A couple of questions asked of me recently convince me there's some confusion going on, so hopefully this will clear up more confusion that it generates....
Ask 10 shotgunners what front sight is best, and you'll get at least 10 opinions. Here's mine...
On a wingshooting shotgun, good work has been done w/o a bead or other front sight. Charles Askins wrote of a Southern Sheriff who managed to blow off the muzzle of his Model 97 by letting it get packed with mud. The doughty Sheriff hacksawed off the damage, did not mount a new bead, and continued to decimate the quail just as before.
I had the Bradley bead on my 870TB part company with me during a doubles round last year, and I think I shot about as well as I did the round before, 37 and 35,IIRC.BTW, I have no idea just WHEN in that round the bead went AWOL.
Zutz tells a similar tale of a skeet shooter who ran the last 25 of a 100 straight sans sight.
Here's the deal. When wingshooting or moving at a fast moving ground target, one should focus on the target, not the sight. This is why excellent rifle and handgun shooters often have trouble doing well with shotguns.It runs counter to their training. And, this is why folks who shoot longbows and recurves Robin Hood style oft are excellent wingshots.They're used to focussing on the target, not the sights, because there are none.
On a pure wingshooting gun, I'm not advocating removal of the bead, but I prefer a small, unobtrusive one. No fiber optics, no Testor's enamel, nothing that can distract me from the target. All these folks, including members of the Geezer League who add the "Green Worm" sights are going in the wrong direction, IMO. The double bead setup usually seen in days past on trap guns now crops up on every kind of shotgun. For trap and premounted games,they're a way of checking alignment, but the focus MUST shift to the target if one wants to hit it.
Now, the Green worms come into their own for turkey, deer,etc. They're also good for "Serious" work, especially when used with adjustable open or peep sights to fine tune the hit. But, these are aimed, not pointed.
So, you've got one shotgun(Hopefully an 870) and one bbl. You're planning on using same for everything from casual clays to HD.Your bbl has a bead sight. What next?
Remember,we focus on the target when wingshooting, on the sights when it's "Serious", or hunting deer. I doubt the most highly trained of us will recall, during a life threatening crisis, whether we should focus on the sights, or the threat.
There's a coupla options here.
First, get a second bbl with sights, or another shotgun of identical make/model, set up for the Serious" stuff. This is the option I chose, then pursued it to the point of diminishing returns.
Second, Williams, and maybe others, make F/O sights that clip onto a vent rib nicely. Either just a Green Worm front or a set with F/O or plain rear. These are inexpensive compared to another shotgun, and can be installed for H/D, removed for clays or birds, and so on.
Third, use what you have and get used to it for everything. Surprisingly, lots of folks can and do switch, tho I'm sure some are not shooting to their potential.
I hope this is explained satisfactorily, sing out if not...
Ask 10 shotgunners what front sight is best, and you'll get at least 10 opinions. Here's mine...
On a wingshooting shotgun, good work has been done w/o a bead or other front sight. Charles Askins wrote of a Southern Sheriff who managed to blow off the muzzle of his Model 97 by letting it get packed with mud. The doughty Sheriff hacksawed off the damage, did not mount a new bead, and continued to decimate the quail just as before.
I had the Bradley bead on my 870TB part company with me during a doubles round last year, and I think I shot about as well as I did the round before, 37 and 35,IIRC.BTW, I have no idea just WHEN in that round the bead went AWOL.
Zutz tells a similar tale of a skeet shooter who ran the last 25 of a 100 straight sans sight.
Here's the deal. When wingshooting or moving at a fast moving ground target, one should focus on the target, not the sight. This is why excellent rifle and handgun shooters often have trouble doing well with shotguns.It runs counter to their training. And, this is why folks who shoot longbows and recurves Robin Hood style oft are excellent wingshots.They're used to focussing on the target, not the sights, because there are none.
On a pure wingshooting gun, I'm not advocating removal of the bead, but I prefer a small, unobtrusive one. No fiber optics, no Testor's enamel, nothing that can distract me from the target. All these folks, including members of the Geezer League who add the "Green Worm" sights are going in the wrong direction, IMO. The double bead setup usually seen in days past on trap guns now crops up on every kind of shotgun. For trap and premounted games,they're a way of checking alignment, but the focus MUST shift to the target if one wants to hit it.
Now, the Green worms come into their own for turkey, deer,etc. They're also good for "Serious" work, especially when used with adjustable open or peep sights to fine tune the hit. But, these are aimed, not pointed.
So, you've got one shotgun(Hopefully an 870) and one bbl. You're planning on using same for everything from casual clays to HD.Your bbl has a bead sight. What next?
Remember,we focus on the target when wingshooting, on the sights when it's "Serious", or hunting deer. I doubt the most highly trained of us will recall, during a life threatening crisis, whether we should focus on the sights, or the threat.
There's a coupla options here.
First, get a second bbl with sights, or another shotgun of identical make/model, set up for the Serious" stuff. This is the option I chose, then pursued it to the point of diminishing returns.
Second, Williams, and maybe others, make F/O sights that clip onto a vent rib nicely. Either just a Green Worm front or a set with F/O or plain rear. These are inexpensive compared to another shotgun, and can be installed for H/D, removed for clays or birds, and so on.
Third, use what you have and get used to it for everything. Surprisingly, lots of folks can and do switch, tho I'm sure some are not shooting to their potential.
I hope this is explained satisfactorily, sing out if not...
.