Posted by L Tittaferrante on December 03, 1999 at 20:49:06:
A question for those of you in the forum that shoot both rifle and pistol.
I am starting out shooting a 10m rifle and
it came with two circular inserts for the front sight a 3.7 and 4.0 I assume these
are mm but I do not know that for certain.
The question is what is considered optimum for UIT approved 10m targets.
Posted by rmw on December 04, 1999 at 09:38:45:
Hi:
I'm sure others will have more insight into this, but essentially the optimum can vary on several factors. First is your sight radius.
As the rear sight slides back and forth during your adjustment period with the rifle the front insert's apparent size changes. You
can check that easily by making a circle with your hand and moving it back and forth in front of your face. Secondly, lighting
conditions can also influence your selection, however colored inserts and a rear iris goes a long way in helping this matter.
Ultimately, you'll use what works best for you, irregardless of what others do. In fact I distinctly recall people reaming out front
sights because they didn't like any commercially available combinations..g The richer solution though now is the adjustable front
globe which is infinitely adjustable within a certain range of openings.
I think you will find if your new to rifle shooting, that rifle shooters in general are tweekers by which I mean we constantly tweek
our adjustments in pursuit of the perfect weld between rifle and shooter. But one of the probelms is that as your tweek on thing,
it changes something else, in turn that tweek changes something, on and on forever. I think Scott in talking about adjustable butt
plates rhetorically asked, "just how many adjustments do you need?" In fact, probably not very many, but in practice, shooters
take everything they can get...g
Best
RW
Posted by Andy Wai on December 05, 1999 at 15:21:06:
: [...] First is your sight radius. [...] Secondly, lighting conditions can also influence your selection, [...]
The third factor is how steady the shooter can hold. Small front ring size tends to make alignment very critical. If you don't have
the hold, you'll be forever chasing the dead center and release at the worst possible time. The best shot in our club (who is in the
Canadian National Team) advises beginners to use no smaller than 4.5mm. In fact, she's herself using 4.5mm. And for
reference, the second best shot in the club (me), uses 4.2mm.
Another thing about front aperture is the width and the presence of horizontal or vertical bars. Those are personal preferences.
But I, for example, can't keeps things steady with thick lines on metallic inserts, while Maureen can't see clearly the thin lines one
simple drilled plastic ones.
Posted by pilkguns on December 07, 1999 at 07:39:55:
: The third factor is how steady the shooter can hold. Small front ring size tends to make alignment very critical. If you don't
have the hold, you'll be forever chasing the dead center and release at the worst possible time.
This is exactly right, it's a lot like a high power scope on a hunting rifle, yes, you can see better, but you can't hold it steady enough
to keep it on target so you are always swaying back and forth trying to get it there. Pistol shooters do the same thing with trying
to put the front sight at the longest distance from the rear. Yes a longer sight radius is more accurate IF you have the hold
to back it up, if you don't, then your corrections to keep it centered make the movement worse. Andy, put somebody on your
RIKA, who has a reasonable, but not great hold, and let them try it with a 4,5 apeture, and then go down the the smallest one
you've got a 3.2 maybe, and watch the hold on go to total crap, becaue they are way over compensating for their natural wobble.
Posted by Phillip Reedy on December 04, 1999 at 11:06:09:
Hello L,
I would certainly agree with RW's post -- there really isn't a single optimum. Most likely you will be able to get by with the two
inserts you already have, but as you begin to compete at places other than where you normally shoot, you will sooner or later
encounter lighting conditions that make your two inserts less than ideal. When that time comes, it will be beneficial to purchase
adjustable front and rear sight insert mechanisms.
have fun,
Phil Reedy
Posted by Roy Nagel on December 05, 1999 at 02:12:29:
As in other posts, 3.7 to 4.2 work best, depending on lighting, eye relief. But working this out systematically is a real
confidence-builder.
Get out those sandbags, set up at 50 feet use (or draw) a target scaled correctly to the greater distance and start shooting.
Keep your eye relief at about two inches, try different front and rear apertures to find the combination that gives tightest groups.
Then try a variety of pellets. At 50 feet, you should be able to get five-shot groups of 1.5X pellet diameter with the right
front/rear/pellet combination -- and just knowing what the rifle/sight/ammo combination is capable of makes you work harder
and shoot more 10s.
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