# shotgun sight



## extremehunter (Dec 13, 2004)

i'm looking for a fiberoptic sight to put on my vent rib shotgun behind my fiberoptic front sight as a rear sight to line them up for a better aim. i'm not wanting to spend any more than $20. any recommendations?


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

extremehunter said:


> any recommendations?


Yeah, forget about some big green/red gob of plastic and learn to shoot your shotgun.

Concentrate on the leading edge of your target and make your body/hands get the shotgun there. Trying to line up a colored bead will cause you to slow down or stop nearly every time.


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## extremehunter (Dec 13, 2004)

the reason i'm wanting to get one is my rear sight consists of a very short(maybe 1/8" tall) piece of metal that i can barely, if at all, see when i'm shooting. i think i'm overshooting as a result. so if anyone has any recommendations of a sight that would work, please post it, otherwise, continue on to another post. thanks.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Man I hope you're talking about a sight for slugs, cause if you're using a rear and a front sight for regular shot shells any bird will be long gone before you get everything lined up.


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

I used to have two sight similar to what you are describing. My shooting percentage increased 2x when I took that stupid brass bead in the middle of the barrel off. A few years later the front sight broke off while I was hunting. I started shooting instinctly and my percentage went up again. Last year I hunted birds all season with no front bead and I shot 1 bird for every 1.8 shots fired.

Take off at least the middle bead. Both if you feel like it.


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## extremehunter (Dec 13, 2004)

no, i'm shooting shells. but i can't line the two sights up, so i need something to give me a quick edge. i can aim quick, i just need a reference point.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

extremehunter said:


> no, i'm shooting shells. but i can't line the two sights up, so i need something to give me a quick edge. i can aim quick, i just need a reference point.


Nope, you need to knock all the sights/beads off your bbl and concentrate on the leading edge of your target. If you really think you need a bead, you've already lost. Your hands will get the shotgun where it needs to be if you let them. Trying to line up a bead and a bird allows your eyes to deceive your hands. You lose deapth perception and aren't able to quickly establish proper lead because without the deapth perception you can't accurately determine speed or distance.

Buggy and I aren't picking on you, we're trying to help, as we've both been there. He explained his situation in a previous post and mine is very similar as well. A gob of plastic will do you NO GOOD and will likely be counterproductive. Concentration on the leading edge of your target and allowing your hands the chance to do what your eyes are telling them to will make you a better shooter.


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## rollin Oswald (Sep 1, 2007)

I do not recommend removing beads from barrels but what you are considering is an awful thing to consider. Shotguns are not aimed, they are pointed. Anytime you even glance back at the barrel while swinging to a tagger, your swing slows and you are guaranteed to shoot behind whatever you're shooting at.

If (and it's a big if) your gun mount is good and the dimensions on your stock fit your particular size and shape, you will be looking right along the surface of your rib every time you mount your gun.

When this is the case, when you are swinging to a target, you visually concentrate on the target only. You see the muzzle or front bead only in your peripheral vision and always focus on the target. You see the barrel but never look at it. It remains a blur because you are focused on only the target, always on the target... always!

Even though the muzzle is out of focus, you know where it is at all times. When it is in the right position relative to the target, you fire.

Mid beads on shotguns serve only one purpose. That is to check gun mounts in shooting disciplines that allow shooting with a pre-mounted gun, trap and skeet for example. For hunting, mid beads worthless unless you are shooting stationary targets, deer, for example when the gun can be aimed like a rifle.

Fiber optic front beads or sights are useful for locating the front bead in conditions of poor light or for shooters who wear reading glasses and can see only a blob and not a front bead. The risk using them is glancing back at them during swings because they are so prominent. For that reason, some shooters can use them successfully and some cannot.


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## johnsona (Dec 4, 2003)

rollin Oswald said:


> When you are swinging to a target, you visually concentrate on the target only. You see the muzzle or front bead only in your peripheral vision and always focus on the target. You see the barrel but never look at it. It remains a blur because you are focused on only the target, always on the target... always!
> 
> Even though the muzzle is out of focus, you know where it is at all times. When it is in the right position relative to the target, you fire.


Dead on. I started shooting trap when I was in high school, and when you shoot on a regular basis you develop the type of skills that rollin mentioned. I noticed that after I had been shooting for a while, when I was shooting well, I never looked at my gun. I could see my front bead in my peripheral vision, but never looked at it or used it to "calculate" a lead, which is about the worst thing you can do. It almost always stops your swing causing a missed bird. However, if you shoot enough and focus only on your target, you will find that swing and lead become instinctive, all without ever looking at anything but the target. When I'm shooting well I find that I just pull up, swing, and pull the trigger. Heck, I barely even think about it. It just happens. Conversely, I sometimes take too much time "figuring out" a lead (especially on geese) which causes me to shoot like crap.

Shotgun fit is a large part of this whole equation, but to sum it up, don't bother with a rear sight unless you're going turkey hunting. Just get out and shoot a few boxes of clays once in a while to polish your skills and you'll be fine. :wink:

I'm sure it's not just me, but when I pull up and crush my target without ever thinking or having to tell my body what to do...that has got to be the best feeling in the world. The first few times it happened out pheasant hunting I had to stop and evaluate what I just did. Almost like an out-of-body experience I guess....awesome feeling.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Rollin, I can't say that in general I'd suggest removing a shotgun bead all the time. However in the case of someone who's obsessed with lining up two beads before shooting, I'd remove their crutch, temporarily. Once they can demonstrate that they're focusing on the target rather than the beads I'd put a bead back on. Removing the bead has been the easiest way I've found to make folks focus on the target. Seems with the bead in place the more you prod them to focus on the target, the harder they bear down on that bead.

What has your solution been to get folks to focus on the target rather than the bead?


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## extremehunter (Dec 13, 2004)

ok, you guys got me convinced! however, i shoot quite a bit, espcially with skeet, doves and quail. on doves in particular, although they are difficult to hit, i'm a terrible shot on them. i lead, point correctly, everything. but i won't even share my sucess rate. any tips? and ducks too, i'm not the best shot on them. what can i do?


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

I'm with you, I suck at shotgunning. I only harvest 33% of the pheasants I shoot at. I think I shoot behind as well. Also, after reading all of these posts, I think I am paying too much attention to the bead.

Although to my defense, there are times when feathers just EXPLODE and the dang cock still flies over the horizon.


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

keep both eyes open when shooting and keep the gun swinging and you will have no problem shooting any type of bird.


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## extremehunter (Dec 13, 2004)

how will both eyes open affect it?


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## jlvatns (Jan 29, 2007)

Both eyes open allows you to take advantage of your peripheral vision; thus increasing your sighting plane. Always remember to keep that gun swinging even after you have pulled the trigger. Also, shoot where the target will be; not where it currently is.
Swing Swing Swing


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## Booster (Sep 8, 2003)

jlvatns said:


> Both eyes open allows you to take advantage of your peripheral vision; thus increasing your sighting plane. Always remember to keep that gun swinging even after you have pulled the trigger. Also, shoot where the target will be; not where it currently is.
> Swing Swing Swing


exactly :beer:


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

oooohhhhhh, so BOTH eyes closed isnt a good thing?? :wink:


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