The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Dave McCracken Memorial Shotgun Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old July 13, 2018, 10:40 PM   #1
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Rifle Sights?

Anyone use the Remington rifle sights? Some say they're slower than a bead, I don't know. Never liked a bead sight. The rifle sights seem to line up more natural but the front sight is rather small.

Thoughts?
Model12Win is offline  
Old July 14, 2018, 01:11 AM   #2
Chief Brody
Member
 
Join Date: October 12, 2012
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 81
I've got a rifle sight barrel on my 870P. I would definitely agree that they're slower than a bead sight. Shot with the original sights for a while before switching to Ameriglo's upgraded version, which was definitely an improvement - but still no comparison to a simple bead. The sight picture is very similar to common 3-dot pistol sights.

My next idea will be a red fiber optic front sight on a 20" vent rib barrel. For what it's worth, appliation-wise: This is my HD gun that I use often for plinking at the range and some high speed steel plate matches a few times per year.
Chief Brody is offline  
Old July 15, 2018, 08:55 PM   #3
Drm50
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 10, 2014
Posts: 1,372
As a guy who has shot a lot of slugs, I can tell you once you are use to rifle
sights they are just as fast. It probably makes little difference for buck shot
but I found it fast and accurate on small shot when after grouse and rabbits in
heavy cover. If you have a gun that shots slugs over the factory bead you have
got a cherry. They do exist but they are scarce. I guess it depends on the degree
of accuracy needed for the purpose at 30-40' with buck sights aren't much use
or a bead. Slug shoots here are 100' no optics. If you can't shoot into 2" you
might as well save your money. Out of 14 guys someone has to drive the X
to win. Over half the shooters will nick it and all are running rifle sights. These
guys are serious and aren't running factory sights. Most have Hi standard and
Win 25s or other older guns with solid frames and non detachable barrels. Of
course all this isn't necessary for SD shotguns. But I would say you have to be
quick to get on a running deer in thick cover.
Drm50 is offline  
Old July 16, 2018, 12:36 AM   #4
RMcL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 273
Truglo TFX sights for Remington slug barrels are my first choice. The "patridge" sight picture is fast with an easily discernable index of elevation.

https://www.truglo.com/firearms-tact...gun-sights.asp
RMcL is offline  
Old July 16, 2018, 11:50 AM   #5
T. O'Heir
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 12,453
Beads are for pointing and shooting shot. Rifle sights are for slugs. I
f you want real speed use a ghost ring rear(Williams). Really nothing more than a large hole peep sight. Makes the same focusing issue with "patridge" sights on a rifle go away. And for the same reason. The human eye cannot focus on two or three things at the same time.
Factory 870 Remington rifle sights are slow, being that they're the same thing as "patridge" sights on a rifle, because they're the same crappy rear sight once found on M700's, etc.
__________________
Spelling and grammar count!
T. O'Heir is offline  
Old July 16, 2018, 07:48 PM   #6
craddleshooter
Junior member
 
Join Date: March 9, 2018
Location: NY
Posts: 90
The rifle sights on an 870, especially using the Ameriglo tritium version, looks just like pistol sights. So for someone like me, who spends 90% of my shooting time shooting pistols, it is a very natural sight picture that, for me, has no downsides in terms of speed, even at close range, and some advantages in terms of accuracy at distance.
craddleshooter is offline  
Old July 16, 2018, 10:50 PM   #7
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Thanks, gang.

I plan on sending my bead barrel and the shotgun off to Wilson Combat to have Trak-Lock ghost rings installed. But that won't be for a while.
Model12Win is offline  
Old July 23, 2018, 01:14 AM   #8
bamaranger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 9, 2009
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 8,273
rifle sights

About 30 yrs ago, I took a Remington 20" rifle sighted Rem-choked slug barrel, screwed a super-full turkey choke into it, and set about killing gobblers. The rifle sights allowed adjust the tight patterns point of impact to land exactly (well, as exact as shotgun patterns get) with point of aim. I thought it a tremendous system, and still do. Rifle sights or peeps, allow adjustablility, and a small degree of precision with tight choked shotguns, or short distances, or slugs. I had the same sight set up on issued LE shotguns by my agency, and found them superior to plain beads as well.

I do believe that a rifle sight bead /blade set up is a slower than a plain bead, especially for moving targets. I've shot a few informal clay birds with my turkey rig, and getting everything lined up just so does take longer. But at short SD distances, with coarse, flash sight picture, I doubt it would matter much.

The Rem rifle sights on my gobbler gun have held up well, and have not required re-zero, but I check the screws every season. I have seen the rear blades go AWOL on LE shotguns riding in racks for years and tightness neglected. The rifle sights set a bit high on the barrel, the front bead is a real brush hook. Brush and limbs knocked the factory white paint off the front bead long ago, and I repaint it every season, often during the season, and keep a bottle of paint for that purpose in my turkey war bag.

