What a Sight
Submitted by Bruce Buck on Mon, 06/28/2010 - 7:31am.
I recently bought a new field gun. For reasons known only to the geniuses who specced it out, this very nice side-by-side 20-gauge bird gun came factory equipped with a small brass mid-bead and a large Bradley bead-on-a-block front sight. I showed it to some of my friends. Some felt it to be desecration of a nice gun, others thought it was just fine and might actually improve my shooting.
That started me thinking about shotgun sights in general. The accepted theory in shotgunning is that you concentrate your vision 100 percent on the target. You don't look at the front sight on the shotgun barrel the way you do when you shoot a pistol. So, if one doesn't look at the front sight, it really shouldn't matter what is stuck up there.
But it does matter, at least to me. I've tried shooting without any bead at all (it fell off one of my guns), and I've also tried those long plastic glow-worm sights. Either way, I sure noticed it. It is probably a primary vision versus peripheral vision thing. We concentrate on the bird, but we are peripherally very aware of where the barrel is. Of course, if we become too aware, we start to aim—and that means no gamebird for dinner.
It's understandable that when shooters with an eye-dominance issue shoot a pre-mounted clays sport, they might like those glow-worm sights. These sights glow brightest when the eye directly behind the rib is the master eye. This helps the shooter check his gun mount and eye alignment before calling for the bird. After lining up correctly, he then can concentrate on the bird. I know many trap shooters who use their center bead to obtain proper barrel alignment before calling. But in the field it just escapes me. I confirm my barrel alignment by the feel of the stock on my cheek. One of my hunting pals swears that the only thing that a bead on a field gun is good for is to keep the rib from getting scratched when you lean it up against a wall.
But then what about all those red Raybar sights Ithaca put on its Model 37s? If we do look for a certain bird/barrel relationship before pulling the trigger, wouldn't a visible sight be a help against a bad background where it would be easy to lose the dark smudge of the barrel? Would a glowing bead help us get more grouse as they flit through the dark pines? Or is it just best to focus 100 percent on the bird and trust that your gun will automagically follow your eyes?
What are your thoughts on this? Have you found a high-visibility front sight to be helpful or a distraction for your particular way of shooting?
That’s it for now. Boots off. Beer open.
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What a sight
For upland hunting, which means to me fast less then 35 yard shots, I found the hi-viz sights not helpfull neither detrimental. Where I found them helpfull is on handicap trap and longer clay target shots, where more precise pointing is needed. That little red or green dot is very helpfull in my secondary vision to know where exactly my muzzle is in relation to that teeny weeny little clay target. Hendrik Kiliaan
Glo-Beads
Bruce, I have found these Glo-Beads to be helpful when shooting ducks with a camo'ed gun. First, I duck hunt in a brackish-marsh, where the elements are extremely bad for a gun. The new camo painted guns are great for stopping a lot of rust, and other damage. Next, you mentioned the concept of "It is probably a primary vision versus peripheral vision thing. We concentrate on the bird, but we are peripherally very aware of where the barrel is. Of course, if we become too aware, we start to aim—and that means no gamebird for dinner." I find that I need to keep my primary focus 100% on the bird, but need to be, as you mentioned, "very aware" of where the barrel is in terms of the blurr it generates. This blurr of the barrel, in relation to the sharp focused image of the target lets me feel when the lead is right and pull the trigger. With a camo'ed gun, especially when in heavy vegetation or lack of good light, the barrel blurr can be hard to be aware of. And like "being over aware", being "under aware" can generate problems, as your eye will subconsciencely go looking for that blurr. Not good. So, I find when duck hunting with a camo'ed gun, these Glo-Beads can be very helpful. Just don't make mine too big, and keep them off my target and upland guns. Gary Cappelletti
sights
What I like about having a small bead on the end of that barrel is when I close my eyes and throw that gun up half a dozen times then open the eye to check and have everything perfectly aligned (no tilt in any direction), it builds my confidents and never having to worry in a field hunting situation, I know where it will hit from that feel on my cheek (where I look).
Sights....
Here's what I know.....
A couple years back when I was shooting lots of trap, I decided to try something out.
I recorded my trap and wobble scores with an 870 TB wearing a new Light Contour barrel and the standard Bradley with mid bead. After a few months, I removed the Bradley and used a Sharpie marker to black out the mid bead. Scores stayed the same.
Next was the purchase and installation of a Hi Viz fiber optic sight. This had interchangeable "Beads" of several tints and diameters/. I chose a screaming green worm of 2-3mm diameter rather than a larger one.
Scores stayed the same, but it seemed more targets were smashed and less were just chipped.
That barrel went hunting and accounted for some geese, dove and ground game. Now, a couple years later, most of my bird guns and the Beretta O/U that I use on clays are equipped thusly.
While my sporting scores won't make Digweed break out into a cold sweat, I do OK for an old man with mixed dominance and arthritis.
A friend is a Septegenerian and stroke survivor. Formerly a tough competitor with both shotgun and pistol, the stroke left him with impaired vision in his master eye. Trying out my Beretta with Green Worm had him getting his own to mount on a well used and loved Model 21. He's outshooting us again.
IMO, F/O sights are not a panacea for an option that may or may not help a given shotgunner. They are not for those who have a problem looking at the barrel and best results may be when using the smallest diameter fiber.
Dave McCracken...
Sights
A few years back, because I am a sucker for every gadget or accessory, I bought a HiViz sight for my gun. I took it to shoot a round of sporting clays and after the third or fourth station, I remembered the new sight but feared it had fallen off the rib as I had not seen it since leaving the car. I looked at the end of the barrel and there it was, glowing back at me. It was then I realized, that for the first time, I was doing something instinctively right, not looking at the barrel. I felt better about my technique but not the money I had spent on the sight. John Bagley