Inspired by the other iron sight thread, I thought I'd start another based on my own open sight usage.

I can't tell you the exact diameter of the front bead on my .458 Win, but it covers 8" of target at 100 yards. With a 450 gr A-Frame at 2200 fps I sight it in so that the POI is exactly at the top of the bead at 100 yards. It is bang on at 25 and abit over 1/2" high at 50. That's about a bullet width just to keep things in perspective.

If you aim with the center of the bead, the same sighting will hit 1" high at 25, 2" high at 50 and 4" high at 100. 4" of midrange trajectory doesn't seem to bother users of scope sighted small bores much, and if situations require a more precise hold to perhaps thread needles you can revert to useing the top edge hold. If you don't, then just plastering the bead on the ribs of some large and luckless mammal will conclude things.

At 200 yards the bead subtends 16" and the bullet drops 8". That drops the bullet right into the center of the bead. That's not bad thing to know, especially if you happen to be one of the guys that was using the whole bead in the first place. It gets better; the 16" circle that bead covers makes bit of a rangefinger on game deer sized and a bit smaller. If you can fit the bead on the animal back to belly you could pull the trigger and hit. Whether you want to, or chose to is a different matter. Taken a little further, this technique will get a rainbow trajectory .458 Win out to 250, with one sight setting,no express leafs, no math and a crude rangefinder that doesn't need batteries.Its almost like some long dead sight mechanic thought this through 100 years ago and died with a smirk and a secret. Either that, or I just wasn't paying attention.

Different trajectories can be accomodated with slight variances in initial sighting and range, if you wanted to and gave it a bit of thought.

Personally I like scopes.

Dogleg,everyone has there own way of shooting the important thing is to be able to align the sights and keep the bead always in the same place.This is easier said than done.To always do it correctly one needs alot of practice-muscle memory to build confidence etc...

Dogleg,I was the range again today shooting in a blizzard.It is true about cabin fever this year more than ever.This is a bad winter.The margin of error thing I mentioned also applies to windage.Today showed a perfect example of how adjusting at 50 is not reliable.I shoot a 3 shot group off the bench at 50 to start off the session.I test the rifle and POI,getting ready for 100yds offhand.I see I am an inch to the left at 50.I shoot a group at 100 and see that it is 4 inches to the left.I want zero at 100 so I adjust the sight to the right.A shot at 50 tells me I am way too far right.Another adjustment and I hit in the same group I started off with.I say that will do it is too bloody cold and light will start fading.I shoot offhand at 100yds ,a 50 shot string and despite the wind and difficulty in shooting I make out that the rifle is grouping about 4 inches to the right.This goes to show that 50 yd adjustment failed and that I should have shot off the bench at 100yds to set my zero.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
I see I am an inch to the left at 50.I shoot a group at 100 and see that it is 4 inches to the left.

Is your shooting range situated North/South? It sounds like you're battling the Coriolis effect.

Maybe you can try mounting a target on front of the shooting bench and shooting from the 50y and 100y berms to see if your bullets hitting toward the right.

Mounting a compass to your shooting helmet will make it easier to compensate on N-S shots.

If a 1" windage error at 50 yards turns into a 4" windage error at 100 its because you are canting your rifle. That's assumeing that what you did is repeatable.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
I see I am an inch to the left at 50.I shoot a group at 100 and see that it is 4 inches to the left.

Is your shooting range situated North/South? It sounds like you're battling the Coriolis effect.

Maybe you can try mounting a target on front of the shooting bench and shooting from the 50y and 100y berms to see if your bullets hitting toward the right.

Mounting a compass to your shooting helmet will make it easier to compensate on N-S shots.

Shooting with open sights takes years to master and tons of hard work.I guess you and many others do not believe this.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:


Shooting with open sights takes years to master and tons of hard work.I guess you and many others do not believe this.

George,

You seem to be of the opinion that your shooting and knowledge of rifles exceeds that of people who have well established reputations as experts when you Sir, do not.

Arrogance is not an attractive quality in a man. Even less so when it's held in absence of merit!