Using a peep sight

[rex6666]

I have never shot a peep more than occasionaly.
Where do you hold the front sight in the peep?
middle, bottom
or does it matter as long as it is the same every time.

[Old Grizz]

I center front sight in the peep but like you said as long as you do it the same everytime it shouldn't make a difference.

[SHOOTALL]

What do you do at the target ? 6 oclock or center it ?

[Old Grizz]

I center the front sight on paper and on fur.

[bulletstuffer]

A peep is better than a blade sight IMO.  Center the front sight in the peep and squeeeeeze the trigger;D

Bulletstuffer

[torpedoman]

center the post in the peep then you can adjust for were you want to hold the post, like you do with irons sights, the position of the post in relation to the target will determine impact. At least thats the way i do mine as others posted it really makes no difference as long as it is the same every time.

[efremtags]

you should not try to center it conscientiously, your eye automatically center thr front site in the pep. put the front site on target and you should be all set.

Target shooters need to see the target and sight in so the sight is under the point of impact, but for hunting, I find that I shoot through the sight as it points more naturally. 

I find a peep is no more accurate than any other open sight, but it faster to acquire and easier on the eyes to focus.

[Hooker]

you should not try to center it conscientiously, your eye automatically center thr front site in the pep. put the front site on target and you should be all set.
 

Exactly right


Pat

[mannyrock]

  For hunting, most folks use a front bead site, instead of a front post.  The bead should be white, gold, or red.  Then, you center the bead in the middle of the peep, put the bead on the bullseye, and shoot.  It is very fast and easy to line up this way.  Be careful not to get a bead that is too big, or it will cover up too much of the target.  Brownell's has lots of great charts and info in their catalogue, to help you select the correct size (height) of the front site, and the size of the bead.  They will also talk to you about it on the phone.

  Regards,

Mannyrock

[rex6666]

OK! this all makes sense.
I was of a mind to put the bead below the point of impact so i could see
the target. but have not zeroed rifle yet so i can put it in middle.
I am useing a Lyman 66LA rec. sight and still have the marlin bead front sight
The reason for this is i can no longer focus on the v sights and do not
want to put a scope on the 336.
thanks for the help.

[Rangr44]

The beauty of peep sight use, is that it can resolve many vision/sighting problems - since, because the eye simply looks through the aperture w/o actually seeing it ( ILO looking AT the aperture), the only thing to be focused on is either the front sight or the target.

If the front sight's prominent enough, either due to size or color, then it will be seen clearly enough when the target (game) is the focus.

The smaller the aperture, the slower to use, but the finer the accuracy.
The larger the aperture, the faster the use ( a ghost ring is the fastest), with only a slight safrifice in accuracy - that most seasoned peep sight hunters gladly trade off for the speed.

.

[JASmith]

The bead wants to be centered in the peep -- that we all agree on!

Where things differ is where the bead should be relative to the target -- a debate that's been going on since the peep sight was invented!

My preference comes from discovering that a small or distant target disappears behind the bead unless I consciously sight in for a 6-O'Clock hold.  Consider a jackrabbit at 150 yards -- a doable shot until the rabbit disappears behind the bead.

[mannyrock]

   I am almost certain that you are going to find that your original Marlin bead is going to be both too low, and too big.  (I've been thru this lots of times!)  If you can get hold of a Brownell's catalogue, you can can them on the phone, tell them the exact receiver sight you have, and they will actually tell you the exact front site you need, including height and bead size.

   I have found that the smaller the bead size, the better.

   As for a problem with it covering up the target, I have not found this to be a problem on deer out to 150 yards, or small game out to 50 yards.  Since you are shooting a big game cartridge, I don't think that you are going to be shooting many rabbits or squirrels anyway.

   The very best front sight as to visibility is one of the Tru-Glow, blaze orange sights.  Absolutely incredible.  They look like they glow!  But, they are somewhat delicate, consisting of a plastic rod insert. Happily, they sell extra rods with the sight, and you can carry one in your kit, in case you break the one on your rifle.  I have never actually seen this happen, but it is one of those things that hunters tend to be careful about.  These now come as standard equipment on many expensive muzzle-loaders.

   If you are a deer hunter, you are going to quickly find that the best thing to do for the rear sight is to unscrew the peep aperture, leaving the larger hole, and just look straight through it.  This is called a "ghost peep" and is very very fast!  Lots of light comes in through the hole, and you can see that front sight really really well.  Your eye will naturally line up the bead site into the center of the hole, almost instantly.  It also gives you an extra ten minutes or so of shooting time, as the sun goes down.

Best,

Mannyrock

[rex6666]

Thanks guys, this really helps
will try Brownells.

[Rangr44]

[The bead wants to be centered in the peep -- that we all agree on!]

FWIW, the front sight/bead should not be consiously centered in the peep when hunting - that defeats the design of the sight.

The human eye is a wonderful thing, and will naturally self-center the front sight/bead unconsiously when the peep is simply looked through, and not "at".

Competitive target shooting is another game altogether - a different app, if you will.

