N/A Open sights sight picture?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Hateful McNasty said:
Ya, the hw sights are hard if the lighting ain't good and good blurring .

I kinda reminded it some .

I got a sun shield over the rear that helps cut blurry on the notch and gold dot the posts . Ain't 100% but does help some

I got a thread on what's done here somewhere

2 examples of a few needed on hw sight fixes




View attachment 485639
View attachment 485638
Click to expand...

That's a good hack right there.

Make that sun shade a little solar panel that powers an led on the front post?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hateful McNasty
Upvote 0
Bedrock Bob said:
I can't see tiny targets through the hood on the front sight. I see them fine until I raise up the gun. They disappear in the "korntunnel". I call it korntunnel vision.

The open front sights on the hatsan give me tabooleh vision. No problem with tiny targets at range. No hood no problems.

I used to HATE illuminated sights. I much preferred steel sight blades and no color changes or white dots. Nowadays I love the lucite dots. I don't even pay much attention to the rear sight blade surface anymore. I can't see it at all when it's in front of a hooded sight or below the front shroud. A peep is better but it still makes tiny targets tough to see at range and a peep is horrible unless you are adjusting your elevation between shots.

The HW sights are super quality. I thought they would be great. But I can only use them in bright sunlight. The Diana sights are groovy. But the korntunnel vision stops me from targeting tiny specks at distance. The wobbly old Hatsan sights work great for me these days. Despite the huge glowing pumpkin up front I can target small spots st range pretty well.

My eyes are going south fast these days. No doubt a huge factor. What once was a great sight is now difficult for me. And changing light in the evenings is a big challenge.

I can hit great all day and start having elevation issues at dusk. Even in the scope. It never was (much) of a problem before. But now lighting is a major issue. Especially when shooting "off the gap" over the front bead.

My sight picture is about 15 yards "too high" to hit the dot in low light. Sometimes it frustrates me. I'm learning to just aim higher and not think about it. But whenever the gun isn't hitting where it was before I smell smoke coming from my brain.
Click to expand...
i am trying a bright spot light ( one of the small 2a battery zoom flashlights ) up close on my tiny dot targets .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bedrock Bob and Hateful McNasty
Upvote 0
beerthief said:
i am trying a bright spot light ( one of the small 2a battery zoom flashlights ) on my tiny dot targets .
Click to expand...

We shoot at night in New Mexico. During the day we stay inside the oven and keep cool near the pilot light. When the temperature outside falls below the melting point of lead we break out the guns and go shooting. Otherwise a pellet rifle is just a squirt gun.

I set a couple Coleman lanterns downrange at the targets and wear a headlight with red LED's. Works great until a big azz bug crawls into your ear and makes a nest.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: Berserkeley Mike, wsjones and beerthief
Upvote 0
This kind of thread is part of what makes this place great. I am so much more accurate with the red dot shooting the GK one and it kind of pisses me off because I was trying to be very careful with the iron sights, stay consistent with sight picture, thinking things through when aiming, but I really couldn't begin to experience the accuracy of the gun until I got a red dot on there.

I'd like to go back and master open sights but I don't want to go back to not being able to hit what I'm aiming at. guess i can practice open sights on the PP 700 and see if i can pick up some skill.

Someone here shared a video by a champion shooter about how using the front post as your focus is a common method but taken too far and you actually should always be considering the rear sight blade since it is the largest element in the sight group. I haven't tried shooting with open sights since I watched the video but I think someone here can probably post a link to it - I don't remember the details.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bedrock Bob
Upvote 0
MrP said:
This kind of thread is part of what makes this place great. I am so much more accurate with the red dot shooting the GK one and it kind of pisses me off because I was trying to be very careful with the iron sights, stay consistent with sight picture, thinking things through when aiming, but I really couldn't begin to experience the accuracy of the gun until I got a red dot on there.

I'd like to go back and master open sights but I don't want to go back to not being able to hit what I'm aiming at. guess i can practice open sights on the PP 700 and see if i can pick up some skill.

Someone here shared a video by a champion shooter about how using the front post as your focus is a common method but taken too far and you actually should always be considering the rear sight blade since it is the largest element in the sight group. I haven't tried shooting with open sights since I watched the video but I think someone here can probably post a link to it - I don't remember the details.
Click to expand...

For rested shots with iron sights that back sight is a valuable tool. I check in with it often when I'm snuggling with that rifle in its rest. And especially during trigger pull.

Offhand notsomuch.

Once I set my front sight to the proper height I never look at the rear sight again. I just focus on that front bead and time the trigger as I come across the target.

A perfect sight picture through the shot is important. But after your form is set in concrete that back sight is nothing but a reference point to set up the shot. You get your dot where you want it in relation to the rear sight and then forget it. Focusing on the dot and timing the trigger is your full time job.

Sure, sometimes you slide a bit out of alignment during the shot. But constantly checking in on that rear sight is not going to mean more hits. It just increases dwell time on the target and forces you to hold the shot too long.

Iron sights are incredibly easy. You can hit objects that are within the capability of the gun just as easy with iron sights as with a scope out to 50 yards. A scope helps me see the target better. It does not help me hit it at pellet gun ranges.

That's just my experience. Your mileage may vary.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MrP
Upvote 0
Bedrock Bob said:
For rested shots with iron sights that back sight is a valuable tool. I check in with it often when I'm snuggling with that rifle in its rest. And especially during trigger pull.

Offhand notsomuch.

Once I set my front sight to the proper height I never look at the rear sight again. I just focus on that front bead and time the trigger as I come across the target.

A perfect sight picture through the shot is important. But after your form is set in concrete that back sight is nothing but a reference point to set up the shot. You get your dot where you want it in relation to the rear sight and then forget it. Focusing on the dot and timing the trigger is your full time job.

