Iron Sights

[Alexandro Faria]

Ladies and gents,

Need some advice on what Iron Sights are best for bushveld use: Max distance: 120m, most shots at around 80m. Biggest game in question will be eland, but mostly wildebeest and impala.

Anyone with suggestions??

TIA!

 

[crs]

Aperture sight such as receiver or tang peep sights sold by Lyman, Williams, Marbles, etc.

Choice will depend upon type of rifle (not caliber) such as bolt, lever, break open, etc.
Happy shopping to you.

 

[AZDAVE]

What rifle are you shooting?

 

[wiml76]

I think it is dependent on the individual and what their eye prefers. For me I agree with what @crs mentioned, an aperture rear (usually a larger diameter) along with a post up front. Has worked well for the hunting I’ve done at your mentioned ranges. If an aperture sight isn’t your thing, I’ve found a gold bead front/notch rear works well enough.

 

[BigSteve57]

I like the irons on my Blaser R8 Safari grade barrel. They're non foldable V rear sight and a brass front bead. They're tough and they don't catch on brush. They are also VERY easy to see. They're zeroed for 100M (I think) as they were dead on a 100 yds. This is from Blaser's website.

 

[nztimb]

Have to aggree that the bolt or bridge mounted aperture sight is far and away the best iron sight and has the accuracy capability to take much longer than 120yd shots if needed. Quick to allign for close in work with less target obscurty than a conventional rear sight they are right up there with the scope sight in that regard.

 

[Alexandro Faria]

Is it advisable to use a ghost sight and a small, gold/ivory bead? Used a 375 with a ghost sight and a triangle-like front sight that I absolutely hated. Caliber will probably be a 416, but we shall wait and see.

 

[WAB]

I like the ghost ring w a front bead. I’m still good for 3 to 4 inch groups at 100. Younger eyes can do better.

 

[wiml76]

I have been using the factory front bead and a ghost ring on my ruger no 1. Works pretty well, although I find myself to be less accurate as the distance increases with the bead vs. a post.

 

[nztimb]

I have square topped blades for all my aperture sights. Could never get to grips with the bead up front

 

[Alexandro Faria]

Okay, I need to shoot with a lot more open sights, I see. Is it possible to have a high vis front blade?

 

[Opposite Pole]

Okay, I need to shoot with a lot more open sights, I see. Is it possible to have a high vis front blade?

There is a lot of fibre optic ones out there, have a look at HIVIZ

 

[Red Leg]

The fastest and most accurate set up is a rear aperture sight - the reason the military has had them on rifles since WWI. Remove the disk from a standard rear “peep” and you have instant “ghost Ring”. They work because the rear sight instinctively aligns, so you only have to “aim” the front sight. Most importantly for hunters entering their forties with eyes of the same age, it eliminates one of the three things that need to be focused for an accurate shot. If you didn’t grow up with irons, like most today, I urge you to practice a lot before your hunt - as in really, really a lot. Otherwise you could have a very expensive and frustrating week in the Bush.

 

[mdwest]

I mounted a Williams "Fire Sight" ghost ring rear on my .416 Taylor..

I have found it to be extremely fast and very reliable..

 

[Ray B]

50+ years ago I was taught that the "spot-weld" was a crucial part of accurate rifle shooting. That was the fit of your cheek to the stock when your eye was in proper alignment with the sights. With much practice this fit/feel could be readily duplicated (at least with the M14s that we used at the time). The proper spot-weld placed your eye as the rear sight, then all that was necessary was to align your body so that the front sight was on target and fire. Once the muscle memory of the spot weld and proper body alignment was accomplished the remaining issue was to practice enough eye focus discipline so that focus on the front sight was not lost in what was called "chasing the bullseye", that is focusing on the target so that the sight picture blurs.

 

[BenKK]

Get yourself a misspent youth wandering around the farm hunting mice with an open-sighted air rifle and using express sights comes naturally enough. Also, in my twenties and early thirties I didn’t own a scope - just a Winchester .30-30 and a CZ .416 Rigby. So shooting buffalo out to 120m with express sights and .500NE or .500J is easy, and my mate Paddy (with a similar misspent youth) killed a bull at 150m with the .500J.

 

[Bas]

Check NECG. Wide selection. Then PRACTICE !

 

[Scrumbag]

Have a look at a cocking piece rear sight.

https://mclaughlincustomfirearms.com/rigby-peep-sights/
https://www.prechtl-waffen.de/waffenteile-cat298.html

Long sight radius, aperture near eye and fairly quick. I have one on my 9.3x62 and it is a lot better than the "express V" I used to have

Scrummy