.

[30calpal]

To Orig Poster.  I used peep sights incorrectly for many years, although I did have success evenso.
The proper use of the sight consists of allowing your eye to center the target (the impact point) in the rear peep and then raise your front sight only to the point that it just touches the bottom of the impact point.  The front sight is really only a reference.  The great debate about the best front sight and the size of the rear peep I will leave to you gents.  Personally, I prefer the XS front sight blade with a white line and their rear peep with protective wings.  The apperture post is threaded to accept other apperture peeps.  I don't like the 'ghost' much.  I have an apperture.  Don't recall the hole size, but it is middle-of-the-road as far as size. I didn't like the sizes offered so I took a small one and drilled it out to my liking.  I like the dark outline of the rear peep to contrast with my sight picture.  I still have plenty of peripheral field of view on either side.  Just center the impact point in the peep and dot the ' i ' with the front. 

[Oldshooter]

When I could see better    I loved to shoot small game(head shots) with a 22 39 A marlin with a peep and I would do as stated above. I usually adjusted all my rifles with peeps so as the POI was right at the tippy top of the blade , or post for the range that I most shot at and adjusted it on the fly for others. Seeing the target is essential for me.

I have noticed on the peeps on my AR's that there is a "big un" and a "lil un", the "big un" is for close range and the "lil un" is for longer range shots, and they work well due to the fact that you can flip em back and forth at will. 

I do agree that you put the front sight on the target and your eye adjusts to keep the rear peep centered around the post.

[Winter Hawk]

I agree with 30calpal.  I was taught to shoot by an old (seemed to me in 8th grade, anyway) Korean war vet master sergeant type, using the M1 Garand no less.  We were to center the target in the peep, then hold the blade front sight at the bottom of the target. 

I use a post insert in a Lyman Globe front sight with a Williams 5D receiver sight on my Marlin 336.  For target shooting, sighting in, etcetera I use the finest aperture I could get.  When hunting I use a large one.  Unfortunately, the eyes aren't as young as they once were.  I have a 2 1/2 X Weaver scope on my Winchester and it works, though a peep sight makes the rifle s-o-o-o much handier!

-WH-

[Hooker]

My old man was old army and seen to it that my first 2 rifles had peep sights.
1st was a Daisy model 99 peep with a globe front
2nd a Winchester model 67 peep with an standard pumpkin on a post front sight.
According to the old Master Sgt. " Put the target on top of the post, exhale, pause, squeeze "
And a miss always brought a sharp rap on the coconut and the second miss brought a butt chewing and a halt to practice due to shooter wasting ammo.
God I miss that gritty old SOB.

Pat

[Winter Hawk]

Yeah, according to the Master Sgt. who taught me, the accronym was BASS - Breathe, Aim, Slack, Squeeze - Slack was taking the slack out of the two-stage trigger.  I still do that, even when hunting...

-WH-

[jimone]

On mt 1894S 41 Mag I have the original hooded front sight and Williams side mounted peep set tothe bottom. I adjust the "smile" of light showing above the front hood, which is a flattened "tv tube " shape, to compensate for range. Works for me, shoots <2" groups at 100 yds regularly.

[rex6666]

   I am almost certain that you are going to find that your original Marlin bead is going to be both too low, and too big.  (I've been thru this lots of times!)  If you can get hold of a Brownell's catalogue, you can can them on the phone, tell them the exact receiver sight you have, and they will actually tell you the exact front site you need, including height and bead size.

   I have found that the smaller the bead size, the better.

   As for a problem with it covering up the target, I have not found this to be a problem on deer out to 150 yards, or small game out to 50 yards.  Since you are shooting a big game cartridge, I don't think that you are going to be shooting many rabbits or squirrels anyway.

   The very best front sight as to visibility is one of the Tru-Glow, blaze orange sights.  Absolutely incredible.  They look like they glow!  But, they are somewhat delicate, consisting of a plastic rod insert. Happily, they sell extra rods with the sight, and you can carry one in your kit, in case you break the one on your rifle.  I have never actually seen this happen, but it is one of those things that hunters tend to be careful about.  These now come as standard equipment on many expensive muzzle-loaders.

   If you are a deer hunter, you are going to quickly find that the best thing to do for the rear sight is to unscrew the peep aperture, leaving the larger hole, and just look straight through it.  This is called a "ghost peep" and is very very fast!  Lots of light comes in through the hole, and you can see that front sight really really well.  Your eye will naturally line up the bead site into the center of the hole, almost instantly.  It also gives you an extra ten minutes or so of shooting time, as the sun goes down.

Best,

Mannyrock

I talked to Brownells
he told me to set peep where it was comfortable then shoot it and see where the
impact is high or low. He told me how to calculate the right front sight from there.
lots figuring for and old geezer.

[Halwg]

I could never shoot with a 6 o'clock hold.  Something in my feeble brain just made it seem wrong to hold the sight lower than you want to hit.  So I always held the front sight right on what I wanted to hit.  Worked for me.