Sure, sometimes you slide a bit out of alignment during the shot. But constantly checking in on that rear sight is not going to mean more hits. It just increases dwell time on the target and forces you to hold the shot too long.

Iron sights are incredibly easy. You can hit objects that are within the capability of the gun just as easy with iron sights as with a scope out to 50 yards. A scope helps me see the target better. It does not help me hit it at pellet gun ranges.

That's just my experience. Your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...
Scoped and irons . Same gun (r9)same pellets (cphp) shot scoped then pulled it and shot irons back to back

R9 ,75yards

Scoped@6x
7474-cfa2c9a7889082b7dabb07d382855c8d.png

Irons
7475-e55040a7ef54e2b93e042d3d89da36f0.png

Not too bad amazed my poi did not change much if at all from last irons tries a week ago or so.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bedrock Bob and MrP
Upvote 0
EquivalentDelta said:
I’ve done a lot of experimenting with targets. My repeated finding was that a center hold was the most repeatable for target shooting. Further gains were had by using a target that matched the apparent width of the front sight post at the desired range.

I had massive gains in ease of sighting when using a front globe and rear aperture system. The potential accuracy did not improve, but reaching the accuracy potential was much more repeatable.

I find that a 6 o’clock works best for plinking and hunting. Maintaining visual on smaller targets lead to more hits.

Also lighting will affect your point of impact quite a lot. This is less noticeable with a globe and aperture.

I suggest you test pellets with minimum 20 shot groups. The statistical noise in 3 and 5 shot groups makes them misrepresentative of the actual expected accuracy, by as much as 60-70%. Whereas a 20 shot group is closer to 20-30% of maximum error.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Good reply, thanks 👍🏻
Simplemann said:
First off I doubt I could see a 1.5" target at 30 open sights 😎 I'll shoot 15 yards with 1" target and use a center hold "cover half" of the orange. At 25 yards I use a scope with 1" targets.
Click to expand...
😂😂😂 I know what you mean! That little orange dot gets pretty small when you are trying to perch it on top of your front post at 30y 😂
I think I need to experiment with a bigger orange circle, maybe 3” diameter 🤔
 
Upvote 0
That's great shooting with both sighting systems Mr. Mcnasty! At a formidable range too. What a hoot man!

If you can see it you can hit it with irons. At pellet gun ranges I think I can hit better with irons. I transition between ranges better.

I get mixed up in the scope shifting ranges and start missing my first or second shot on the transition. I shoot off the wrong dot or misjudge the range. Sometimes I toss a couple into the corn before I figure it out.

With irons I might miss on the transition but it's usually really close. More often than not a windage error.

Loopy trajectories at short ranges are just easier to handle with iron sights. I think iron sights and air rifles go together like ***** and beer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0
I use a 6 o’clock hold with iron sights for my 0 range. I would move up on the target as the distance increased and the POI drops. If I do any “long range” airgunning with iron sights I’ll start to raise the front post above the rear blade for holdover with the front post @ 6 o’clock on the target. Or I could say that I drop the rear blade below the front post. Either way it’s the same thing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SilentSquirrel
Upvote 0
My D54 has the traditional open sights, a post on the muzzle that can slide up or down a ramp, and a blade at the rear with elevation and windage adjustment.
I would love to go to a fiber optic pin “lollipop” on the front and a ghost ring on the back. Does anyone know if there is such an aftermarket kit avalible?

Also, excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between a peep sight and a ghost ring?
 
  • Like
Reactions: MRaccurate
Upvote 0
RangerPete said:
My D54 has the traditional open sights, a post on the muzzle that can slide up or down a ramp, and a blade at the rear with elevation and windage adjustment.
I would love to go to a fiber optic pin “lollipop” on the front and a ghost ring on the back. Does anyone know if there is such an aftermarket kit avalible?

Also, excuse my ignorance, but what is the difference between a peep sight and a ghost ring?
Click to expand...
Try this using gold flake
front2.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Simplemann
Upvote 0
Bedrock Bob said:
I can't see tiny targets through the hood on the front sight. I see them fine until I raise up the gun. They disappear in the "korntunnel". I call it korntunnel vision.

The open front sights on the hatsan give me tabooleh vision. No problem with tiny targets at range. No hood no problems.

I used to HATE illuminated sights. I much preferred steel sight blades and no color changes or white dots. Nowadays I love the lucite dots. I don't even pay much attention to the rear sight blade surface anymore. I can't see it at all when it's in front of a hooded sight or below the front shroud. A peep is better but it still makes tiny targets tough to see at range and a peep is horrible unless you are adjusting your elevation between shots.

The HW sights are super quality. I thought they would be great. But I can only use them in bright sunlight. The Diana sights are groovy. But the korntunnel vision stops me from targeting tiny specks at distance. The wobbly old Hatsan sights work great for me these days. Despite the huge glowing pumpkin up front I can target small spots st range pretty well.

My eyes are going south fast these days. No doubt a huge factor. What once was a great sight is now difficult for me. And changing light in the evenings is a big challenge.

I can hit great all day and start having elevation issues at dusk. Even in the scope. It never was (much) of a problem before. But now lighting is a major issue. Especially when shooting "off the gap" over the front bead.

My sight picture is about 15 yards "too high" to hit the dot in low light. Sometimes it frustrates me. I'm learning to just aim higher and not think about it. But whenever the gun isn't hitting where it was before I smell smoke coming from my brain.
Click to expand...
The eyes go first so you can look in the mirror and say to yourself "Damn! Still lookin good!"
 
  • Like
Reactions: rcarlisle, fishing43 and Bedrock Bob
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu