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9mmLaw
October 4, 2001, 01:30 PM
Excuse my ignorance, what are Ghost Rings and what are the benefits, if any. Should I have them on a home defense gun.

scouter27
October 4, 2001, 02:14 PM
Ghost Rings are basically peep sights. They can be very accurate, but are really unnecessary for HD, where your range could be 1-30 yds.

Postman
October 4, 2001, 08:19 PM
Wouldn't ghost ring sights prevent good cheek weld?

Dave T
October 4, 2001, 09:44 PM
Postman,
Those of us who learned about "cheek weld", also known as spot weld, in the military were using peep sights. As Scouter said, ghost rings are just peep sights (with larger apatures). No reason why you spot weld wouldn't work just as well with ghost rings as any other peep sight.

Coronach
October 5, 2001, 08:58 AM
Ghost rings: yes, you should have them on your home defense gun, if you are:

1. rich
2. doing slug or longer ranged aimed shooting as well as HD
-or-
3. inclined to worry about such things

You don't NEED them for simple home defense, but they do add quite a bit of versatility to the gun. For eliminating bad guys coming down the hallway, a bead sight is all that is required.

Mike

Jhp147
October 5, 2001, 10:25 AM
I bet that if you do a search, you can find out a LOT about this sighting system here. I have been doing a lot of reading myself, and I think the views expressed here can be summed up much like this:

REALLY nice. REALLY expensive. But NOT REALLY necessary.

Again, I'm not a shotgun expert, but there is a lot of knowledge here to steal....

Dave McC
October 5, 2001, 11:51 AM
My two "Serious" 870s have them because I like slug capability. I hunt with them also. For HD, a bead works just as well, may be a millisecond or two faster, and has the reliability simple things do.

Take the price of the GR sights, invest it into a few rounds of a clay game, and otherwise spend it getting time in with your shotgun, and it'll be money well spent...

Denny Hansen
October 5, 2001, 12:58 PM
9mmLaw-
As usual, the guys here offer some really good advice. IMHO, you need a dedicated light on a HD shotgun much more than ghost ring sights to enable positive target ID. One mount I have been using quite a bit lately is made by quik2see (www.quik2see.com). The mounts are available for most shotguns, are relatively inexpensive and utilize either SureFire or Scorpion "tactical" lights. One of their main advantages is that they offer a quick disconnect and can be used with a handgun in the event a transition is necesary.

KSFreeman
October 5, 2001, 07:13 PM
You don't need to aim inside your house??? Double yikes.

Shotguns, despite the pronouncements of gun shop commandos and Hollywood, do not spew Boulders of Death down hallways. Inside your house, your shotgun will be a rifle. Aim it as such.

Get night sights, get a light on it, get training, and when the stuff starts flying--get small.

Coronach
October 5, 2001, 11:12 PM
You don't need to aim inside your house??? Who said this?

Mike

KSFreeman
October 6, 2001, 09:35 AM
Mike, O.K., O.K. You need to aim carefully. "But he's so close, I'll just look at the bead or point the gun. I can't miss." Oh yes you can. You can do this with a bead (especially if you can see in the dark or in the glare of a light like all the Selous Scouts and RLI around), but just more practice.

scouter27
October 6, 2001, 10:11 AM
I can hit a soda can at 25 yards with my pistol gripped 1300, from the hip. So, for some, aiming isn't really necesary. It took a lot or practice, but isn't really that hard. This type of aiming comes naturaly to me, though. Which is why I enjoy shooting a stick bow.