Best rear sight for old eyes on a 357 20inch

[Lezmark]

Typical problem - good distance sight - crappy close up . Any suggestions from experience? thanks in advance

[phonejack]

If the front sight is fuzzy, you need an aperture rear. The smaller the diameter the sharper the front sight will appear.

[Lezmark]

Thanks. The rear is what is fuzzy and i have been wondering if a Steve's rear peep might be the way to go?

[calan]

I machined my own plug for the safety from an aluminum cable stop, and bought a Skinner Lo Pro sight for it. After reading about the fitment issues with the one you mentioned, I figured I could make my own on the drill press for a better fit and a lot less money.

I modified the Skinner apertures so that they are flat rather than conical on the front (to cut down glare), and drilled out the back so that the center section with the hole is thinner. I really like them I think; I still need to put some live ammo through it, but I can sight in on the cat in the living room just fine.

[donhuff]

Lezmark, Try one of these to get the front, rear, and target to focus.

[mr surveyor]

Lezmark, Try one of these to get the front, rear, and target to focus.

That's exactly what I made in 2005 from a pair of cheap range glasses .... same "diopter" type hole and black out with magic marker. I remembered learning about the principle of light refraction through a pin hole while in grade school, and being pretty near sighted since the age of 7-8 years old the little trick of using thumb and finger tip on each hand to make a "pin hole" let me see pretty clear when my glasses weren't immediately available. From childhood up to the age of 50 or so I never had trouble with any type of iron sights, scopes or other focusing problems in general. Having lasic surgery was my biggest mistake which led me back to experimenting with the pin hole. I used my "redneck diopter glasses" somewhat successfully quite a bit for handgun target shooting, then decided since most of my handgun shooting was to maintain point/shoot ability for self defense that it was best to practice with the same "vision" I spent my day to day life with and put the glasses away. I did see an improvement with the glasses for rifle shooting from the bench, but using the same logic for the rifle as the handgun, the glasses would have been of no use in a real world situation.

The "redneck diopter glasses" are cheap, fairly easy to make properly, and amazing in what they can do for many people with vision issues. Or you can spend hundreds (thousands?) of dollars to buy professionally designed and fitted devices specifically made for the purpose.

Pretty cool stuff to tinker with.

JD

[Xshot]

Lezmark - I installed the Marble's Bullseye ghost ring and their fiber optic (green) front sight. My rifle is used primarily for hunting and general plinking. So far it's working for me, but there is a definite learning curve on how to use them.

I initially had problems centering the front sight in the rear sight. It was too fuzzy for rapid target acquisition. I resolved my problem by applying orange Bright Eyes paint to the inner circle of the rear ghost ring sight. This provided a much clearer contrast between the green FO front sight and the rear sight.

I really like the green FO front sight, because it stands out in all conditions I've used it. However, the bead is 1/16" and doesn't lend itself for precision target shooting.

Using the same load and setting the sights to your preferred distance will make accuracy and life much better. I've been able to hit a 1 gallon milk jug consistently @ 80 yards shooting freehand. Once I settle on my own load recipe, I will begin to experiment with hold overs & unders (i.e. where the front sight appears in the rear aperture).

[Lezmark]

Thank you all!

[popplecop]

I'm an old LE handgun instructor and I do mean old, been retired 25 years. When shooting iron sights remember that the eye can only focus at one distance. We taught that the target and the rear sight were going to be fuzzy, but that the front sight should be sharp in focus. All my other lever rifles wear peeps, don't know how the new 92s will work with open sights. May drill and tap one for a Williams peep and fiber optic front. Do have a Lyman Tang laying around for a Winchester will have to see what works out.

[Ranch Dog]

I would recommend the Skinner barrel mounted peep. Have it on a R92 chambered in 357 Mag, great sight, but just sold that rifle to Steelbanger. So now all my Rossi rifles wear scopes.

I do a lot of handgun shooting every year, about 10K worth, and from having it drilled into me, I hear "give me a hard focus on the front sight!" I hear that with every shot!