Skinner “Express” Sight Review 2014 .357 Henry “Big Boy Express” (Unique vs. H110)

J

Jeffm004

New member
I put this in the reloading forum as well. I asked about the sights earlier and got pretty close to crickets so here is my review.

I bought my Dad and Brother a Skinner Sight for their 2014 .357 Henry “Big Boy”. I am ecstatic with its performance. We were all over the paper with the stock iron sights at 100 yards, just abysmal. I searched for better sights knowing we did not want a scope on these levers. I did not find much, I found Skinner but even here, there was not much for reviews.

I put the sight on my Dads .357 for Christmas (sneaking it out of his safe) and zeroed it yesterday with a ladder of Unique and H110 powder. This group is with Unique, 7.4 gr and a 158 gr Xtreme plated bullets at 100 yards (1.6” COAL). I am not particularly skilled with iron sights. I have an AR and have never shot a group like this with that. The H110 was not nearly as impressive either. Something I did not expect based upon its reputation. I did not crono this particular load but 7.2 of Unique was 1085, 7.7 gr was 1187 (4”), 7.7 in the lever was 1360 – ABOVE recommended plated velocities. 7.7 gr was top end jacketed in Speer #14.

I regularly read plated should be run at lead to mid-range jacketed, YMMV.
The year of the gun purchase is semi-important as I did not buy a replacement front sight. I tightened everything up and it shot true with this load “out of the box.” My plan for L/R was to actually move the front sight. You can move the Skinners but it looked so good with the smooth lines I did not want to take the dovetail out of alignment with the mounted brass block. Elevation is changed by rotating the peep and securing it when set with a side set screw. Super easy. I wanted something indestructible once set. This appear to me to be indestructible this side of intentional abuse.

I’m old enough to find the real joy of Christmas in the giving, and my Dad and Brother are going to love these sights.

I hope Yours was the Merriest of Christmases.

Jeff
 
I hope they keep working for your family members. My experiences with two Skinner sights have been so-so. I got their winged "tactical" peep, and it's a PITA to adjust. Got one of their barrel-mounted sights, and I like it better, even though I lose some sight radius and the aperture isn't close to the eye like it should be for a true aperture.

Both of mine are blued and are rust magnets. The gun may sit for a month or so, and the gun will come out of the safe looking fine, but the Skinner sights will be coated with rust.
 
I'd heard things about Skinner sights... went to buy one and their site doesn't even tell you what front sight height you need (whether you need to replace the factory front), with a given rear sight purchase.

They even have an FAQ with the question "What front sight do I need?", and their answer is "We can't tell you - it just depends, because every gun shoots differently".

In essence, they just tell you that you have to guess, order one, and if it doesn't work, then replace it.

Which is absurd. They could easily (and should) tell you things like (at a minimum): "For this _____ rear sight, if you have a Marlin 336 built after/before _____ (date), then *most likely* your existing front sight will work, or you might have to get this _____ one."

They could at least narrow it down to one of two heights, or at least say things like "most likely" or "most likely not", etc., and have extensive lists of makes and models and LIKELY front sight heights that will work.

Instead, they opt to be lazy and just have you take a wild assed guess, which is frustrating for buyers and most likely for them too (getting returns). They certainly lost my business.

But glad to hear about your positive experiences. :)
 
I have a Skinner Alaskan on my Marlin 1895 in 45-70 and I love it. I also got the rear sight blank off dovetail with the extra peep storage. Everything went together well and it works great.

I will say that it is tough to adjust, and you need a tiny allen wrench, so when you are at the range be sure to keep track of it.

Finally, about the front sight... On my rifle, between different ammo choices, POI can vary up to 8-10" at 50 yards. I don't blame Skinner for not recommending a front sight height. They probably would lose more customers and have more of a headache if they did recommend a front sight and then had to return them.
 
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