notice the front sight when shooting clay targets or in the field. I shot an old Model 12 for about 6 months one time before I noticed that it did not have a sight.

Just my opinion. Tom

 

[Dave McCracken]

Here's what I know......

I tested the things a few years back, I first shot some trap and noted the scores, then I removed the Bradley bead and blacked out the mid bead with a felt marker. Scores stayed the same. I then mounted a Hi-Viz "Green Worm" and shot some more over a month or so. Scores stayed mostly the same, but hits were a bit more emphatic.

Obviously,I have little trouble focusing on the target, not the bead.

Now,after using the smallest green light pipe, I use it with the fat end cut off,so there's maybe 2mm and a small intense dot. This seems to work best of all for all of the clay games. It gives me a better reference,IMO, in my peripheral vision as to where the muzzle is.

The barrel usually on Frankenstein is equipped with a similar Green Worm, but when I lend it to a new shooter, I take the light pipe out. The housing is unobtrusive and doesn't distract anyone.

HTH....

 

[RickMD]

For what it's worth, I occasionally take a 20 gauge 870 with a 20" I/C slug barrel (with sights) upland game hunting and rarely notice the sights when shooting grouse in heavy cover. My dad taught me years ago that shotguns are made to be pointed; not aimed.

 

[Red Cent]

These adorn my 1187 HD.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=671251



But as stated they are really too "busy" for clays and birds. Use the big one. After all, its a slug gun.

 

[sonofodin]

870 Express

installed this snap on hi-viz sight to my 870 express. it sets even with the front bead. Yes thats an extended tube. it holds double a standard 870 now

 

[artee]

gofastman: I believe the different diameters of front sight will work as follows:
1) Good 20/20 eyes with good (young folks) night vision, the smaller 'bead' will allow a slightly finer aim. As your eyes age, or in lower light at any age, the small size will 'fuzz' out and be harder to pick up than the larger size.
2) The different sizes WILL change your elevation (thinking slugs) some. The Point of Impact (POI) will move in the OPPOSITE direction of the way the front sight was moved. If the sight gets taller (moves up) your POI on target will go down. If the front sight is moved right, your POI will go to the left on target. If the "light pipes" slide into a holder, such that the bottom of the pipe is at the same point in relation to the barrel centerline (which I believe they do), then going from the fine pipe (.090") to the fat pipe (.135") will raise your sight center by .045". On a 28 in barrel, with another 5 or 6 inches across the reciever to your eye (for a total of lets say 33" from Ft Sgt to eyeball--your rear sight) it takes .009 in. to move 1 MOA (minute of angle). For a .045 in displacement vertically of your front sight, you can change your POI on target by .045 in divided by .009 in/MOA and get a change of 5 MOA. This would be 5 in at 100 yards, or 2.5 in at 50 yards, etc. In changing from a .090 to .135 pipe, this should also be Downward (or, you'll shoot lower with the bigger pipe). If you have a 22 to 24in barrel, you can use .008 in /MOA.
3) The center of a shot pattern should change by the same amount. So in going from a .090 to .135 in Pipe with a 28 in barrel, the center should be about 2 inch lower (at the standard 40 yds).
4) That's all "In Theory". Your eyes may see things differently, but it seems to work this way for a lot of people, and very consistently with rifles and pistols. If with a shotgun you don't reference your bead at all, it likely will make no difference.

I've shot an Ithica 37 for 35+ years. It has an orange/red "Raybar" front sight. That's a trade name for what is basically a "light pipe". I do notice it. I always assumed I made use of it. I've not tried it, but maybe Rick and Tom are right, and I'd do as well without it. It does stand out on an after sunset late bird shot. My deerslayer barrel also uses the same material for a fronit sight. It is triangular and was the cat's meow for a late day shot in earlier days. Now, it fuzzes out pretty bad, and I think I'd see a Post in the same material better.

 

[JohnBT]

The bead size should not make any difference because you are not supposed to be looking at it. You look at the target and point the shotgun, not aim it.

YMMV etc.

 

[RugerMcMarlin]

3 or 4 times in my life I have knocked the bead off a shotgun. In each instance I had no idea when I did it, or how long it had been that way. I'm thinking if you don't notice right off, maybe your not using it anyway. I'm certain that is different for everybody.

I do have one Savage mod 94 20ga single, with a pretty large bead. I think if it fell off I'd notice. Might even hear it.