I tried to find anything on this in back commentary but couldn't. As there are many here with MUCH more experience than me with large bore rifles, can I pick your brain? Big bore, dangerous game, double or bolt rifle, how about using a larger apature ring rear sight instead of a leaf? Also smaller ring for plains game hunt. I am thinking of my next safari also (plains game only) and maybe I want to do an iron sight hunt this time. I used ring sights. I actually liked them. What are your general thoughts?
I really like the rear apature sights, military and civilian models. I was actually going to have the Mossberg Ghost Ring sight put on my 458, but, was talked out of it due to the fact they sat too high if I ever wanted a scope on the dang thing. I made sense at the time, plus I have read (more than once) that you are sacrificing daylight by not having a scope. Again made sense, if you can't see your target in low light conditions (even with the best iron sights) you can't shoot it. My gunsmith is the one who did most of the convincing, I have regular iron sights and a scope now, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I have hunted rather much with an old Krag in 6.5x55 Krag and it has an adjustable ring sight. It works very well for hunting and I have shot some Roe deer with it. The same has my grandfather and father. It is remarkable how accurate it can be and I have shot 1 Roe deer at 400 meters with it. I estimated the range to be 400 meters, adjusted the sight to 400 meters and took the shot. Straight in the boiler room. This was with snow on the ground, so the deer made a very good silhouette to aim at. The biggest drawback with a ring sight is how terrible it is in low light conditions. It really needs a lot of light to be accurate and fast to use. A type of sights I have tested a bit that is very fast at short ranges and accurate enough out to about 100 meters is using a double ring sight with rather large rings. If I ever should buy a double rifle I would put on a sight like this where you can have the option to fold down the back ring if you want to use a scope.
My thinking was that generally speaking, big game is not shot at great distances or in low light situations, generally speaking. Also, in my 5 trips over the pond, I have not shot plains game in low light conditions. Not that it couldn't happen, but I haven't done it yet. The rear ring is naturally intuitive to self centering, unlike what I've experienced with a leaf rear site and if the support is designed correctly the ring would subtend much less of the site picture than the leaf does.
You are correct, if you only shoot in good light conditions, the ghost ring will work very. They work best at short range. The V-notch work best at long range. The V-notch, if you learn how to hold the front bead consistent can be very accurate and fast too. My eyes are not that great anymore, I have my good days and my bad days.
I have used it on military rifles for target shooting but not for hunting. The drawback as has been said before is the need of good light.
another option is the rigby pop up peep sight. if you have a look at my thread under up to .375 , on rigby 9.3x74r for finns christmas present. the first picture shows the peep sight on the back of the bolt down the second photo of it raised. i have a scope for his rifle that will be mounted with quick detachable mounts. this means you have 3 sight options, the standard express sights, the pop up peep and the scope.
What does the PHs think of the matter? I think we need to differentiate on the big vs small aperture: The large aperture, working like a ghost ring, would be perfectly satisfactory even late afternoon/early morning? I fail to see hvow theyï½´re worse than the leaf. When it gets to dark to use a ghost ring, itï½´s too dark to see the bead! Would be with bead and leaf too, wouldnï½´t it? I even think an optical sight like the ghost ring would be even better than the bead and leaf at last light..?
i have lyman aperture sights on both my .458lotts and unscrew the sight disc which leaves the aperture like a ghost ring. this is very good for close fast shooting as your eye naturally places the front bead in the centre of the aperture. i also have one on my .350 rigby and for longer shots leave the sight disc in, and if there are game like boar etc on the menu then i remove it and use the aperture. bonde i have found the large aperture is fine in low light. i dont know how many ph`s use peep sights on their rifles due to fitting etc i presume, but i know a couple who do as they did a lot of shooting with fn-fals at one time, and still find them fast and accurate to use on their back up rifles.
I've done a lot of reading in the last few days on other sites and much of the info referred to was published even as far back as 1906. Some was US government stuff and some was old African PH and hunting stuff. No where did anyone from more than 50 years ago mention anything about trouble in low light situations using a "larger" ghost ring rear site. I can see if a finer diameter apature is used where it might cause a problem but a true ghost ring? I have my doubts. I'm currently (as mentioned) planning my next hunt and will probably set up a new rifle that way.
Well now that you ask I was thinking 9.3 something for a bolt action to start off with. My Namibian PH shoots a 9.3 I thought it might be fun.
that would be a good choice, you might not have noticed but the 9.3x62 is one of my favourites, along with the 9.3x74r in my double. it would be great for shooting all those feral pigs you have over there as well.
The 9.3X62 being basically a 30-06 case, I have learned, it can be used in a standard length action. Nice! It's giving me more ideas.
I use one of these on my .404 Jeffery. NECG Peep Sight CZ 550 Steel Matte Combined with a fibre-optic front sight. Exellent setup for dense bush and shots up to around 60 yards. Wouldn't change it for anything else.
docman I was just looking at a CZ 550 American and thinking it would be perfect for a peep and fiber optic in 9.3 It is at the top of my list right now. I can't build one for the price of that one.
