Skinner peep or Buckhorn on Rossi 92 44 mag

[tkdguy]

Should I swap out the Buckhorn rear sight and replace with a Skinner peep sight that is mounted directly in the same location as the Buckhorn? Ideas? Thx.

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[Andy54Hawken]

How good is your eyesight...and what are you planning to do with your 92...?

A peep sight is great for target work...and can , depending in the aperture size also work well for hunting.

The Buckhorn sight system is quick and excellent for snap shooting...if your eyesight is good.

With that said...my Hawken has a fixed Buckhorn sight...and works very nicely for all of my shooting be it target or hunting.
It does have a wide notch which is helpful.
Andy

 

[tkdguy]

Eyesight is excellent. Plan to use the 92 for hunting and hiking with my dogs.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Well if....
Your eyesight is good...and the notch is wide on the existing sight...
You may do very well with it as is.

It is always good to shoot a firearm as is just to see what it can do....
Before doing any "upgrades" or modifications.

That said..Skinner makes a fine sight.
And are well worth looking into. ( Pun intended )
Andy

 

[Longwalkhome]

picture ofladder sight on lever action rifle - Bing

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I lover the skinner peep sight but a ladder sight gives the rifle more potential in my opinion.

 

[RVTECH]

I agree if your eyesight is excellent you will probably do fine with a Buckhorn however once you get used to a peep you'll never go back.

All my levers have Williams Peep sights and I luv 'em! Also with a little practice you can get on target pretty fast with them as well.

Also coupling your peep rear with a Lyman globe front sight is win - win as well. The Lyman comes with several replaceable inserts for the sight pic of your choice.

Williams peep on my '66 Comemorative.


Lyman globe front.

 

[DirectDrive]

On a top eject like Rossi and Winchester, I'd stay with the buckhorn rear sight.
I have the Skinner Alaskan on my 1895 and Henry where the Skinner peep can mounted all the way to the rear.

 

[RVTECH]

On a top eject like Rossi and Winchester, I'd stay with the buckhorn rear sight.

If the Rossi or Winchester is D & T for a Williams then no issues however if not then the peep will need to go in the forward dovetail which is NOT ideal, but not bad either. I've experimented with a peep in the forward dovetail and with the right aperture it works OK - but a peep is best at the rear of the receiver.

 

[tkdguy]

I'm thinking the shooting range is 75 yards or 100 max out of a 20 inch barrel in the 44. That offladder is impressive but not likely to be useful with a brush gun.

 

[RVTECH]

Here was my 'experimental' peep on my 1899 26" mod 94.

It is a universal Williams base with the peep slider in it.

It could work but it puts the peep too far forward and you don't get the proper sight picture with it that far from your eye.


At a minimum however if you DO decide on a peep make sure you swap out your front with a bead front as a rear peep really needs a 'bead' front to be effective as the eye naturally centers something within a 'circle' when looked through. Here is the gold bead on the front of my 1899.

 

[tkdguy]

Here was my 'experimental' peep on my 1899 26" mod 94.

It is a universal Williams base with the peep slider in it.

It could work but it puts the peep too far forward and you don't get the proper sight picture with it that far from your eye.

View attachment 1452262
At a minimum however if you DO decide on a peep make sure you swap out your front with a bead front as a rear peep really needs a 'bead' front to be effective as the eye naturally centers something within a 'circle' when looked through. Here is the gold bead on the front of my 1899. View attachment 1452278

There is a similar bead on the 92 as it comes from the factory. I think for the time being I will stay with the buckhorn but my go later with a large peep replacing the buckhorn. I think the skinner has a large peep hole.

 

[2gr8dgs]

steve's guns rear peep

Adjustable Bolt-Mounted Blue Peep Sight Safety Replacement [PS-01] - $66.95 : Steve's Gunz, Rossi 92 Specialist

Steve's Gunz Adjustable Bolt-Mounted Blue Peep Sight Safety Replacement [PS-01] - Blue Peep on rifle Elevation adjustable blued steel bolt mounted peep sight. This sight replaces the ugly safety. It is elevation adjusted by turning it in or out and uses a knurled finger nut to lock it in place...

store.stevesgunz.com

 

[Longwalkhome]

Just to give a point a view, I love peep sights in general and own two on my 22lr rifles.

I build a sight around the cartridge to get the best out of the gun and cartridge. I study the limitations of the round especially if it's a pistol caliber carbine. I need all the help I can get out of sights to hit the target at different ranges.

The peep sight on a pcc is pretty much a fixed sight that you might try to use hold over for longer range than what you sighted it in for.

It works great if you are positive of the distance.

The ladder sight is a better tool because the frame work can be used to judge distance. When you sight it in you look at the size of target at a known distance and what it looks like in the framework of the sight.

