Peep sights for hunting?

Let's hear about it (peeps sights on your hunting guns).

Thanks, Skychief :hatsoff:

I'm all for them if you need them or even if you just want them.

I have one made by a member here that's on my .45 flint gun. It makes all the difference in the world as far as I'm concerned.

I don't use them but if I wanted to or had a need to, I would not hesitate to use one.

All of my ML's wear peep sights and globe front sights. I have them sighted in and matched with the range finder. If the shot is 137 yards I set the sight as close as I can for that. The Lyman 57SML is a great peep.
By setting the sight for the shot at hand I can minimize shooter error.

Beautiful animals, Idaho Ron! Great hunting!

I've got a peep on one of my muzzleloaders. It's my percussion .54 T/C Renegade. I had no problem getting my sights on quick when this guy showed up.... a long time ago.

If I can't have glass give me peeps. I've gotem on several,including one shotgun.

I made a peep sight by taping threads into the tang of my rifle, drilling a hole through a thumb screw, bluing the screw and then just tightening a nut where I wanted the "sight" to sit height-wise, if that makes sense. I love peep sights and shoot much better and line up my shots much faster with them.

Sometimes you have to resort to inventiveness to get what you need. Good idea.

I and my hunting buddy both had disastrous results using a peep sight which wasn't too much of a disadvantage for standing, level ground shooting, but up or down hill shooting and running deer shooting were instances where we had physical problems aligning w/ the peep sight. We used a peep sight for 1 season and went back to iron sights and killed deer.....Fred

Never used for hunting. It would be a change and require practice. But, the Lyman company pretty much was built on the success of their No.1 peep sight that was very useful in good and adverse hunting conditions.

I have shot several deer running with a peep and globe, even in low light. At close range the eye will center the target in both the peep and the globe. I keep both eyes open when I shoot so I have never had that problem. I could not think about going back to the old sights. In fact I would probably quit before I went back.

Have used them with good success on a number of my guns. I have used the TC's on cappers. Have installed the Johnson Peep Sight on two flinters I built.

I use Williams apertures for hunting... .125 to .150 hole diameter. This allows me to shoot from first legal light 1/2 hour before sunrise to last legal light 1/2 hour after sunset. I sight in using smaller diameter to really best work on groups. Those groups open slightly with the larger apertures, but only slightly...still excellent for deer at 100 yards.

The buck in my avatar was taken at 65 yards while on a steady "nose down" trot through brush on a very steep downhill angle. I simply looked through the peep and focused on the front sight on his chest, moving along with him. The instant my eye saw an opening, which was about the size of a soccer ball, the .530 round ball was on it's way and he only went 30 yards.

I've had other experiences where I had to get on target and execute quickly and for me, just looking through a hole and focusing on the front sight really works.

Here you can see the Johnson Peep on my .58 Flint Fullstock Hawken build:

It is amazing how fast a guy can get on moving game 100 yards and under with a peep. not having to line up that rear site is a huge plus.

Idaho Ron said:

It is amazing how fast a guy can get on moving game 100 yards and under with a peep. not having to line up that rear site is a huge plus.

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Amen! It's virtually as fast as pointing a shotgun while wing shooting. Was slipping through some tight brush abreast with two buds when a deer popped up on a dead run about 10 yards out. I rolled it before it could go another 10 yards. My buds hadn't even found their conventional sights yet.

When I get to be an old fart like Bald Mt. Man I suppose I'll have to look into peep sights. ;-)

A smoothbore with a round ball IS as fast as a shotgun when wing shooting . . . if the deer oblige you with a 25 yard or closer pass-by. We call those "grouse shots".

I like peeps and have used them - just not on muzzleloaders.

And, a lot of t is where and how you hunt.

So, tell me more about this 100 yard running deer. I'm seeing him maybe 15% of the time. If I have to pick a window I might as well align the open sights.

Stumpkiller said:

A smoothbore with a round ball IS as fast as a shotgun when wing shooting . . . if the deer oblige you with a 25 yard or closer pass-by. We call those "grouse shots".

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If I was hunting the tight stuff consistently rather than mixed terrain with longer shots possible, I suspect I'd have converted to strictly single-sight smoothbores a long time ago.

For me the peeps are a good compromise between quick sighting for your "grouse shots" and the ability for really accurate and deliberate shooting out to around 100 yards.

Good comparison with smoothbores and single sight, and thanks for the insight.

Back when they first started with a Black Powder season, they required iron sights. It was during that time that I started using peep sights. I have taken a lot of deer and other game using a peep sight. Now I shoot some irons and some peeps. The more that I have used iron sights, the better I have become. At longer ranges, is where I think the peep sight has the advantage. And out past a hundred a peep has the, even greater advantage. However, I seldom shoot at game past 50 to 60 yards, so either would work for me.

They're also a huge help with old eyes, especially in low light.