I am going on a buff hunt in Zim this Sept. I bought a new Win M70 Safari Express in .416 Rem Mag (to replace the one I owned previously).

A PH in RSA was interested in my old rifle (setup exactly the same as my new rifle) and he removed the front hood that covers the front sight. I put it back on later.

Now I am wondering if I should remove this hood before going to Africa. I have a scope on a detachable mount, and the hood does show up as a fuzzy blur (the same as the old rifle/scope), but has never bothered me when sighting in or actually shooting animals to include two Cape Buff and one Ellie.

What you, the posters recommend, since I know many of you have spent considerable time hunting DG in Africa?

Thanks.

BH63

I always feel better having the hood on my front sight when I'm not hunting. When I get off the truck and load up, I then also remove the hood and put it in my front shirt pocket with a zipper. When I get back to the hunting vehicle, I unload the rifle and put the hood back on, and into the gun case. That way if anything or anyone hits or bumps the rifle while traveling, the sight is protected. I'm also very aware of my front sight as I walk past trees, etc. while hunting with the hood off.

I take the hood off for better light reflection off the front sight. Some hoods that I have are cut out in the middle to let in better light, but it's still not as good as no hood IMO. If you take the hood off while hunting, just be aware of trees, boulders, etc. that may knock/bend your sight off center. Also, it's a good idea to always put the hood in the exact same place each time you take it off, like I do in my front shirt pocket.

My opinion is, it's better to have it and not need it, than the other way around. If it were me, I'd take the hood along.

Good luck on your safari!

I shoot iron sights and I take those hoods off and toss them..They serve no purpose and in the dark Jesse can make it hard to see the animal at times...They are nothing more than a sight protector, Maybe one should carry a replacement front sight, just in case..I do but have never needed one..

Ive have not bent or broke a front sight in the last 60 years..I did a few when I was a kid, but I could break an anvil with a powder puff back then, or so dad told me..

Bottom line is its up to you..use it to protect the front sight, but take it off to hunt for sure.

Above all listen to your PH..

If the blur is your main complaint it will still be there when the hood is off.

The blur should disappear above 2X.

In the old days we used to hold a silver dollar out in front of scopes and see if it would disappear above 2 power. Most good scopes will see right through it, or so it appeared.

I like hoods because the usually cover up scratches etc from replacing / adjusting front sight inserts. My guns with irons only or QD scopes have no hoods on them. as they block a lot of animal.

The hoods with a detent button can usually be easily removed or reinstalled. Hoods like a factory Model 70 are another thing entirely. I have had them where a rubber mallet was needed to move them and others fell off during shooting. My dangerous guns all were scoped with variables with a low end of 1 power or 1.5 power. I can shoot that a lot better than an iron sight. If you are really close to the target I doubt any sights are being used. If it really bothered me, I would have a gunsmith install one of the H&H hinged type sight hoods offered by NECG.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I take those hoods off and toss them..They serve no purpose ...

+1

Actually hoods can serve important functions. Besides protecting the blade and its position in the dovetail, they prevent glare and bright spots on some blades. On my silhouette pistols I always put hoods on my front sights where legal. Silhouettes mimick game and are not like paper targets. In poor light hoods can be a hinderence, that's why they can be easily removed.



.

I like the idea of protecting the front sight. I also like being able to get the hood out of the way without losing it. Have this on one rifle and getting it on another.

I like irons on both my DG rifle and my light rifle. And, I've hunted both with rifles that had hooded irons and those that didn't. I don't have a strong preference, but since going to the Swaro Z6i, irons are only a backup.

We all used to take off the scope in thick stuff or on a follow up. Not necessary with a Z6i 1-6. In fact, cranked down to a true one power with the illuminated and you have a no magnification red dot. It's every bit as fast as irons.

With my aging eyes, I would regard irons totally as a backup and then, I'd likely have a Talley peep rather than an V. So other than looking really neat, a hood is unnecessary.

I keep the hoods just to protect the front sight-----my guns tend to get used (abused in trucks, rocks, trees, line camps, tents and leaning against trees )

LOL

Like I stated in the OP, although I can see the hood as a blur, it has never interfered with aiming and/or firing.

