Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General Need info & advice on peep sight

I picked up an older Marlin Texan .30-.30 the other day . I want to leave this rifle with open sights. I have never used a peep sight. I'm actually not sure how to use one. I am 55 yrs. old and have to wear glasses to read. Will I be able to see these sights without glasses? Could someone please explain the benefits and how to use these sights ? Also what sights do you guys recommend? Thanks .

A peep or aperture sight is the fastest and most accurate iron sight. Your eye and brain will automatically center the front sight in the aperture making it very accurate. You can get different diameter apertures for different situations. If you can see the front sight you should have no problems. I wear readers and have 5 years on you and have no problems. The Skinner is a quality, bulletproof sight, but I also use Williams with no problems. I find a peep on the reciever( closer to your eye)works better than a barrel mounted sight.

Thanks for the info. Will I be able to use the factory front sight ?

Maybe. You might have to futz with the front sight height if the factory front sight doesn't work. Brownells or Skinner Sights has the front sight height calculator.

If the front sight configuration is not a post, take a file and configure it to a post (post gives you a better index of elevation).

I am eighty years old and can still use a peep so you should be OK also.

Adding on what was said. The first thing to check is whether you can see the front sight clearly. That’s the key to really accurate shooting with a peep. The rear aperture will act as an F-stop somewhat which will help to sharpen the front sight but if it’s hopelessly out of focus then a peep won’t correct that much.

The way a peep works is that the eye will automatically center the front sight in the area of most light, which is the center of the aperture. That’s what makes them so much quicker than standard open sights where your eye has to shift focus from the rear to front sight back and forth quickly. So, second thing to reinforce – look THROUGH the rear aperture at the front sight, don’t try to look at the rear aperture at all. And don’t consciously try to center the front sight in the aperture, focus and concentrate on the front sight and your eye will automatically do the rest.

Once mounted you won’t be able to use the regular open rear sight, in fact you’re better off removing it completely. If it folds down you can just do that to get it out of the way.

As to which sight to get, the Skinner and XS sights are sturdy as hell but I’d really recommend a Williams Foolproof or FP as they are called these days since you aren’t used to peeps yet. The Williams has more finely graduated click adjustments, the other two are for rough and ready hunting but are a bit more “by guess and by golly” for sighting in, especially windage – once sighted in they are great but sighting in might be a challenge at first.

The Williams has easily replaceable apertures, a small aperture is good for fine target work while a larger aperture lets in more light and is better for field work. Lots of folks just take out the aperture completely for hunting since this lets in the most light. The Skinner and I think the XS also have replaceable apertures as well.

Front sights – the best way to tell if you need a new front sight is to shoot the rifle and see. If you can’t get the rifle to hit point of aim with the sight on its highest or lowest setting then you will need a new front sight. There is a fairly simple formula that can tell you the different height needed - it's based on proportional triangles but I won't post it now. Let me know if you need it and I can post that.

If you do need a different front sight that might be a good time to look at the Williams Firesight, it uses a nylon filament which gathers and concentrates light, it looks like a brightly shining bead when aiming. They aren’t the best for the finest target work but for hunting and field work they are hard to beat, plus they are a real boon to older eyes – I’m 64 and have them on both of my rifles that are equipped with peeps.

Hope that helps. I grew up using peep sights and still love them.

Thanks for all good info .

I remove the aperture when hunting with a receiver sight....

Now, you could access the web sites of Lyman, Marbles, Redfield, Williams, etc to see what they have to say.

Pretty soon, you will be answering questions.

It's IMPOSSIBLE for an aperture sight to make a rifle more accurate.

Correct. It simply allows you to exploit the accuracy you have.

MAYBE. That is ENTIRELY dependent on the nut behind the trigger. I've done some damn fine work with open sights, I've not found using an aperture helped any, certainly not one with a hole big enough to be even remotely useful for hunting.

Now, I will say that I can be a bit faster with one.

Hell, some people just shoot better with peeps.

I like the Lyman 57/66 Series and a fine white bead.

Does anybody know where I can buy just the Williams front sight ? The red one that will replace the factory dovetail ? I would like to try that first. Everywhere I've looked , they are sold in sets (front & back ).

Brownells

Midway has the front sights only for $15.99.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1184116846/williams-fire-sight-rifle-bead-fiber-optic-red

Ebay has a few but finding a particular height and base width is hit or miss.

Amazon also has them for sale for various prices, some close to Midway's price and others ridiculously overpriced.

Thanks guys.