Aim big...hit small?

[Ribbonstone]

Aim big...hit small?..that seems counter intuitive.

Just some thoughts on match apature sights.

If you are use to scopes, then apature match sights all seem really "coarse".
Wshooting 10 meters with an apature sight, what I was actually doing was shooting with a 13-14 MOA aiming device.

OK...sighting is though an apature rear and a hollow circle front....but no one actually aims a match rifle at the 10  ring (you can't see it).  We set them up so there is just a touch of white target paper all around the black bullseye when everything is lined up perfectly.

So it's a round hole in the rear sight:




Down the length of the barrel to a round hole in the front sight:




To a round black circle on dull litght color ("white" or "buff") about 1.2" in diameter.

(Am just going to "Americanize" the size and call the whole black part the bullseye and the black part is about 1.2" wide.  Which works out to 12MOA at 10 meters).

So basically, wasn't actually aiming at the 10 ring we can't see, was aiming at the whole bullseye plus the little white (or lite buff) space aroung the balck bullseye (ok...it's a non reflective lite tan) target paper around that bullseye...but as the balck bullseye is  a uniform size, could get a uniform hold, and the pellets find the center that the shooter can't see.


So basically, match sight shooters are shooting at where the unseen center of a big bullseye theycan see.

Which turns out that the typical human eye (which I assume I have) can see the difference between a 2MOA white ring on ceter, and a 1.8MOA white ring on ceter.
 
Are some things the human eye does well...center-center-center a round object is one of them.

WHY THEY not so good AT OTHER SHOOTING:

Can learn to do well with them, but basically they not so good on things other than high contrast, well lighted, roundish objects.

High contrast and well lighted becanse no morer light can eneter your eye that the little hole in the match rear sight.

Round targets because that's what cirecle-in-circle sights can do best.

[cobalt327]

Thanks for that explanation. I'm now thinking that's why I was not doing very good while plinking offhand w/a peep sight on my CMP 853. Granted, the gun is supposed to be used for 10M target but that got old fast, so instead of selling it or relegating it to the safe (I really like shooting it), I equipped it w/open sights and a lighter stock and have been using it almost daily w/good success.

[KnifeMaker]

An old time honored trick for using a peep for hunting is remove the aperture, and use the screw hole holding it for the peep.

Exactly how the larger peeps for the M1 Grand and Carbine came about. Just now screw in tiny aperture. 

On the M-16, it has the ability to switch between the two.  A large hole still centers the eye, and is very good in hunting and combat! Much quicker then the notch rear for either, and more precise.

Knife

[aPpYe]

Since discovering aperture (peep) sights I have preferred them to open sights in all cases, and even over a scope in many cases, because it brings some of the same advantages.  One thing to keep in mind is that it isn't so much about the center to center thing with round objects, but also about the fact that the narrow rear aperture reduces parallax and increases depth of field.  The narrower the rear aperture, the less light gets through, and the  more this effect is increased, though the image will get dimmer, and smaller apertures are harder to see through at dawn or dusk...

[Ol'DeadEye]

Interesting read about peep sights...

[rsterne]

The human eye is remarkable in its ability to center one circle on another.... The rear (peep) sight really only serves to keep your eye in line with the barrel and front sight, what you are doing is centering the "floating circle" in the front (globe) sight on the high contrast black circular target.... You are looking for an equal sliver of "white" (or light tan) around the bull on all sides.... If you add up all the MOA components mathematically, it is amazing that it works as well as it does.... but there is no question that it works....

For hunting, you can use a larger rear aperture, or even a "ghost ring" which you don't see as much as "sense", it serves only to center your eye on the receiver, you look through it and place the front sight on the target and fire.... You can use a brass bead front sight (or presumably a fibre-optic dot) for a front sight for quick target acquisition at close ranges, such as brush hunting of deer (or even smaller animals and birds if you are skilled enough).... Target acquisition is immediate with the unobstructed view of the area....

Bob

[Ribbonstone]

Does work, although I'll reserve the ghost ring type sighting for less precise shooting (and it works even better with a close to the eye tang type peep sight).

Not saying the big 12-14MOA front sight aperture doesn't work...obviously it does, and the folks who dedicated the years to learning their 10 meter skills are a practical lot and would have ditched anything that didn't work.

Will say that if you increase the yardage AND increase the bullseye diameter proportionally, it still works out to ranges you'd not normally think of using iron.

But it does go against the "aim small-hit small" philosophy.