• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Primitive Peep Sight

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

LRB

75 Cal.
MLF Supporter
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Messages
6,376
Reaction score
1,237
Due to my ageing eyes, I have decided to try a peep on my fire lock. I made it from a piece of scrap 3/16" 01 steel. Ground and filed to shape, then silver brazed to the tang. The hole is 3/32". I could have made the peep hole a little smaller, but want to be able to sight on a deer at early light. I still have to make a new front and zero it in. All adjustment will be with the new front sight. The open rear will need to be removed, and I'm thinking of replacing it with a dummy rear sight cut out so it doesn't interfere with the view through the peep. I figure that way the peep won't be too obvious and I will need to fill the dove tail anyway.



 
I like it. My eyes is heading in the peep direction. Im gonna try an make it long as I can but its coming :idunno:
 
Thanks for posting Wick. My eyes are the same age, and I've been frustrated the same way. I look forward to any more information about your solution. Have you decided what you want for the front?

Regards,
Pletch
 
Nice looking sight, small,rugged and functional.
Might I suggest an Ivory or copper penny inlay in a partridge blade front. Both show up and hold elevation very well in about any light. Mike D.
 
I have a dovetail cut into the tang of one of my rifles, and fit a rear sight to it. While the notch seems a bit wide at first, it actually works much like a peep, and doesn't need as much light as the typical peep.
 
Pletch, MD, I am going to start out with a 1/16" silver blade. May have to go thicker because of the 44" barrel. A 1/16" that far away looks a tad skinny to my eyes, but we will see when I get the open rear out of the way. I make the fronts with an under cut at the back, and a fairly quick roll as it flows into the top which shows as a bright bead in low or shaded light. I've done very well with that on my Sharps, a few times in near dark that the deer was just a black silhouette, but there's a -14" difference in barrel length.
 
If you would cut the notch much deeper in the rear sight 3 or 4 times deeper than the width it does act exactly like a peep sight. At friendship it's called the "Friendship cheater" and it works so well that it is only legal to use on the heavy bench guns. I never understood that rule it's almost like "you offhand guys and light bench guys don't shoot well enough to warrent a sight picture improvement anyway"?

RB
 
My eye just doesn't focus well on the rear open. I tried a wide rear notch with a thicker front. Did better and pretty OK, but I believe the peep is more fool proof and should be more accurate since it is far behind the rear open position. I see little advantage to have any peep, or semi-peep, that far from the eye. I see too much blur in an open rear, making it very difficult to position the front in it consistently the same. The peep eliminates the need to try and focus 3 planes at once. I don't shoot competition so the use of a peep is of no matter, other than being questionable on an American longrifle. If it allows me to shoot better, I can live with it.
 
Loyalist Dave said:
Not only does it look good, BUT it's also rather robust... if it gets banged by accident it's not going to get damaged and thus mess up a hunt. Me Likee!

:thumbsup:

LD

LD, you hit it square. Tang peeps that are delicate are not good for the woods.
 
The sight that I am trying to describe is not mounted at the open sight location. The Friendship Cheater is mounted on the peep sight base at the REAR of the gun. You remove the aperture and use a very deep open sight in place of the aperture.

RB
 
The choice of front sights came up. When I had my Jaeger built I asked the builder to use a white bone or ivory for the blade. He used ivory. I regret my choice. The white simply vanishes into the background regardless of ambient light or color of the target. IMHO, the only choice is the proven patridge black blade. The black contrasts with everything until total darkness arrives. Then, even the white blade is useless. On my Rev. longrifle, I have a silver front blade and use black felt tip marker to blacken it for use. Pretty to look at but wuthless for shooting.
Jaegersight.jpg
[/URL][/img]
 
rhbrink said:
If you would cut the notch much deeper in the rear sight 3 or 4 times deeper than the width it does act exactly like a peep sight. At friendship it's called the "Friendship cheater" and it works so well that it is only legal to use on the heavy bench guns. I never understood that rule it's almost like "you offhand guys and light bench guys don't shoot well enough to warrent a sight picture improvement anyway"?

RB


The Friendship cheater sight was designed by Webb Terry in the early 1970s. The one shown below was one of those he made. I acquired two from him. It was almost immediately ruled illegal for use in open sight matches. Unless recently changed, NMLRA rules stipulate the open sights must be forward of the tang/breech. This prohibts the use of this "cheater" concept. And, BTW, there is no bench rest rule that rifles must be "heavy". There simply is no rule limiting the weight of rifles used in those matches. Any rifle is permitted. Although, in most cases, a light rifle cannot compete against the special built heavy bench jobs.

Friendshipcheatersight.jpg
[/URL][/img]
 
Well blow me down :shocked2: (but, please use real bp only :wink: ), I proved myself wrong.
Current NMLRA rules DO allow the use of the Friendship Cheater sight on bench rifles.
I wuz wrong, rules changed since I last read them in 1778.
Here tiz:
5020”“OPEN REAR SIGHT”“All rear open sights must be at least six inches
forward of the breech end of the barrel. They must have a U, V, or rectangular
opening, as wide at the top as any part of the notch. A buckhorn sight is legal
provided the horns have a minimum of 1/4-inch opening at the top. Sun shades
may or may not be permitted, as specified in the match program.
Fixed rear open sights may have no mechanical means of adjusting the elevation or windage, and therefore are non-adjustable in nature.
Adjustable rear open sights may have a mechanical means of adjusting elevation and windage.
5030”“DEEP NOTCHED OR SLOTTED, (a.k.a “FRIENDSHIP CHEATER”) REAR OPEN SIGHT”“Used on heavy bench rifle matches only.
This sight is actually a modified rear peep sight that may be mounted any place on the barrel, at the shooter’s option. There is no center hole
in the rear peep sight, but a narrow slot is cut in the top of a sighting blade or disk attached to the adjustable eye piece. The slot must be no wider at
the bottom than it is at the top. This sight may be used with any legal front open sight, including a globe with a post.
 
I've experienced just the opposite when using either a gold or white bead as a front sight, when placed on a deer in low light it was easily seen to make the shot. Especially when using a peep sight placed close to the eye and a peep hole big enough to allow ambient light to reach the pupal! Of course I've been told I must have owl vision from my friends, I think I may have more rods than cones in my eyes! :shocked: Any how, peeps are the way to go when used properly. They allow quicker target acquisition and keep the front sight in clear view! :v

W.E. Nice work on the peep sight, placed well (close to the eye) which allows quick use...the only thing I would change for hunting purposes is to enlarge the hole to a minimum of 3/16 inch. This would allow you to hunt in much lower light situations, of course if ye are only using it for target shoot'n then it works. Good luck and let me applaud your ingenuity! :hatsoff:
 
I found the same Kodiak, painting a front bead Ivory (off white)for a test, I was amazed I could even see it with a snow back ground over open rear sights, which greatly surprised me.
It was the preferred sight choice for most African double rifles as well.
I wonder if the difference is in folks having differing rod and cone counts in their eye's. Some of us see color more vividly than others. Mike D.
 
I can always open it up, but I want to experiment with low light first and see what will be minimum hole size I can use. I have a 1/8" on my Sharps tang sight for hunting, and a 1/16" for when the woods light up a bit. I can switch to the smaller very soon after legal day light. Of course though, they are right at my eye with the tang mount. I am working on a 3/32" silver front right now, and haven't decided between a sloped face, or an under cut that presents a square bead in reflection. I have used both, but am thinking there may be an advantage to the slope with a peep, in that it presents a full post effect in reflection. Any thoughts on that??
 
Back
Top