Finally after nine months, I'm shooting my big guns again. Butch was good enough to sell my old Fat Chick back to me. Thanks again! Had her out today, and decided I need a bigger dot for easier target aquisition. She's a tang safety Ruger 77 with the fine front sight. It allows nice precision shooting, that's great for groundhogs and targets, but hard to see if the light is not perfect or the target is dark. Someday, I'd like to use it on something big and dark with horns. So, I'm looking at NECG sights. Any thoughts about bead size and color. They have white and a kind of orange/red plastic bead. I had an orange sight on my first double, and it was easy to see, but I always worried about breaking it. I've had a number of ivory beads over the years, but I was into scopes at the time and can't remember how well they worked.
Advice and comments appreciated.
Thanks
Bfly

I thought some else would speak. For hunting I like red fiber optic. It is not red plastic, but a fiber optic filament that collects light. It helps too use a hood with a hole in top, like the CZ550. The beads is fragil and easy broken, but; with a fully shrouded hood you dont get the fiber optic effect.

On my slug guns, I use a rear with two fiber dots and one fiber bead in front. The deer will become invisible long before the fibers. Seen from above the bore, the dots are actually 1/4(+) inch long light gathering filaments.

One more idea to consider, NECG makes a rear peep for the ruger base. As long you are placing an order, its another sight to idea too play with.

My 3c adjusted for inflation.

At the DRSS shot I attend I spent a evening in a deer stand. As it got dark I threw up on several deer feeding in front of the feeder.
It got to where the brass insert was not visible, so I used my lighter to blacken the insert, I would have added about 5 more minutes of hunting time. Brass is not the way to go in low light on deer or pig colored game.
JD

My hunting sights are mostly open, express type sights, although I do shoot with an aperture rear on some rifles.

For front beads, I have tried just about all of them, including white (plastic or ivory), silver, gold (brass) and red (fiber optic).

For target work, I like a black, Patridge-style post, with an aperture rear.

For hunting, I like a bead front, because it's more visible in poor light.

For close work, I like an open, express rear, having a shallow "V" - and a gold center line below the bottom of the "V". Helps in lining up for a fast shot.

And I like white and red front beads best. Red fiber optic best of all. Great visibility.

Also, since I don't shoot irons on game at long range, a 3/32 inch bead is my preference. I have used that size of bead out to 125 yards, but that was pushing it.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments.
I've been reteaching myself to shoot open sights over the last ten years. Pretty comfortable out to a hundred yards. The irons on this rifle will be for back up and for close quarters. It is not set up to use a hood on the front sight, besides, I tend to take them off for hunting.
I've had the same problems with the brass bead disappearing in poor light.
I am leaning toward the bigger white bead. I get nervous that the red fibre optic thing will break. It's that durability thing on a DGR.
Thanks
Bfly

Before you ditch your brass beads, try this: File the bead flat at 90* to the line of the bore, and at about 35* angle to perpendicular, with the low portion of the bead closest to the breach and the high angled toward the muzzles. Polish with a fine emory board after filing. You will find that it catches all available light and "glows" in weak light, makes a big difference.

If you are going to try the red "fibre optic" NECG sells them and they also sell vented hoods with "windows" on each side to let enough light in for the bead to glow. Also, you will find that you need a smaller size fibre optic compared to brass bead. The fibre optic appears much larger than an unfiled bead and a bit larger than a filed bead of equal size. So, first try the fibre optic in the same size as the brass bead you are replacing.

I have filed brass beads and fibre optics. I like both about equally.

When I first tried a red fibre optic front sight, I was concerned about its robustness. With the NECG vented hood, it has stood the test of time. The hood has been mangled and bent and rebent, but the fibre optic bead is still fine.

(BTW, I have seen the white beads seperate from the rest of the sight, leaving what amounts to a post with a dish in the front, where the bead was.)

JPK

For me it's the red fiber optic bead. I have one on my 458 Lott, my 450-400 and my 470 NE.

I like the red fiber optic too, but my bead is too small (or my eyes too weak). I'm going to have it replaced with another at least twice as large in diameter.

