I have 2 lever action rifles. One a model 94 win 30-30 the other a Marlon 37A Mountie in 22 long rifle both with peep sights. Shooting from a rest both guns are sighted dead on at the chosen range for the gun, but I find that when in a hunting situation I will invariably shoot high. It is not so much a problem with the 30-30 used for deer. I do find shooting offhand on paper with it that my group will be 3-4 inches high compared to from a benchrest. But the Marlin used for groundhogs and squirrels is a real issue. If I take the peep off and use the regular iron sights I don't have any trouble consistently taking groundhogs out to 50 -60 yards ,squirrels being somewhat closer. I can't hit at all with the peep even close unless it is from a dead steady benchrest. Almost ready to give up on the peep. Both sights are Williams. Has anyone else had this problem? What could I be doing wrong? Thinking about it I didn't have this trouble when I was a kid.
Peep Sights
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- Last Post 23 March 2016
my first thought would be to see if it due to the way i held the rifle at sight-in .
i would test at the bench by shooting over a bag then shoot resting the back of my hand on the bag then shoot holding the rifle ” no-rest ” ....
might be interesting .
i always sighted in my coyote rifles by holding the forearm with the back of my hand on the bag . bigger groups but i thought better zero .
fwiw, most rifles will shoot the same size groups but in a different location if you rest the barrel on the bag, not the forearm. i never tried that with a tube magazine rifle, but would expect same or worse .
ken
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My guess... Holding the rifle heavy handed and down hard on the rest sighting in. In a hunting situation, you are more loose handed on the forearm, and/or not rested at all.
Try this. Sight in with no more than a light hand hold on the forearm, more resting the forearm in the palm/outstretched fingers. Then shoot the same basic hold in a field shooting position.
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” I find that when in a hunting situation I will invariably shoot high".
It is very possible your problem is due to bulls-eye size on your targets.
Remember that if you are sighting in with a 3” bull at fifty yards, where is the top of your front sight in your sight picture???
If the top of your front pin is touching the bottom of the 3” bulls-eye and your shots hit center of the bulls-eye, your rifle is shooting 1.5 inches high to do that.
For me that would shoot over a squirrel head at 50 yards.
To avoid this problem, you have to change your sight picture and re- sight-in with a center hold of the top of your sight pin in the center of the bulls-eye, not on the bottom..
A 6 o'clock hold makes shots hit higher and higher as the bulls-eye is bigger and bigger.
I actually use the very smallest bulls-eye that I can see for the range I'm shooting to sight-in open sight rifles for this very reason.
Gary
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good proposal, gary ...
am i the only shooter in the world that likes to plink with aperature * front * sights ???
even including ( eek ) the translucent inserts for the target fronts ...amber preferred ....
my shooting buddies call me ” girly shooter ” .....so unfair .... just because i like the pink insert ...
ken
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True aperture front sights are designed to work with a center hold so bulls-eye size does not effect them as a pin sight with a 6 O'clock hold. You can, of course, defeat the purpose of a front aperture sight if it includes a pin and you choose to use the pin top for a 6 O'clock hold. I used a front aperture sight on the Anschutz .22 that took me to distinguished marksman as a kid in the NRA. Yes, I squirrel hunted with that .22 also when I was kid. It massacred squirrels to 50 yards easily.
My current .22 target rifle, an older, cherry condition Mil Contract Mossberg 144LSB has a selection of front apertures including the Amber one you mention with no pin printed on it. I haven't tried that one on Squirrels, but now I want to! I am going to put that one on and sight it in for the fall.
Gary
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To follow up on Gary's suggestion that a six o'clock hold may be the problem. I sight in aperture sights by shooting at a homemade target consisting of a large black circle and a big white center and center the front sight in the white circle just as I try to center it on the spot on a deer or bear. It is truly amazing what small groups you can shoot aiming at a ten inch white circle or even just at the back of a square piece of paper through a BIG rear aperture.
Aperture front sights are great in good light but didn't work in the woods for me on squirrels. Neither do small rear apertures -- although they worked better for some reason when I was young.
John
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Flashman: You didn't say what point of aim you use, Either 6:00 or center. Whatever it is, POA must be the same for both aperture and iron sights. I am assuming that you have a post with a bead front. There is nothing wrong with apertures sights and your dilemma is not unusual. The simple explanation is to zero the gun over a rest using a center hold sight picture and using the weak hand to grip the fore end. Then use the same sight picture and hold when shooting offhand. Why? Because the gun recoils differently from a rest than it does when shooting it offhand unsupported . And the sight picture must be consistant.
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