Open sights ... am I asking too much ?

[Beretta303]

Open sights… perhaps the purest form of shooting ... and now something I’m looking at having a good stab at as I’m a little bored shooting with scopes the size of Jodrell Bank and I’m thinking that open sights, for the ultimate challenge, is the way to go.

What I really want, and this is the bit that will probably raise a few eyebrows, is a rifle that will allow me to shoot anywhere from 10 out to 50, 60 or even if possible 70 meters with open/peep sights, but definitely without a scope.

So, which is the best rifle, which sights and do you have any good tips and pointers that will get me matched up with the best kit.

I’ve been thinking of the Feinwerkbau 300/600’s, but as they are only 6ftlb I’m guessing they just won’t cut the mustard on range, or is there a magical fix that can bring the gun more towards the 12ftlb mark ?

I’d prefer not to go down the PCP route, I want to keep it ‘traditional’ and as its not something I've done a lot of, I need advice, so over to you guys.

Thanks in advance folks.

[thisisdonald]

I think a nice .177 hw77 would fit the bill here.. definitely a Weihrauch at least... maybe a 95 or 35 with interchangeable front sights.

[Dawie22]

Yep. Raised my eyebrows! Hehe.

25-30 meters on open sights I can see with a Springer. Further hmm. Definitely not me as I'm long sighted and won't see the sights.

However not in the realms of impossible. Rifle wise I have the bsa super sport, fairly accurate to this day.

[Muskett]

With a Lee Enfield MK4 the best I was able to achieve with open sights was 1MOA out to 600m. It took young eyes and application to keep it under 3 or 4 MOA.
There are open iron sights and target open sights, the latter designed to the target roundel. The former for field and military use in all weathers. Military open sights were able to get a solid hit on a man sized target, not nat shoot. To screw down groups then either the range has to be kept short or targets and sights have to be manipulated to work together.

Air rifle rat shooting within the farm yard is quite effective with good iron sights. Beyond that then its a big ask. Some can hit spinners out quite a distance but they wouldn't try on live quarry. Mastering open sights is a great thing to do, and a lot of fun. Very rewarding once you realise how great they are, but also the limitations.

[robhw97k]

I love open sights i was deadly when i was younger,i used open sights on my hw99s but my eyes arent the same as they used to be,i acutally prefer open sights to a scope upto 25 yards.

[I. J.]

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Airs...ml?sort=6&o=55

HW77 in .177. 11+ft.lbs. Williams sports peep sight. Interchangeable HW foresight gives a l o n g sight line. Rekord trigger. =

[rabbitwrecker]

I'm getting good results using a 99s with a Williams peep, in combination with Weihrauch's TruGlo front sight. Can't tell you much about long range work though, my eyesight simply isn't up to it...

[Geezer]

You mean for some kind of informal long range target shooting?

Well, the old FWB Sport had a rear sight nominally graduated out to 50M. But I doubt many standard iron sights have enough elevation to shoot to point of aim much beyond 50, even in .177". You may need to resort to holdover, or to raising the rear sight (e.g. by putting a spacer under it) and/or lowering the front blade (e.g. by filing the latter down).

In your shoes, I'd try a full length HW77 in .177" (preferably an earlier one with 25mm internals) and a Williams click-adjustable aperture rear sight.

[Telephonepete]

i have 2 rifles with open sights. both weihrauch. one as stated is the hw77. beautiful gun very heavy but less so with opens on. if i rest this gun i can put 20 .177 pellets in about an inch circle at 30 yds. but what is the point of resting an opened sighted gun which should surely be used for fast spontaneous shooting. i have used a williams peep rear sight and the hw 80 front sight with removable inserts. i eventualy went back to the rail mounted rear sight. at the moment i have a love affair going on with a .22 hw 99 with a williams peep sight scope rail mounted. and a truglo front sight which looks like a bright red dot. this is a lovely little combo. light but substantial and very quick and pointable to use. this gun was recomended to me by a forum member. stick around and you will soon figure out who it was. it is true that the 99s can need fixing but it is so easy to do it is not worth bothering about. in my opinion the way to go is the 99 in .22. the .177 is really my favourite but that is best tuned down to about 10ft lbs and then it is clinical in its accuracy. much above that and it is very harsh by comparison. the .22 is a true full power gun and my thoughts were if i am going to shoot rabbits and pigeons with it i might as well be hitting them hard and my .22 is a tad under 12ft lbs. ( to much of a tad really ). i hope this helps, i now have to go and shoot some luckless pigeon and then eat it. regards pete. ps there are several pics on the other forum of 2 of these guns but i cant do pics on here.

[Drew451]

I have an Original 50 and an RWS 45 with Diana 60 aperture sights and both shoot very well indeed. An HW77 would be good, accuracy wise, but I find the foresight doesn't lend itself to precise shooting at distance (for me at least). A later model would allow an HW80 etc foresight to be fitted, but mine is an early mk1.

I've always wanted to try a Diana 48/52/54 for this type of shooting as well.

I have shot various 6ft/lbs match rifles with their standard diopters out to 25m but there's no doubting their lack of lung power beyond that.

[Beretta303]

Guys, thanks for the replies, most appreciated.

The mention of a Williams rear sight or FWB sights working out to 50M sounds ok to me, coupled with the HW foresight, sounds like a plan, maybe on a HW77.

I did however have a crazy thought, that was to use my HW90TB, minus the Falcon scope, add a Willams rear sight and use an AR15 screw-in fine front post, it has a tiny bead on the top, and get a hole tapped into the bonded-on supressor so the post sits low to the bore line. I thought this might help with getting the elevation required for the extra long shots, need to look at it properly I think.

You mean for some kind of informal long range target shooting?

Yes, exactly that, just because its fun and would be a real challenge to see just how far a reasonable open setup could shoot with fairly decent accuracy, and because its something a bit different. The 90TB is capable of 2-3" groups at over 100 yards with the scope fitted, so I'd love to see what it can do with open sights.

thanks again, gonna go and have a think on whether to modify the 90, or go and buy a 77

[TORNADOS7]

Most would struggle to hit a target at 60 or 70yds with a scoped airgun let alone one with 'irons' onboard !...

[Arthur John Smithsplease]

Maybe a HW35 though people don't seem to rate them so much in 177.

[Peter Dunkley]

Most accurate would be the 300s which they say can be taken up to 8ft/lb and retain it's no recoil but would need experimentation with spring. HW 77 best bet I think.

[sevorg]

As a couple have already said above, I would recommend a full size 77 for this. Mine is .177 and one of the first few thousand made, 25mm & no anti bear trap. I put the open sights back on a couple of years ago to get back to some basic shooting, only paper and knock-down targets. The only trouble is my eyes are not doing me any favours as the years roll on but it's still good to do when the light is right. I've just had a bit of a plink in the garden after reading your post and it's good fun even if I am only managing 1.5" groups at 20 yds. (It does 1" at 50 with a scope and no wind.)