I can't see the front sight

[fshfindr]

I am really a pistol guy, the Ruger 77-357 is my first rifle. I have had it to the range twice now. As a result of the bright sun, I could not zero it since I could not always see the bead front sight, when I could see it, It, it became a blur. Yesterday, I tried again. Even with a mostly cloudy day, when the sun peeped thru, the sight disappeared. This must have happened to others so I'm hoping that someone has a good solution. Without something special I'll try either white out or bright nail polish. I’m also toying with the idea of having a gunsmith change it to a sight more like the one on my GP-100 or Colt Trooper Both have a larger sight.
__________________

[precision_shooter]

The only problem with a larger front sight is it can cover your target at longer distances. I would try the white or neon green/orange paint first.

[DPris]

Did you try the two places I mentioned on the Ruger forum?
Denis

[Blindstitch]

I would paint it first with some nail polish or model car paint. If that works you're on the right track if not you need some other route. Maybe think neon/florescent colors like they use on some sights.

[bamaranger]

fishfndr, how old are you? About 50, I started having trouble with handgun fronot sights, and at 55, carbine front sights.

Optics are your friend.

[fshfindr]

BamaRanger, I'm 76 and I wear glasses. You have hit on a possible solution but I think my glasses help. I have tried three pair and found one that is best but the bead is still a problem. Not so with a pistol which I hold almost as far from my eyes as the bead.
Denis, I have not tried them. The President of my gun club is a gunsmith. I will go to him first but I have not forgotten XS Sights & NECG.

[Paul B.]

Couple of personal questions if I may. One, are you nearsighted? I was seriously nearsights from the time I was 6 years old until a bit over a year ago. I had cataract surgery in both eyes at that time and now can see the front sights on handguns and rifles.
Two, when was the last time you had your eyes checked including for cataracts? Might make one heck of a difference. I sure did for me. Feel free to ask me more about it if you want.
Paul B.

[DPris]

I had cataract surgery done on both eyes well over 10 years ago & "long-distance" implants inserted. I shoot with specifically "distanced" shooting prescription glasses, set to focus on the sights.

As mentioned on the other site in response to the question, I had to give up on a review sample of this gun when I couldn't see the tiny bead well enough to work with it.

About three years ago replaced that tiny Ruger bead on a .308 Compact Magnum rifle with an XS white outline squared-blade front. Brought the gun down from 6-8 inches at 100 yards with the bead to under 2 inches with the much more visible blade.

Denis

[fshfindr]

I have no problem with personnel questions. Paul B My eyes are examined annually so I think the Rx is up to date. It's only been a few months. Both eyes were made cataract free a couple of years ago. Now that's a real eye opener. Please excuse the joke, but the cataract thing is true, it does open your eyes. Yes Denis, I am quite certain that the problem is with the size of the front sight. I will most certainly replace it. I may even replace the rear sight. I like the NECG rear peep sight. The gun is still new but it seems like a very good one. However, Ruger has a problem with that front sight. I do like the idea of special shooting glasses. I hope to get involved in the club rifle matches, so whatever helps. Thanks all.

[Goatwhiskers]

I'll suggest a peep sight. People don't like 'em 'cause they don't understand 'em, but they are wonderful for aging eyes. GW

[DPris]

If you have an optometrical person who doesn't faint at the mention of a gun, you might consider discussing a "shooting" prescription with him or her.

The primary focus can be set, like reading glasses, to show the sighting plane on the average handgun clearly, and or the front sight on a rifle.

Note this is a close-range prescription & it'll leave the target at 100 yards slightly blurry.

The focal point should be longer than typical reading glasses in most cases, at least arms' length.

You can demonstrate the distance you need for handguns by simulating your normal handgun grip & showing the distance you want the glasses to focus at.

If you have an understanding eye guy, you might even be able to take (discretely) your rifle in & show him where you want the glasses to focus at on the front sight, or halfway in between it & the rear.
ASK FIRST!!!!!

Mine are set for the front sight on a handgun held at isosceles-position distance, and they carry over well enough on rifles (them what's got VISIBLE fronts, anyway) to shoot at 100 yards.

Even with those glasses, I could not deal with that tiny Ruger bead.

This is not restricted to Ruger, incidentally.
Working with a handful of CZ rifles right now & the beads on three are equally way too tiny.

Denis

[briandg]

new glasses, then start looking at replacing sights. Replacing sights, I suggest that you at least consider using a peep. looking through the very small opening allows better focus. In fact, in my case, I don't even have to do anything but focus on that front sight and put that sight where it belongs. If you are looking through the peep, no need to line up front and back.

[T. O'Heir]

Hi. You're not having an eye sight issue. You're having a crappy front sight design issue. The bead is small, shiney and it's reflecting sunlight. (Had fluorescent light make my GP front sight disappear at a match. High priced, taxpayer funded, cop, indoor range too.)
Put some sight black on it, same as you would a pistol front sight. That's a real thing but use flat black model paint. Easier to find.
The day glow sights won't help much. Neither will peep sights. Changing to a blade front sight will fix it too.
Mind you, a low magnification scope will fix it as well.

[RC20]

I am shooting 1917s and have done pretty good (they came OEM with peep sight both on the battle and the fine tuned range flip up)

My brother got the flip up slight hole down a bit and thats a help.

I could easily hit a Caribou at 200 yds with it, not a great target setup as the ball gets a bit fuzzy but it works on larger stuff.

Of course it also has a great front sight (fialtry wide and squar on top)

[salvadore]

I have geezer eyes and as suggested, peeps work better and i like sight black on front and rear sights. A short optical sight wouldn't hurt the lines of your rifle.

[edward hogan]

Peep sight with smaller than typical aperture can do the job.