I have never worked with a shotgun and peep sight, but a durable ghost ring set up sounds good. I've shouldered a few factory Mossbergs set up that way as gobbler guns, but never bought one. Also, the "add-on" fiber optic sights tend to be a bit fragile. We have such a rig on bamaboys turkey gun, and while highly visible, I find myself always trying to baby them, as they are simply plastic tubes. The little screws that hold them on the rib are really tiny too. But I would rather have them as single bead, regardless.
bamaranger is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 04:06 AM   #9
RMcL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 273
Quote:
Originally Posted by T. O'Heir View Post
Beads are for pointing and shooting shot. Rifle sights are for slugs. I
f you want real speed use a ghost ring rear(Williams). Really nothing more than a large hole peep sight. Makes the same focusing issue with "patridge" sights on a rifle go away. And for the same reason. The human eye cannot focus on two or three things at the same time.
Factory 870 Remington rifle sights are slow, being that they're the same thing as "patridge" sights on a rifle, because they're the same crappy rear sight once found on M700's, etc.
The factory rifle sights on 870 slug barrels are not patridge sights. Patridge sights are best described as a square post - square notch system that provides a fast sight picture and elevation index just as most curent handgun sights. This is exactly why I use and recommend Truglo TFX replacement sights for shotguns pressed into substitute rifle use.

That said, the combination of a bead on a flat (o sight picture found on vent rib shotgun barrels mimics the late 19th century Block type express sights. And such a sight picture can be suprisingly precise - provided the point of impact and the point of aim coincide closely with this fixed sight system. This is exactly the sight system I prefer for use when hunting with 3" Tri-Ball Buckshot from Dixie Slugs. The 22 gauge pellets, (.60"), weigh in at 315 grains each and pattern tighter from full choke guns than any small buckshot - such as 000B and 00B.

Last edited by RMcL; August 4, 2018 at 04:36 AM.
RMcL is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 04:34 AM   #10
RMcL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 273
I will also note, that "Ghost Ring" sights have two downsides for hunters.

One, the installation of a ghost ring sight prevents the ready conversion of a sporting shotgun back to field configuration for flying game.

More importantly, the rear mount ghost ring has a pronounced tendency to completely "ghost out" or disapear from view in low light shooting conditions - leaving no rear sight reference point.
RMcL is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 06:26 AM   #11
jmr40
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 15, 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 10,792
What are you going to use it for?

For wing shooting stay with a bead of some type. There are options for different style beads. If it is meant for SD or big game hunting then I really do like rifle sights better if there is any chance you'll use slugs.

And as Bamaranger pointed out rifle sights are an asset for turkey hunting.
__________________
"If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong"

Winston Churchill
jmr40 is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 11:47 AM   #12
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Should have clarified. It's an 870 Police w/ 18" rifle sight barrel. Use is for defense, I don't hunt or clay shoot.

Last edited by Model12Win; August 4, 2018 at 06:38 PM.
Model12Win is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 05:52 PM   #13
SGW Gunsmith
Junior member
 
Join Date: December 31, 2014
Location: Northwest Wisconsin
Posts: 285
"Should have clarified. It's an 970 Police w/ 18" rifle sight barrel. Use is for defense, I don't hunt or clay shoot."

It's a 970 with rifle sights? Those are good sights, at least our Sheriff's department thinks so.
SGW Gunsmith is offline  
Old August 4, 2018, 06:38 PM   #14
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Quote:
Originally Posted by SGW Gunsmith View Post
"Should have clarified. It's an 970 Police w/ 18" rifle sight barrel. Use is for defense, I don't hunt or clay shoot."

It's a 970 with rifle sights? Those are good sights, at least our Sheriff's department thinks so.
No I meant 870 sorry.
Model12Win is offline  
Old August 20, 2018, 10:27 AM   #15
MarkCO
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 21, 1998
Location: Colorado, USA
Posts: 4,296
For birds and clays in the air, you should not even be seeing your sights. Intense focus on the target.

For others, treat the SG like a rifle or pistol, rifle sights help most people.
__________________
Good Shooting, MarkCO
www.CarbonArms.us
MarkCO is offline  
Old August 21, 2018, 07:09 PM   #16
RMcL
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 7, 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 273
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkCO View Post
For birds and clays in the air, you should not even be seeing your sights. Intense focus on the target.

For others, treat the SG like a rifle or pistol, rifle sights help most people.
Not to be argumentative. Were this concept widely accepted, the barrels of shotguns used in Olympic copetition would be devoid of any ribs or beads that might distract the shooter from downrange target focus!

Shotgunners indeed use a sight picture.

Perhaps the late Tom Knapp said it best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVMsRTrwGaY

Last edited by RMcL; August 22, 2018 at 12:51 AM.
RMcL is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08515 seconds with 8 queries