I guess I will leave it on, and if I do have to go into really thick stuff and the PH recommends I go to iron sights, I will remove it.

Thanks for all the recommendations.

BH63

I don't know about the buff VS sex thing, but at my age, I can hunt buff for several hours a day, and for two weeks...

quote:

Originally posted by Charles_Helm:
I like the idea of protecting the front sight. I also like being able to get the hood out of the way without losing it. Have this on one rifle and getting it on another.

quote:

Originally posted by ozhunter:

Yes, I shamelessly stole the idea to do that from you!

^
I would think you need to have the tension on the screw just right. Otherwise the recoil might cause the hood to stop in a midway position (similar to the picture) that might totally screw up your sight picture.

BH63

A hood has never interfered with my sight picture or otherwise bothered me.

Much more important, at least to me, is having a front sight bead that I can see in any light. I use the NECG orange fiber optic beads.

Also, my hoods have a cut out on top that lets in whatever light is available. Still protects the front sight but doesn't darken the bead. Best of both worlds.

On target rifles, especially BPCR rifles, most front sights have hoods and they work best if the aiming point (aperture or post) is centered in the hood. On hunting guns, since I use a rear aperture sight, I strive to have the post centered in the hood as well. If the post is off-center in the hood, I take the hood off when hunting.

I have this set up on a couple of my DGR's. As you can see, the hood is hinged to where it can be moved into either the up or down position. The little knurled pieces are spring loaded, and must be pulled back from the notches cut into the hood in order to allow it to be moved from either the up or down position. Once in place, the hood cannot be moved:

I have to agree with Ray again on this one. I somewhere I must have a drawer full of front sight hoods and scerw in inserts from peep sights.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 458Win:
I have to agree with Ray again on this one. I somewhere I must have a drawer full of front sight hoods and scerw in inserts from peep sights.[/QUOTE

I leave the hoods in place until they disappear in the alders and keep peep inserts in my pocket until they are lost as well.

OP, keep your eyes open, I lost the hood off my rifle in Zimbabwe in 2012. Exact same gun as yours only .375 HH.

Chip,

I really like that.

quote:

Originally posted by CHIPB:
I have this set up on a couple of my DGR's. As you can see, the hood is hinged to where it can be moved into either the up or down position. The little knurled pieces are spring loaded, and must be pulled back from the notches cut into the hood in order to allow it to be moved from either the up or down position. Once in place, the hood cannot be moved

@CHIPB Who makes that set-up? What type of bead do you run? Looks like a great alternative to either hooded or non-hooded. I also love the looks of the large gold and/or ivory bead that flips up for low-light use!

-John

Hello lavaca and John Galt. I have a .505 Gibbs and a .416 Rigby with this set up. Both rifles are from Ryan Breeding. Although I would not term myself as a connoisseur of big bores, I think Ryan's DGR's are some of the best on the market. John Galt...there is not a flip up "twilight" type bead on this set up...just the silver tipped bead that you see in the first photo. Cheers. CHIP.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffHunter63:
^
I would think you need to have the tension on the screw just right. Otherwise the recoil might cause the hood to stop in a midway position (similar to the picture) that might totally screw up your sight picture.

BH63

These Recknagel H&H type folding hoods have a stopper to provent the hood from moving from desired seting.
Whilst actually hunting with the open sights I do not use the hood but during transporting they may prevent a bit of a disaster from occurring.

I use this same front system. In the rear I have used a Brockman spring loaded ghost ring. That is depressed when the scope is mounted. Remove the scope and you are ready to go,
I have them on three large bore rifles and never any issue with them. I have old eyes as well. Too old to effectively use the screw in peeps. The ghost ring seems to work just fine for me.
EZ

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
A hood has never interfered with my sight picture or otherwise bothered me.

Much more important, at least to me, is having a front sight bead that I can see in any light. I use the NECG orange fiber optic beads.

Also, my hoods have a cut out on top that lets in whatever light is available. Still protects the front sight but doesn't darken the bead. Best of both worlds.

If you don't take the hood off, it will fly off within the first 10 full power shots. Now that's distracting. I have the same rifle, mine lasted two shots and went flying.