Chuck

Optic Fiber Front sight on my 500 Jeff

Do you guys with the fiber optic sight have hood on it, or is it, so to speak, naked?
Bfly

I have a shotgun, naked with a spare set of cheep firefly(?) sights. I have not broken the sights yet, and keep the spare at home. I have a hood on the rifles, but the hoods have a window. The site seems most likely to get damages, at home, in the safe or falling over. I actually never broke the fiber bead, but seem many others broken. I have taken a few nasty tumbles tripping over branches under the snow. Ouch! My ankle still acting up from the last time I fell a good 2 months ago. Forget the gun, my bones need a hood!

NECG's sourdough style brass front sight insert, post if you will, is slanted to catch the light and can be filed to height to regulate with your rear sight and even trimmed width wise to suit. Not likely to break as the fiber inserts can do if bumped.

When you file the site forward to you get any elevation changes due to light conditions.
Light from the rear would make it glow and appear taller causing it to hit low, light from the front making it seem smaller causing it to hit higher hitting higher. There was a guy who put a diamond in his brass insert over at nitro i wonder how that worked out.

JD

quote:

Originally posted by Black Fly:
Do you guys with the fiber optic sight have hood on it, or is it, so to speak, naked?
Bfly

All of mine are hooded. I use the Recknagel/NECG hoods with "windows" in them.

Hoods work great as long as they're properly fitted. They operate like springs. The bottom edges of the hood will tightly grip the groove in the ramp if the hood is properly tensioned.

Plus, the Recknagel/NECG ramps have a spring loaded button that locks into a notch on the bottom edge of one side of the hood.

Again, if properly fitted (the notch sometimes must be opened up a bit with a needle file), they provide an extra, and needed, measure of security.

One must pay attention to this stuff and not take anything for granted!

quote:

Originally posted by J D:
When you file the site forward to you get any elevation changes due to light conditions.
Light from the rear would make it glow and appear taller causing it to hit low, light from the front making it seem smaller causing it to hit higher hitting higher. There was a guy who put a diamond in his brass insert over at nitro i wonder how that worked out.

JD

Filing a bead has produced no elevation issues for me. The filed flat bead is pretty bold when the light is not behind you as well. Also, elevation for express sights is based on the bottom of a front bead, not the top. Even filed, the bead's appearance to the eye is round and the bead is nussled into the V...

I will say though, that a bead filed flat or left as is is not at its best when an elephant is strongly back lit, as in the early morning or late evening, or the day is darkly overcast. Buff are dark enough that it seems to make no difference, but the lighter elephant backdrop has caused issues for me.

One advantage with the flat facet facing the breach over the rounded bead is that the flat facet is uniformily lit, or unlit, its whole width. With a rounded bead, when the light is to one side or the other, only that side is lit. The other side remains shaded. This causes windage issues, since the eye, at least my eye, centers the lighted portion of the rounded bead. Not a big issue at the ranges where quick shooting occurs, but a consideration.

JPK

red fibre optic front , ghost ring rear. Many of the lads here have fitted green fiber optic front and two red fibre optics on the rear sight to give a straight line of red/green/red when sights are line up properly- sight system originally for shotguns and were on sale in a local gun shop for years before somebody found they worked perfectly on their .458

Good for you about getting your rifle back. I use scopes on all my rifles. You know 1 3/4 X 5
On my 375 I have a 2X6X30 lepole. On my 416 and my 458 Lott I have the first scope 1 3/4 X 5 X 30.

Been there front & back - see my Odyssey here...tho it is still going towards Ganyana's pick lately:

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
red fibre optic front , ghost ring rear.

Will report how it goes.

P.S. We have snow here therefore red is better than white and I don't use hood - end of my barrels is sacred and I look after it more then myself - although hard hunting I have never knocked them in 2 1/2 years - anyway - fibers are cheap and if you have a spare nearby you can change them in the field.

I have a red fiber optic w/hood on my Lott, I find it real hard to focus on taget with it, and will be changing it out.

I have a mid sized brass bead on another, but it has its limitations in differing light.

I have a gold bead with flip down white "nite bead" form NECG on my 375, and this is without a doubt my fave. The bead seems perfect size for my eyes, and the white bead serves its purpose in fading light. Note this site is not effective at all for me with a hood.

Although I havent shot it yet, the rear & white bead front site on my new LH 375 Ruger seems to be nice for me, when pointing it around the yard & snap capping.