I picked up another very lovely little G.33/40 ttoday that has a rather elaborate peep sight on it made by Redfield, as well as the orginal front sight with hood.

Was going to take the peep off and bore and tap for a scope, but then got to thinking that maybe that might make for a nice lousy weather whitetail gun when the snow is blowing sideways here in Minnesota.

Anyway, I have never really worked with a peep sight before.
Anything special about how to use them.

Blue

Just like looking thru a 1x scope. Adjust it so that the bead or post front sight is dead center of the circle when zeroing. Your eye will then do all the work when it is time for shooting.

If your eyes were really like Superman's, you could keep the peep, the front sight, and the target all in focus at one time. Trouble is, not many eyes can do that, so abandon your preconceived ideas and follow this.

One of the very best shooting techniques in existence is that of shooting enuff so that you are 100% consistent in mounting the rifle every time. Practice so that you get on the gun the same way each time. It'll take a while, but that is one of the secrets of marksmen. You cannot ask your eye to keep all 3 points in alignment and in focus--your eyes simply cannot do that. So--get on the rifle the same way every time so that your eye is in the same position behind the peep sight the same way every time.

Next step is to ignore what you see in the peep sight. In fact, you should not see much of anything in the peep hole. The purpose of the peep is to align a triangulation point. If you shoot often enuff and practice good technique, you should be able to do this and not affect your group or point of impact.

Concentrate on the front sight. With practice, the peep will help you align the front sight so that it is centered in the peep. Don't try to do this with effort, just practice until you are consistent enuff to do it without strain. Focus on the front sight, even if the target is a little fuzzy (yes, that is correct). Front sight concentration is essential to good marksmanship with iron sights. After you get your technique down pat, apply a sight correction.

Once you have gotten this far, set the apple on the fence post. That is, set your target on top of your front sight like an apple on a fence post. You should be holding your front sight at 6 O'clock on a bullseye. This means that the rifle should be sighted in so that it shoots to the center of the bullseye (or other target), even though the sight is at 6 o'clock. The bullet is to strike a little above the front sight--how much depends on your preference. Not only that, but you need to learn how high the bullet strikes at the various practical ranges.

Why 6 o'clock? So you don't cover your aiming point. That is called "Army Hold." There is a system called "Navy Hold" where you cover your aiming point with the front sight. In that system, you shoot so that the bullet lands right at the top of the front sight. It is very hard to judge well and at other ranges, you cannot see where you are shooting. In some cases, you are covering your point of aim entirely, so try not to use "Navy Hold."

Hope that helps.

Remove the rear sight disk and go hunting. It only blocks your field of view and does little to improve practical accuracy. Try it both ways, on paper, you will see. Do not be preoccupied with centering the front sight in the rear hole. There is an optical principle that makes it happen automatically. Just look through it and put the front sight where you want to hit. I would not feel the least bit handicapped by a peep sight at normal hunting distances.

I also try to keep both eyes open with moving targets to keep the field of view open. With standing game I will often start with both eyes open then concentrate with only one eye on that front sight.
Frank

I prefer to hold the front sight directly on the target when hunting. It might not be as precise as a 6 o'clock hold is when target shooting but when you put the bead behind the shoulder of a deer that is where it hits. With a 6 o'clock hold you are left guessing how high the bullet will hit at various ranges.

There are as many ways to shoot peep sights as there are people who use them now. Personally, I prefer an aperature front sight of just the right diameter for the specific target I'm shooting. But that's just for targets.

For game, I generally use a crosswire front sight that I know I can bracket any kill zone with even in poor light, so long as I can see either the top or bottom half of the verticle wire and either the left or right have of the horizontal. But, posts work, as do beads, and a bunch of other things. Combining a tang sight and a Lyman #5 is probably one of best hunting sights ever made. The Lyman #5 has a flip up hooded post or bead, that converts with the flip of a lever to an uncovered sliver or ivory post as lighting requires. I am rebuilding one of these for a new hunting rifle.

One other option is a transparent aperture sight. These are clear, usually plastic, disks that have a hole bored in them with a beveled edge. This gives you great centering, but you can see your target much better than with a standard black steel aperture front sight.

Brent