Use a plain post instead of a bead.

Sight-in using a 6 o'clock hold.


Might be able to find an aperture with a lens that will allow sharp focus.
Try the match shooting boards or the match shooter supply houses.

[fshfindr]

I ordered this front sight #516863 from Midway. I think it will help. I'm pretty sure that I will also get a NECG rear peep sight. I'll just wait until I can get to the range with the new front sight. I'll keep you informed.
You guys are always a great help. Thanks.

[Picher]

Try using a punch to make various-sized holes in a length of electrical tape or black target pasters. Try looking through the various holes at the front sight in different light to see whether they help. If they do, you may want to buy a Merit variable aperture that uses a suction cup to fasten to your shooting glasses.

[fshfindr]

Picher, Very interesting, I would never have thought of that.

[Mk VII]

The orthoptic which Picher mentions has been around for a long time. At one time you attached it to the hatband of your hat (in the age when gentlemen wore hats). Of course it also reduces the amount of light reaching the eye and in poor light you may not see anything at all.

[Average Joe]

The only rifle I can see the front sight on is my M1A, because it has a peep sight, otherwise I need a scope.

[DPris]

I have an adjustable-aperture Merit SIGHT on a Ruger International.
With the custom-made front blade that replaced the Ruger version on that gun, it gives me a wide range of aperture sizes & a much better sight picture than what originally came on it.

Two things to keep in mind on rear aperture sizes (not ghost rings, REAL apertures ) are that most people can shoot tighter groups (assuming a visible front sight) with a SMALLER aperture, and that the smaller aperture is probably better suited to target work, since it can cover up more of the game if used for hunting.

The Merit sight gives you the best of both worlds- you can crank it way down for paper, open it up for hunting.

I'd use the Merit on a couple other rifles, but I find it slows me down on rapid sight/target acquisition.
I can line up much quicker with a notch & post, on selected rifles acquired for critter defense.

Denis

[Picher]

The principle of the peep sight is that the eye automatically centers in the hole over a wide range of aperture sizes. When hunting game with a 6" kill zone, a large peep can be very effective, especially in low light.

I've helped hapless hunters who continually overshoot on game using open rear sights, especially when excited. At the range, these people can hit a 3" circle from a rest, to 100 yards or so, but put a deer in front of them and they don't see the rear sight and overshoot almost all the time.

A good friend told me that he'd never hit a deer, but shot at them many times. I took him to a range and found his accuracy with open sights not especially good, but figured a peep sight would help. After mounting a Williams 5D, we sighted it in for 100 yards.

That weekend, he saw a running deer at about 50 yards. He shot and thought he missed, because the deer kept running, so he shot again. The result was one shot through the heart and the other through the lungs!!!

When in high school, a friend using a Marlin 336 with open sights missed five shots at a nice buck about 30 yards away. That's all the ammo he had with him. I yelled, asking if he got it and he said, "No." I yelled again, asking where it went. The answer, "It's standing here, looking at me!" It slowly walked away and neither of us saw it again. In his excitement, he'd shot right over that deer too. He got a receiver sight fitted soon after.

Case closed.

[ammo.crafter]

Red dot sight

[DPris]

One other element to add to the mix- some of us have an eye condition that causes the front sight to "double" through an aperture, IF the aperture's too big.

The human eye perceives light that comes through a set of sights in different ways, depending on age, astigmatism, and the physical characteristics of the sights themselves.

I wouldn't make the broad statement that the case is "closed" in favor of apertures.

Over the years I've worked with literally hundreds of guns, with all sorts of sight set-ups.

My eye, through a typical aperture (say AR15, for example) now sees a double image of the front post.
I can still shoot decently through such a setup, but not as well at longer distances because the front post's outline is not clear.
This is not a matter of that sight being blurry, the shooting glasses take care of that, it's a matter of seeing a doubled outline, very similar to two posts partially super-imposed against each other.

Reduce the size of the aperture, letting less light through, and it clears up the outline of the post.
But- it also covers up much more of the target & immediate area around it.

I can use a larger aperture ghost ring & do have it on a Marlin Guide Gun, in conjunction with a large & very visible front sight, but that's for quick-reaction shots inside 50 yards, not for pinpoint accuracy out beyond 100.

What I've found over the past 10 years or so is that I can now do better when accuracy's a key goal with a GOOD set of notch & post sights.

By good, I mean one with a solid front blade or post that's big enough to see (no tiny beads) and a well-dimensioned rear notch that provides just enough light on both sides to easily center the front blade in it.

Wide & shallow notches combined with tiny indistinct beads are too much work, don't define the front sight sufficiently well, and are a nuisance to work with.

The right "fit" between notch & post also more clearly defines the front sight outline, for me, and eliminates the doubling I get with a typical aperture.

I'm not saying this'd be the case for everybody, and I'm certainly not saying "case closed" based on my own experiences, but I AM saying that there's no granite-chiseled one-size-fits-all solution to finding the right sight configuration.

The aperture works well for a large percentage of shooters, but its efficiency is dependent on the size of the aperture and the eye of the shooter, combined with the visibility of the front sight.

How a sight combo transmits light to the eye matters, and for many it's a matter of experimenting till you find one that works best for YOU, as an individual.

Last week when I put three .357 holes under an inch with the Henry levergun, it was because those sights, with that big bead, gave me a clear sight picture (not to mention an accurate barrel helping).
I seriously doubt I could pull that off with a standard-sized aperture anymore.
Just can't get a clear front sight through one.

On the Ruger International with the Merit, yes; I can dial that one way down till the light transmission through the aperture clears up the front blade.

Point being that you try till you find the best solution for YOU.
Denis