Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only What color front bead?

Whelen would probably rap the fiberoptic sight with his pipe bowl as a first test before lighting up.

Peep and post works well.
I scored 299/300 on M16 qualifying with peep and post.
I suspect they locked the 300-meter silhouette on my 300th shot, so as not to let a plebe get a perfect score.
Either that or I shot the center out of the 300 meter target,
back when I could see like Chuck Yeager and Ted Williams with my spectacles on.

Leaned my rifle against the tailgate of my truck pre dawn on opening morning of deer season a few years ago to put my jacket on. Partner came around the side of the truck, didn't see it in the dark and knocked it over. Naturally the Williams front Firesight landed on a rock. Bent the sight pretty good but didn't break the fiber optic. I straightened it out best I could with pliers and went hunting. Killed a buck about an hour later. Sights still on the rifle and working fine today. Doubt a rap with a pipe bowl would hurt it much.

Got lucky twice that day.

Perhaps but that could certainly be said if the same had happened with most any hunting sight. I have seen ivory beads snapped off, brass beads fall out and many bent front sights of various types. Certainly most any scope could have been broken or knocked out of zero in such a fall. Generally I try not to beat my rifles around no matter what sights they wear.

I like a gold or brass bead, white too.Any of those two NECG orReknagel sizes are just fine.

OK, best front sight bead is whatever you like.
Apparently there is just no accounting for taste in front sights.
I think those fiberoptic beads are pretty but foul tasting.
A reliable scope tastes best of all, but a big monster scope can go sour.

Best is Leupold 2.5x20mm Ultralight (weighs 6.5 ounces) ...



... best value, most indestructible.

Any of the 1.5-5X20mm or 24mm scopes (1" or 30mm tubes) will add more weight and versatility.
Leupold and the discontinued Nikon are my personal favorites for value and reliability.
I really like the Leupold 2.5-8x36mm VX-III scope (1" tube) on any rifle, even a .458 WinMag.
I have never destroyed one of those.
Good eye relief and fits on a Whitworth M98.
Discontinued Nikon P3 Shotgun, SlugHunter, InLine 3-9x40mm scopes are great too, if you can find one,
but have shorter ring spacing and require extension rings or bases more often.

Best eye relief is when back end of scope ocular lines up with back side of trigger guard, as in picture above with 2.5X20mm Leupold.
Nominal 5" of ER is about as good as it gets in a normally mounted scope.
You can live with less if you can deal with keeping scope forward regardless of nominal ER,
accept some loss of FOV.
I do not like scout scopes unless there is no other way.

Use steel Weaver-style, cross-slot bases from Warne Maxima, Leupold Mark 4, etc.,
whatever fits on FN and Whitworth M98 Mauser actions.







I like getting gunsmith to change screw holes to 8x40 instead of factory 6x48.
Some of those bases come with both sets of screws.
I like the J-B Weld epoxy on the bases and screws too. Better than Loctite, which may be used instead.

Leupold QRW rings are better than the vertically split Talley IMHO.
Burris Xtreme Tactical rings are great, but uglier, and a great value in dollars, they are my favorite rings.
Instead of QD levers that can be used on either left side or right side of rifle with Leupold QRW,
the Burris X-Tac rings have 1/2" nuts on the right side of ring only, cannot switch to left side.
They come in 1", 30mm, Low, Medium, High, X-Hi, etc.

QD levers must point above the bore line if used on right side of rifle
and must point below the bore line of rifle if used on left side of rifle.
See first picture above with the QRW levers.
Recoil acts to keep levers tightened that way.

LOL. Now everybody who frequents the optics forum here knows you don't know your ass from your elbow when it comes to scopes. Apparently you didn't get the memo. Leupold is unreliable junk. They don't track and they won't hold zero. Plus apparently you like walnut stocks which are too delicate and prone to dimensional changes which can cause zero shifts so are not the best on a serious hunting rifle. Oh and taste has nothing to do with what sight I use. I go with what works best and after using them all it's a green fiber optic bead for me.

This or the larger white bead. I like the green best in dot sights or fiber but like you said , they don't do green. My brass looses it's shine occasionally but it usually comes back from rubbing with my thumb. All my levers and pumps have gold (brass) beads. Post is better but mine came with the bead type.

A while back I put an NEGC sight set on a Ruger. Had a near vertical brass post. I absolutely couldn't see the thing in outdoor lighting conditions. A big white bead ain't bad. For me, it seems like plain black works better than anything else. I'll suggest trying to replicate each sight combination you're thinking of and try to "use" it under various light conditions .. dusk-ish, bright daylight, shadows, etc .. before choosing if possible.

Are they made so that the fiber optic can't be replaced ? If so I'd definitely go with another sight.

I have been accused of hating woodstocks by one nimrod here and now another accuses me of doting on them !
I am taking the "Mauser Scoping" material to its own devoted thread for contributions by other members.
Meanwhile, I certainly think I know the difference between an ass and a moon bead.







BTW, that XL White bead is on a rifle in a Brown Precision fiberglass stock,
my first love in rifle stocks,
then it was McMillan,
then it was HS Precision,
now it is a B&C Medalist.
Wood is for when I am feeling nostalgic.

Flat black square post. Big white bead second choice. Have both.
F01

Gee, one thing I've noticed over the decades is that the light-angle isn't always helpful for "illuminating" a front sight...which is why I prefer the 45-degree angle, which so far hasn't proven to be a disadvantage.

A few strokes with a file will put a 45 degree angle on the corner of that NECG patridge.
A little dab of 45-degree will brighten up the top edge,
after filing down the total height to desired.
A gold patridge shows up better on an albino squirrel than a white bead does.

Yup. Breaking the top to 45 changes how well you can see it in bad light. It also changes how you see it in bright light. Fact. Whether it’s a bother to you or not, that’s a personal matter.
I live ok with both.
F01

Be careful not to screw up everything with a file.When you have to use a file that's bad news.

I don't care for the glare you can get off a brass sight in direct sunlight. A black Patridge is the first to completely disappear in low light situations. It's particularly useless under the canopy in a conifer forest at prime time.

Rip,
Bringing out the “never seen a good idea”natives I see.
Other than a shooting helmet of course.
For those who are still both reading and thinking; flat black post works 90% of every day. Put a 45 degree on the top / tip and white fingernail polish that portion, you get the other 10% of the day free.
If that doesn’t suit you, just carry on with whatever makes you happy as will we.
F01

My favorite front sight is a simple blade that I cleaned up and painted flat black.

I lightly drug a fine file over the back corner. Made a shiny little spot on the back, top edge. It shows up beautifully in most any light. Ended up lovin’ it.

There's not much can be done with iron sights that I haven't done before. I've been installing, modifying, painting, filing, shooting targets, competing in registered competition and killing game both big and small with all sorts of them for over 50 years. I have installed literally thousands of them on rifles, shotguns and handguns over the years. Nothing but tritium remains visible with less light than a good fiber optic.