Best open sight?

[MtnWanderer]

Renegade with a Williams FP(Fool Proof) TK(Target Knobs) sight. Gibb lock screw is on the left side.
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Renegade with a Williams FP(Fool Proof) TK(Target Knobs) sight. Gibb lock screw is on the left side.
View attachment 14169

Do you know if Williams still makes these? They are out of stock everywhere.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Do you know if Williams still makes these? They are out of stock everywhere.

They do still make them. Ive had best luck getting them when i can put them on backorder at an online retailer like muzzle-loaders.com. otherwise wait for notification that they're back in stock or ebay.

 

[Barn]

I shied away from the western precision set as many commented in reviews that they were awesome punching paper but the front hood made low light field situations very difficult.

Ended up with the eabco peeprib but have only punched paper so far, but I like it and it’s very easy to see and focus.

Have you a pic of it Sir?

 

[southdakbearfan]

Have you a pic of it Sir?

Set up is on page 1 of the thread.

 

[brushblind]

My eyes love peep sights (Skinner,Williams) but they don't work very well in thick dark woods or dusk dawn unless you take the aperture out. A front firesight helps.

 

[David270]

I like a fiber optic front and a ghost peep rear.

 

[KentCoFT]

Maybe I am a bit late to this party, but wanted to add my experience in case it is helpful to other members with bad eyesight. I tried the Western Precision, the Lyman Globe with Lee Shaver's inserts, and a cool heavy duty smaller "+" type fixed front sight made by KNS. All of this to upgrade the stock front sights of different rifles and muzzleloaders over the past 5 years. Took all of them off.

I use contact lenses for everyday life (-9) and since I turned 50, now I also need reading glasses(+1.5). I love to shoot open sights for hunting (especially in bad weather or thick brush) and I don't compete in shooting matches. I have found it increasingly difficult to see the front post crisp enough. I can see extremely well at distances with new contact lenses. So fiber optics and thin target cross-sights in the front have not worked well for me. I have read all the posts here and believe that the globes work extremely well for people with good eyes in broad daylight. I did set up my friend's muzzleloader with the WP front globe for elk CO.

However, I found a killer set up for me: my set up is a Williams peep in the back. I like that it sits lower than the FP ones (with one of the largest apertures or a twilight bronze ring aperture) and a Skinner Express Sight brass post in the front (filed to the right height). See pictures. When it gets darker on the last 20min of the hunt I unscrew the aperture from the rear sight for a ghost ring set up and keep shots to 75yards. I only move the back sight when changing from sabots to lead conicals; I prefer simpler lines for the back sight and keep all shots inside 120 yards. I mostly deer hunt. I like the brass front because it gathers a lot of light and the flat top is very clear vs the target, also in PA we have a black bear muzzy season. Black on Black is hard to see. My 308 BLR has a red dot but that's for the November season. LOL

I set this up to shoot 3" high at 75 yards, by "lollypop-ing" the target. So I can see what I am shooting at, it takes a bit to get accustomed but its great. Aim and shoot up to 120 yards. 77gr weighted BH209, it likes: TEZ290, MZ300 and Thor250. It has worked very well for me. I practice a bunch. Clean and dirty barrel. Gun is a Knight 50 cal.

Also learned that with the same set up and No Excuses Conicals 420gr, fiber wad and 57gr by weight of BH209, aiming at the same exact point, my point of impact at 75 yards is 7" HIGHER than the 77r w BH209 and sabots. I talked to the helpful guys at Skinner Sights and they solved my dilemma: less powder and more bullet weight hitting higher? The answer was more recoil moves my Point Of Impact higher using the heavier conicals at 75yards. Probably that wont hold true farther away due to more pronounced rainbow trajectory on heavier bullets.

I am good to go, in a couple weeks......

Happy hunting.

 

[KentCoFT]

XS also makes a good heavy duty back peep sight its wider than the Williams....this is for my Hawken round ball gun. This is not a field adjustable. You set it up at the practice range, and there is no change on the field. I am considering this XS Ghost set up for a new build of an old Rem 700ML.

 

[muzzlestuffer]

Whatever one you use get a merit adjustable iris peep sight that will screw in place of the normal peep they are very effective!

 

[Arteryexploder]

Does anybody install open sights themselves? Or do you take it into a gunsmith? Never done this before and want it done right. Thanks.

 

[FredB]

Does anybody install open sights themselves? Or do you take it into a gunsmith? Never done this before and want it done right. Thanks.

A couple times, I've got sights that were made to fit my particular gun. The holes match up to existing holes, and screws fit, so I mounted them myself. Another time, there were no holes where I wanted the sight mounted, so I took it to a gunsmith.
Use the exact right size screwdriver, and maybe some blue locktite.

 

[Arteryexploder]

Thanks! Also where do you install the peep sight? Looks like there are 4 screws towards the breech plug. The mount uses 2 for the peep. Should you put it all the way forward or back?

 

[Idaholewis]

A couple times, I've got sights that were made to fit my particular gun. The holes match up to existing holes, and screws fit, so I mounted them myself. Another time, there were no holes where I wanted the sight mounted, so I took it to a gunsmith.
Use the exact right size screwdriver, and maybe some blue locktite.

This can go both ways, I bought a Skinner “Renegade” Peep a few years ago for my Dad’s .54 Cal Renegade, The Holes did NOT Line up, I had to Wallow out a Hole in the Skinner Sight Base to make it work, it was WAY off.

 

[MTY]

With tools and time, there is not much you cannot do yourself. Unless you are going to get serious about working on stuff, it is cheaper to take the work to someone who does it for a living. This from a guy who has a Bridgeport mill and a lathe that sold for 80K+ in the mid 1980's. I bought it used for much less. Much, much less.

 

[FredB]

Thanks! Also where do you install the peep sight? Looks like there are 4 screws towards the breech plug. The mount uses 2 for the peep. Should you put it all the way forward or back?

Personal choice. There are barrel mounted (like where most factory iron sights would be) and receiver mounted options. It's more common for peeps to be mounted pretty far back on the receiver, and there are even tang-mounted peeps. When I was younger, I liked it all the way back on the receiver. But my eyes aren't what the used to be, and I now prefer it more where a front scope mount would go.