Front Sight Width for Aging Eyes

[slughammer]

I'm working with a sporterized 1903a3 that is new to me and I'm having trouble seeing the front sight. It has a Williams base with a very narrow tapered blade. It has what looks like a .093 rear aperture.

I'm working on a replacement front sight. Right now I have it at .100 wide. I will be mainly shooting at 50 and then working my way out to 100 yards.

I'm not wondering if .100 too wide, I'm wondering if its wide enough! This is Patridge style and I will probably give it .020 serrations. Haven't decided on vertical or with a forward cant.

Has anyone else experimented with wide front sights on rifles? .10 - .12 - .15.....

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[Jack Stanley]

Ageing eyes .......funny isn't it , sixty years ago we didn't even think of it . For what it's worth the front sight that Remington used to put on the 788 rifle is just about right for me .

Jack

[Winger Ed.]

I was looking down original sights on a 03--- to me, the front sight looked like a razor blade turned sideways.

If it's not hard to change or file thinner, I'd use the narrowest one I could still see well.
A wider sight is easier to acquire, but doesn't seem to do as well as a narrow one does on the bench
since it can cover more and more of the bullseye.

[Rich/WIS]

Not sure from your description if the front sight is in a dovetail base, if it is there are numerous replacement front beads in several widths and heights.

[slughammer]

Not sure from your description if the front sight is in a dovetail base, if it is there are numerous replacement front beads in several widths and heights.

Yes it is a dovtail base. Just playing around and making one.
https://i.imgur.com/N4iDdZE.jpeg



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[Baltimoreed]

Nice machining. I know what you mean, wound up putting a hi-viz on my 625 .45 Smith in order to pick up the front sight in combat matches faster. Was having trouble seeing the factory blade as big as it is.

[ulav8r]

The question asked is has anyone experimented with wide sites. I have not but any recommendation given about a specific width is valid for, possibly, only the person giving the recommendation. Your eyes only can give the best answer.

[Deadeye Bly]

I replaced the front sight blade on a trapdoor Springfield with an .093" wide blade. I could see it much better. I shot bulls eye targets out to 600 yards and did well. In fact I broke several national records but they didn't count as it was not a registered match. A few years later I shot BPCR silhouette with it out to 500 yards at Friendship, IN. I won the match by one point and beat the guy I set out to beat but that front sight was really fuzzy and figuring out how much fuzz to allow on the target was the issue. Now at 75 years old I doubt if I can be competitive with it anymore. I think a wider front sight would still be fuzzy. I would think a .100 or .125 wide front sight would be about the maximum usable.

[country gent]

A lot of the NRA Service rifle shooter that used a center hold would find / make a front sight that appeared as wide as the bull this made alignment easier as to high or low and he blade was wider than the bull.

In BPCS i used a front post in the globe that was .125 wide as I could see it and it appeared the same width as the animals

[country gent]

You can experiment with the width with some tape and black paint. Keep adding a layer of tape to the sides until it gives the picture you want then measure and make the new one

[30calflash]

I think your front sight at .100" is pretty wide. But, the rear ap at .093 is on the tight side for a front sight of the size you're using.

I believe a larger aperture will help. If your ap threads into the rear sight try it removed altogether. it may work better than you think.

A larger rear ap helped for me. Remember your eye is part of the system and various lighting conditions will allow decent results one day and poor another. Usually bigger works best in dim conditions, Gehmann and Merit are 2 suppliers for variable diopters for match sights.

I met a guy that made up a set of 6 or 8 rear aps of various sizes for his M1. He used hex head cap screws with the head bored out creating a hooded ap. He then drilled them various sizes to suit his needs. The original M1 rear sight ap was drilled and threaded for the thread size of the cap screws. He used a small o ring as a friction device to keep them from unscrewing. It was a neat set up.

[C.F.Plinker]

I made a 5/64" diameter diopter in a piece of thin (.005") sheet metal and taped it to my safety glasses. This gives me increased depth of field and makes both the target and front sight sharper. I agree with making the front sight width about the same width as the bullseye is.

[slam45]

the thing that does the most for me to keep shooting peep sights at 70 :

http://www.meritcorporation.com/

The Merit aperture will permit you to see the front sight sharp and clear and permit using a front sight that is not too course for precise aiming... they were not available for a while as a new generation took over the company, but are shipping again... since you have a Williams rear sight, they will screw right in... if not drill and tap the rear sight and keep shooting irons...

[slughammer]

You can experiment with the width with some tape and black paint. Keep adding a layer of tape to the sides until it gives the picture you want then measure and make the new one

That's a real good idea. I could have driven the pointy original sight out and just superglued a piece of material to a slot blank to get an idea of what they look like.

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[slughammer]

...
I met a guy that made up a set of 6 or 8 rear aps of various sizes for his M1. He used hex head cap screws with the head bored out creating a hooded ap. He then drilled them various sizes to suit his needs. The original M1 rear sight ap was drilled and threaded for the thread size of the cap screws. He used a small o ring as a friction device to keep them from unscrewing. It was a neat set up.

I like this idea.

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[slughammer]

the thing that does the most for me to keep shooting peep sights at 70 :

http://www.meritcorporation.com/

The Merit aperture will permit you to see the front sight sharp and clear and permit using a front sight that is not too course for precise aiming... they were not available for a while as a new generation took over the company, but are shipping again... since you have a Williams rear sight, they will screw right in... if not drill and tap the rear sight and keep shooting irons...

Good idea on the adjustable aperture. I think I have one on another rifle, I'll have to check and swap them out to try.

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[slughammer]

So first up, don't let these pictures shock you! The original front sight was tiny and only .215 tall. The rear sight has 1/2" of adjustment and the rifle was shooting high when the rear was adjusted all the way down.
I made the new front .285 taller, the face is canted back 5 degrees and serrated 50 line per inch. Its out of the base right now for some debur and polishing.

Looking out the window at a tree I could see the new front much better. A range trip in the next couple weeks will be the real test.
https://i.imgur.com/SHAYqJ6.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/qKp259P.jpeg

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[waksupi]

I made front sights about 1/8" wide, and widened the rear sights so I could see the same width on both sides of the front. Then I got my cataracts out, and have welded them narrow again!

[Baltimoreed]

I will have to order one of those Merit target or hunter discs threaded for my Lymans. Thanks for posting.

[Texas by God]

That is a very nice front sight that you made. It will be visible. I imagine that you will shorten it a bit at the range session and then polish/blue it?

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