Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lever gun hunter?

One thing that often helps with older shooters is using a fiber-optic front sight. These stand out both brighter and sharper on targets and game.

This ^^^ has worked well for me.

I will occasionally shoot whitetail does with a trio of late 1940's vintage Winchester 94s in 25-35, 30-30, and 32 WS that have Lyman peep sights and Williams Firesight front sights.

The 25-35 was under the Christmas tree over 50 years ago and came with a big, bordering on huge, white bead front sight that covered all of the black on a 100 yard target, but was easy to see in low light conditions as long as there wasn't much snow on the ground.

65 years young and love my aperture sighted rifles. Cataract surgery in June, getting the trifocal lenses installed. Should be able to see my sixgun sights again also. Very exciting to me anyhow

frank500,

I have been very happy with the progressive lenses, rather than bi- or trifocals. Discovered when I finally had to get glasses that allowed me both to hunt and read 20 years ago that tilting my head a little bit with the progressives could put that final clear touch on the front sight, whether with handguns or rifles.

Jeff,

The other thing I do when preferring to go "traditional" with iron-sighted rifles, rather than using a fiber-optic front, is using a very fine, small file to put a 45-degree angle on the surface of white or brass beads--angling "away" from the shooter. This not only picks up more light from the sky in dim conditions than a round bead (or even a flat-faced bead that directly faces the shooter) but eliminates "hot spots" on the side of the bead.

I have also found progressive lens make using a computer easier than bi-focals. It doesn’t take much practice in my experience to find the sweet spot that for me doesn’t exist bi-focal lens.

Another, more general comment is that I prefer to use a bead front sight on my hunting rifles, rather than the "more accurate" post, because a bead allows an easier guesstimate of range, by comparing its diameter to the body of the animal in question.

Posts can be more accurate, if we're taking about group size on a paper target--though that's not necessarily true, especially with a globe sight on a round bullseye. (A lot of "accuracy" depends on an appropriate target for the sights.)

But when hunting big game with irons I'm far more interested in putting a bullet through the middle of the lungs than putting one into the "correct" hair. And for that I prefer a very visible bead, whether brass or white--or even fiber-optic. I used the original factory brass bead, filed as described, on my pre-'64 Model 70 .270 for that 350-yard caribou. As noted, it worked fine.

Last season I had 7 tags to fill and I got 6 head of game. I fired 7 shots but (to my shame) I missed my elk.

All but one were shot over irons. My elk was fired at with a scoped 9.3X62. Shot about 2" over it's back and that bull didn't give me a 2nd chance.

2 animals were shot with lever actions,
a buck antelope with a Winchester M95 in 270 Factory Buckhorn sight.
and an antelope with a savage M99 in 300 Sav. Peep sight.

My other 5 kills were 2 whitetails with a Remington Auto M81 in 300 Savage, Factory open sight.
One antelope with a 1903 Mannlicher in 6.5X54. Standing blade rear sight.
One deer killed with a 9.3X57 Swedish M46. Mauser. Factory standing blade rear sight.

I really enjoy hunting with old fashioned guns with irons. If the season get short I will most often go get one of my scoped rifles, but for the most part I like using irons. As I age I can't shoot them as well as I did when I was younger, but if I just seek up close it doesn't matter.

Some time ago I rescued an ancient Marlin 94 from some city slickers that was in very good mechanical condition but showing its years. Chambered in .25-20 Marlin with a bore rougher than a cob. Had it relined and chambered in the Winchester version only because brass was available and I knew it would work. Given my collection of years I fare poorly with conventional iron sights yet do fairly well with peeps and such things. Put a Lyman tang sight on it and it is quite the rifle these days.



On the 50 yard butt during load workup with cast bullets. Not your average sub MOA group, but more than good enough for whacking pigs and other trash. 50 rounds....


The Mod 94 pictured earlier got one trip to the range with leaf sights shortly after purchase in 1985 and after installation of the aperture began to behave properly. I hunted with the gun every season for about 20 years and never felt disadvantaged by low light, nor did I ever leave a cripple in the woods. 50 yards checking zero and amusing myself a few years ago with an elbow rest.

When I went through boot camp at MCRD San Diego/MCB Camp Pendleton, I was issued BCs (Boot Camp Glasses/Birth Control Glasses). People who know me envy my vision, but it ain’t perfect. When it comes to hitting targets at 500 yards with iron sights, you need all the clarity you can get. Anyway, all us dorks with our BCs learned a valuable lesson. When you shoot and have a firm cheek weld, your head tends to tilt forward, causing you to look through the top of your lenses. To alleviate the issue, our drill instructors instructed us to tape an ear plug under the nose bridge of our glasses. The effect was that when we sighted in through our peep sight, we would be looking through the middle of our lenses. I still do it today. Which leads to my next point. For those of you with 4 eyes that like to shoot iron sights, make sure to keep a pair of civi glasses, and a pair of shootin glasses. Good shooting glasses have big lenses and ear pieces that wrap behind your ear. Brain straps are good too.

It sounds like you're attempting to rerecreat the old Redfield "sourdough partridge" style front sight.

That’s a good tip, John. Don’t think I’ll be trying it on any of my pre-64s though. Maybe I can send one to you and you can do it for me. That should increase the value of the rifle, right? On that note, I have a model 54 in 30WCF with a dinged front sight bead.

Killed a doe two years ago at a gallop at 25 yards. What sights? 😬

Jeff,

Where do you think I got the idea?

The cataract surgery coming has a new lense implant that is similar to a trifocal eyeglass. It’s supposed to be fantastic.......
Besides hunting and messing around with lever guns I shot service rifle with an M1 A for three barrels worth. Always had trouble at six hundred holding elevation. Maybe astigmatism? The new lenses fix that also.
There are a few Redfield sourdough front sights on eBay. Made a couple over the years because I was unable to find the height I needed.

I learned to shoot at Camp Pinnacle in Lyme, NH, back in the mid-1960's. We shot bolt action Mossbergs and Remingtons that were equipped with peep sights and globe front sights under the expert tutelage of Bill Baudendistel and Fred Streeter. I very seldom shot a rifle with open sights, as all of the non-collectible rifles in our house were equipped with scopes except for a AR-15, an M1 Carbine, a Venezuelan FN-49, and my Grandfather's half-assed Winchester 67 "target rifle".

Jeffrey, I did something a bit bizarre with that .30-30 back around ‘95. Still hunting in dense cover and a fork horn bolted in a big leap about 7-8 yards from me. He was maybe 5’ off the ground and my shotgun habits took over. I had installed a pad on the butt to adjust fit and it was all pretty instinctive. I did have a fleeting image thru the aperture of the side of its head when I pulled/slapped the trigger. The hit went thru the neck about 3” behind its ear; dead when it hit the dirt.

My last two kills (deer & hog) have been with either peep or V sighted lever guns. A Savage 99 in 300 Savage and an 1895 Winchester in 303 Brit..

Like said before, with practice, the only limitations of a peep are low light and extreme distance. I feel very comfortable with a peep with those limitations and a lot of practice.

I did this very thing last season. I traded for a Savage 99H in .303 in very good shape for a 92 yo rifle. While I could see the original front sight through the Lyman peep fairly well, I couldn't get a cheek weld because of the height. So I decided to get a lower front and while I was at it to get a FO sight too. I put the FO sight on first and low and behold it stood out and could be seen when it was almost dark. Now I can get a cheek weld and see clearly the front sight although I do pick up the receiver ring in the bottom of my sight picture.