Hi-Viz shotgun sights - Yea or Nah...

S

Slugo

Moderator
S300_large.jpg


I bought one for one of my Brownings last year. Magnetic mount with 5 different color light pipes. Used it only a couple of times, it became a total distraction. I was looking at its pretty fluorescent green color and missing easy targets. Took my eye right off the bird!

I vote NO!! :barf:
 
It's a love/hate thing. I love them when they are on a slug/HD gun. Hate them on a gun meant for flying targets.
 
When I went to both eyes open shooting, I found out I was cross eye dominant(right hand shooter-left eye dominant). I tried shooting left handed, but am very uncoordinated on that side. When the gun was mounted, I was seeing the left fourth of the barrel...it looked bent to the left...it was very distracting, and kept me from focusing on the target.

I purchased the Easy Hit sight through Tom Knapp's website; after a few months using it, I was down to just the bead. Can't explain how it helped me, but it did.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=819365
 
All my shotguns but one have brass bead sights. The mossberg 500 is two sighted with a florescent plastic bead on the muzzle end. On my shottys with the brass beads I painted them red.
 
Not a wing shooter so that isn't an issue for me, I put one on my old Stevens 520 and love it. My old eye balls literally could not see that tiny bead but now I can pick up the sight and get it on target about as fast as I can work the action. Mucho improvement.
 
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target

LOLOL... great tag line! :)
 
No, the only reason you need front sight and mid rib bead on a shotgun is to make sure your mount is correct / and the gun is not canted ....
 
I was looking at its pretty fluorescent green color and missing easy targets. Took my eye right off the bird!​
I hear you. I got a new gun that came with two sights: a "glowing" red and a standard white. I shot one round to give the red one (it was already on the gun) a try and was totally distracted. It's hard to keep your eye on the target with a beacon on your barrel.
 
the only place I would even consider using one is maybe on the trap field. Especially with a raised rib gun. That would be a slim exception...
 
The fiber optic bead is one of the worst ideas to ever hit shotgunning IMO.
Other than a turkey gun they have no place on a shotgun. It promotes every bad wingshooting habit.
 
The problem with these sights ,and that includes the S&W red insert, is that the sight picture is different depending on whether you're in sunlight or shade.
The red insert S&W caused you to pull the barrel down to see the target in sunlight -it glows !.Sight adjustment difference sunlight vs shade ? 2 clicks at 50 yds !! :barf:
My shotgun was similar so it took only on squirrel hunt in shade and sun to make me remove the plastic and replace it with stainless steel insert .Now it's fine !!
It's another popular but terrible feature !
 
Had one just like the OP's picture, on my O/U trap gun. Found that it caused my pattern to be low by a considerable amount and didn't really add anything toward breaking the clays. Proper form is to get your gun shooting to where you are looking and then keep your eye on the target, not the barrel. It's amazing what you can learn in a few shots at a pattern board. Removed the HiViz front sight and my scores improved. Now I can see the "bird" powder as I swing through. The fiber optic was just a distraction.
 
So your yay or nay depends on what you use it for. In my case with ground targets, turkey, deer, rabbit, reactive targets on the ground or SD it's a great aid for tired old peepers. For those who shoot things that fly it seems to be a distraction they can do better without.
 
I'm not a bird hunter, but the green works great on my 500 for slow moving or stationary armadillos in low light conditions.
 
You can legally start shooting at waterfowl 30 min before sunrise. I've found them helpful for the first few minutes of legal shooting time and for turkey hunting in the same lighting conditions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top