You can get the full measure of the cartridge if you know the distance you shoot, the ladder sight gives you a good way to judge distance if you work with it.

Japan in WWII put ladder sites on their bolt action rifles with added framework to use as anti aircraft.

 

[RVTECH]

the ladder sight gives you a good way to judge distance if you work with it.

This is no doubt true but given the distance many probably shoot a lever action rifle (I'm thinking 125 yards or less) the peep is a excellent choice as being relatively low profile holdover is fairly minimal at these ranges.

With my .30-30s I have my peeps set at a '6 o'clock' sight picture at about 50 yards and if I shoot a longer distance I just bring the sight up slightly and am usually dead on. Heck at 100 or so yards I m still not covering the target with the sight.

 

[Longwalkhome]

This is no doubt true but given the distance many probably shoot a lever action rifle (I'm thinking 125 yards or less) the peep is a excellent choice as being relatively low profile holdover is fairly minimal at these ranges.

With my .30-30s I have my peeps set at a '6 o'clock' sight picture at about 50 yards and if I shoot a longer distance I just bring the sight up slightly and am usually dead on. Heck at 100 or so yards I m still not covering the target with the sight.

Sounds like it works good for you and I certainly wouldn't say change what you are doing.

What I am suggesting is trying something new.

I have the ballistic chart for 44 magnum rifle here and it list different bullet weights, 210 to 275 grain.

It gives the velocity, energy and drop in the chart. Pistol caliber carbines have a lot of drop.

44 mag is listed as having to hold 8 inches over the target at a hundred to hit center at 200 yard.

At 300yards the 44 will drop 40 inches lower than the 200 yard target.

The ladder sight helps to get the most out of the PCC.

 

[The Heretic]

I prefer peep sights - especially if they allow for removing a smaller aperture to get to more of a ghost ring sight - which Skinners sights feature.

I still have 20-20 vision, but my eyes require alignment adjustments or I have double vision. I am also starting to develop cataracts - especially with my left eye - fortunately I can easily use my right eye if I need precision focus.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Peep sights are highly accurate on target rifles at known distance. Shooting and adjusting can bring the group to perfect center over and over. It is shooting through a tunnel and the drawbacks of tunnel vision doesn't mean much in target shooting.

Military peeps are not a tunnel vision, more a ghost ring and they work really good in my opinion however to give soldiers better vision the military went to scopes.

 

[Spitpatch]

If the target can be defined in the sights, peep sights are AT LEAST as accurate as telescopic sights. This conclusion was reached after scoping a number of rifles (rimfire and centerfire) that previously had good peep sights on them.

Scopes do nothing to enhance a rifle's accuracy. They only define a target that cannot be defined with the naked eye.

I love a good peep sight (and share @RVTECH 's fondness for globe front sights even on hunting rifles where reticles can be swapped out according to purpose).

Part of the improvement of peeps over buckhorns is that with most applications, the sight radius is increased dramatically (not so much if the peep is exactly where the buckhorn was).

Pretty common to hear shooters say, "I never liked peep sights, never could shoot well with them". Almost invariably these persons have never learned and practiced with good peep sights. They open up a new world to marksmanship, worth the work to understand.

 

[Tinman357]

I run Skinners on both my levers. I've tried a few others. Keep going back to the Skinners.

 

[DunRanull]

Much talk about the Rossi 92 .44 magnum carbine, mine is the early model with the traditional half-cock safety, not the new-fangled lawyer-proof job. As such it's worth more to me than the newer type.
A couple years ago the thin, straight buttstock on mine broke clean off in a dropping accident. Totally my fault and inexcusable. That said, I had originally got the thing to match to my .44mag western-style revolver. Other than "looks" (and it's a looker) as part of a set, it's been about useless, really. I thought to use it for deer in the Ozarks (family there with property overrun by deer eating in their cattle feedlots). Well that didnt pan out as the deer seem leery and dance out of range. The wild boar there are pretty much open season all the time and do present problems for the farmers... but never did see any of those to get a shot off. Anyways I do reload for the .44 and can tailor my ammo as desired...
Back to the busted buttstock- I couldnt repair it satisfactorily.. and after a couple years of dithering, I have ordered a new stock from Rossi @ $70 delivered and am awaiting it's arrival. Hopefully they are a straight-up outfit and won't monkey me around... .
All that said, the rear sight on the Rossi is stone-simple- typical lever-gun style. IF I'm actually going to like this rifle, that must change. Scoping such a short range cartridge would be absurd, and defeat the "look" I bought it for.. open to suggestions as to what to do..
Have thought about those side-mounted rear peeps Ive seen on some older Winchesters, maybe they're Lymans? I got used to peeps on the Stoner rifles and like them.
My eyes arent as sharp as they once were- any suggestions how I might proceed?