Gentlemen,

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to put tang sights (marbles or lyman type) on a double rifle?

I have a double that shoots very well, but I own other rifles that have tang sights on them or peep sights of some sorts and wanted to put a peep on my double.

Now, I know that if I mounted a peep on the barrels, I might have to change the front sight to get the heighth I need.

I also know I would also have to sight the gun in all over again, and it may or may not regulate with a sight change like that.

Now, with all that understood, why wouldn't a tang sight work?

Please share your input and opinions!!

I appreciate your time.

NUT...

I don't think I would want a tang sight on a hard recoiling double as it might be too close to the face and therefore dangerous for the eye.

goshoot,

Yep you have a point there, but what if it was not a heavy recoiling gun. Mine is a 45-70 and doesn't kick much at all.

Would it work and be feesable then?

Nut...

I don't see why not on a .45-.70 if that is what you like. One advantage of a side by side double rifle however is its quick handling ability. A "V" notch sight is likely quicker to use than a tang peep sight. Also for dangerous game some tang peeps block more of your vision especially if you close the other eye. This could be life threatening. Tang peeps are also easier to snag on brush and more easily damaged in the field. Tang peeps however may be more accurate.

Use the find function and type in peep sights,you will see what is out there and what others have done in the past,peep sights are not that rare on a DR,being too close to the face is definitely not advisable,and you will find that most peeps are not mounted on the tang but rather on the barrels.I myself like peep sights but on my DR's I use the docter optic sights and have been very happy with their performance.

I've seen pics of several Brit doubles with tang mounted sights in Double Gun Journal.

There are a lot of German/Austrian doubles with built in tang sights. Many of them fold forwards into the rifle tang and have a slot milled in the stem of the sight for the safety slide. These are very neat sights and are almost invisible until they are flipped into the up position. These have much less vertical adjustment than the American style tang sights, but not much would be needed on a double and the sight is out of the way until needed.

I doubt that there is much danger to the eye. A tang peep has at least as much eye clearance as a scope. Of course a scope can bite occasionally. (As most of us know!)

That being said, my vote would be for a ghost ring at the breech. Fast, accurate, durable and looks good.

JJPerodeau at Champlin Arms does a modified version of the Purdey peep that essentially replaces the top lever screw with a new screw that has a folding peep sight on top. I have one on my .303 British double.

You sight by looking through the peep and get the front bead down the the back vee as usual. The way the eye works ensures a much sharper focus on the front and back vee. You never really see the peep.

Regards

The bolt peep on my early 1900s Krieghoff-Sempert works the same way. You look through the peep and center the bead in the V of the rear sight. The peep doesn't replace the rear V sight...just gives you 3 points of reference in aiming.

Hey Guys,

I checked out the link above and thought that sight was great. I also looked at Skinner sights, XS sights, and some others. I would love to have a Skinner put on my double, but I'm afraid it will have to be re-regulated if I do. Or at least I would have to put on a higher front sight.

Aren't these the normal/usual concerns with peep sights?

Thanks for your time.

Tim, Thanks for the info on JJ's peep. I'll have to look into that. As for the original question, if I recall correctly, Michel Mantheakis told me he used some sort of tang peep on his double.