Need thoughts on peep sights

[45fan]

I am going to get a peep sight for my Rossi M92 but I am debating between getting one from Skinner sights or Steves gunz anybody have experience with both that could tell me the pros and cons of each?

[Rodfac]

My Skinner does well on my Marlin 1894 .357 but I will say that it's best if you don't plan to change loads as adjusting for windage and elevation is a PITA. It's well made however and worth the extra cost over a Williams or Lyman. Rod

[Tatume]

You should consider XS Sights too.

http://www.xssights.com/

[pietro]

.

1) A barrel-mounted peep/aperture sight is IMHO an abomination - a peep sight should be much closer to the shooter's eye for best practice/use.

2) Steve's bolt peep sight is very different from the Skinner Lo-pro, since it will also act as a firing pin safety, like the original Rossi M92 bolt-top safety (which it replaces).

3) To attach a receiver (or tang) peep sight to a Rossi M92 (I've done several), the receiver needs to be drilled & tapped (D&T) to accept it:

a) A side-mount receiver peep needs 2 holes in the rear LH receiver sidewall
b) A top-mount receiver peep (XS, Williams, etc) needs 2 holes, one atop each/both receiver sidewall(s), near the bolt locking lug recess' -AND the issue bolt-top safety removed, and either shaved, or replaced with a flat plug.
c) A tang peep sight (Lyman, marbles, Taurus) will require 1 hole for the sight base' front screw, plus a longer than issue rear tanf screw.

I have both made a non-safety bolt peep sight using a Skinner Lo-Pro threaded into a handmade safety replacement plug; and I have attached a Williams 5D and/or FP top-mounted receiver peep sights meant for the Winchester Model 94AE (angle-eject).

Both the custom LoPro, Steve's, and the Williams 5D/FP-94AE sights will readily zero @ 100yds using the issue (height) Rossi M92 front sight; side-mounted receiver peep sights WILL require a front sight blade at least .10" taller than the issue Rossi M92 front sight.

Here's what the custom Skinner LoPro looks like on a Rossi M92 (Stevesgunz bolt peep is similar):

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r431/pwawryk/DSCN0478.jpg

Here's what the Williams 5D-94AE or FP-94AE, with a handmade flat bolt-safety replacement plug, looks like on a Rossi M92:

http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r431/pwawryk/DSCN0384.jpg http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r431/pwawryk/DSCN0385.jpg

[BCRider]

I gotta agree with pietro on the location of the rear peep. If it's not back near your eye then you're not getting the most you can from using a peep.

The little hole is far more than a sighting device. When placed near the eye the small aperture acts like a closed down camera iris to increase sharpness and depth of field for the shooter's eye. When out on the barrel in the location of the regular rear sight you lose out on many of the advantages of the proper rear mounted small aperture sight.

In some cases a round ghost ring style sort of rear sight mounted on the regular barrel location will provide a more open fiew to obtain a faster sight picture. In that way it can be a big plus over the usual small rear sight "V" notch that some of us with old eyes can barely see. But it's not going to bring all the same advantages as a proper rear aperture sight.

[JSnover]

Does anyone know how much elevation the skinner receiver sight has? Skinners web site says 2 MOA per half turn but I'd like to know how long the stud is and how far up can I go and still be able to lock the screw.

[JSnover]

Andy Larsson got back to me. In case anyone else wonders, Skinner sight max elevation is about 4 1/2 turns (18" @ 100 yards, give or take).

[TXGunNut]

I gotta agree with pietro on the location of the rear peep. If it's not back near your eye then you're not getting the most you can from using a peep.-BCRider

I agree that it's not as good as a receiver or tang mounted peep but it's also quite a bit better than the standard semi-buckhorn. I like the lo-pro type the OP refers because it doesn't clutter up the receiver but I have a couple of the Williams sights because they work so well. Lots of good options depending on the shooter, rifle, accuracy potential and expectations for use.

[Pepe Ray]

Pietro & BCrider have nailed it ---ALL.

I have only 2 additional comments.

1. The receiver side mounts as Lyman and Williams offer, need not be Port side mounted. I've had a Starboard mount for several years. Completely satisfied with performance. The choice ,for me, was arbitrary and experimental in nature. Others may find it more useful for some reason, but IAC, it works.

2. The bbl mounted peeps are subject to damage.

Pepe Ray

[45fan]

I believe I am going to give Stevesgunz bolt mount peep sight a try. It takes the place of the safety so it is back near my eye rather than mounted half way down the barrel. Don't look right putting a scope on this rifle, though with my eyes would work best but peep sight might do the trick. If not, as goofy as it may look I will mount a scope so I can see what I am shooting at.

Thanks for your thoughts gentlemen.

[gnoahhh]

Were it me, I would hunt up a good vintage Lyman tang sight (not one of the current ones), have it installed, and never look back. Put a folding leaf vee-notch rear sight out on the barrel for a backup system. The closer that aperture is to your eye, the better.

[snaketail]

I discovered a problem with my peep sight and allergies.
If you have a small aperture and allergies you might have trouble seeing through the rear sight. I found this to be the case at a lever action match this spring - the front sight just fogged out. I was lucky - the gentleman I was shooting with had a larger aperture disk that fit my Marbles tang sight and I was able to finish the match.
While this may not affect everyone it is something I have to contend with. I'm replacing my tiny ("target") aperture with an adjustable one from Merit.
M

[BCRider]

It's not a bad idea at all to have the smallest and the next size up even for good eyes. On bright days the smallest is fine for most folks. But when it clouds over or you're out in the woods a bigger aperture lets in more light and you can avoid the fogging, which someone else on another forum referred to as "spider webbing".

This occurs when there's not enough light to hold our eyeball iris closed enough. Or it may be some other related cause such as allergies as snaketail found.

[TCLouis]

I ordered two M 92 tang sights from Rossi way back in the winter.

They proposed 4-8 week delay in shipping as I remember it.

Well the check was never cashed and the sights have apparently disappeared off of the Rossi site.


Dang I had plans for those sights!

[johnme]

I don't know if this will help but my 357 has skinner sights on the barrel and I found it very fast to pick up and shoot. Not as accurate as receiver mounted, a lot easier than buckhorn. Last fall dropped a nice doe, lasered. in at 88 yards, picked off a rabbit at 40 yards in the back yard. From what I heard from everyone I should have mounted the rear sight on the receiver. I'm still on the fence about a scope. My 45/70 has the xs system that has a thicker from sight blade, not as accurate as the skinner.

[Jeff82]

Rodfac got it right. I really like the Skinner sights, but they are a pain the adjust. I use it on my Marlin 1894C to target shoot at 100-yards, and really wish I could find a ghost site with the ability to make fine adjustments.

[pietro]

I discovered a problem with my peep sight and allergies.
If you have a small aperture and allergies you might have trouble seeing through the rear sight. I found this to be the case at a lever action match this spring - the front sight just fogged out. I was lucky - the gentleman I was shooting with had a larger aperture disk that fit my Marbles tang sight and I was able to finish the match.
While this may not affect everyone it is something I have to contend with. I'm replacing my tiny ("target") aperture with an adjustable one from Merit.
M


You're even luckier than the fella that helped you out at the match - all you needed to do was to completely remove the aperture and shoot through the resulting "ghost ring".


.

[TXGunNut]

I hope the Stevesgunz sight works out for you, please report back with your observations.