I've had my SBBH for a little over a month now. I decided before I bought it that I didn't want to scope it until I had to. My eyes are still young so I'm able to see the iron sights with no problems. Unfortunately since the time change, the only shooting that I am able to do is in an indoor range. All of my shots are at 25 yards, and standing with my elbows rested on the bench.
I shot it with the factory sights first before I made any changes. I found the factory sights to be adequate and rugged, but they weren't producing the groups that I knew I was capable of. I found that with this configuration that I was only capable of shooting groups the size of a small dinner plate at 25 yards. It was also hard for me to get on target quickly. While this would be adequate for Whitetail, I want to make the best and most accurate shot possible. Of the three combinations tried, this was my least favorite.
I came home that first night after the range, and ordered a set of Williams Firesights. I thought that I would really like these sights. They were better than the factory sights, but I found that the fiber optic tube on the rear sight was too bright. This tended to blur the front sight tube, and general make it a little harder to shoot. The times when the rear tube was not too bright, it shot pretty well. I think that this combination would do well in a low light situation, but I don't think that it is probably the best all around sight. I did like them better than the factory originals, and grouping was generally better.
Still experimenting, I ordered a set of One Ragged Hole (ORH) sights. My Dad likes shooting them on his rifles, but I have never been too much of a fan. Never having tried them on a pistol, I decided to give them a shot (pun intended). They come with two different apertures. One is a 7/32" and one is a 9/32". I decided to try the 7/32" first. The night before going to the range, I went to Walmart and got some white nail polish because I was concerned about being able to see the rear sight during low light conditions. I carefully outlined the hole with a small line of nail polish. I felt like this produced a good sight picture. I didn't shoot it without the nail polish, so it is hard to say what my results would have been without it. I went to the range, to try these out. I first tried them with the front site from the Williams set. I found that the front tube was still too bright for me. This could have been from the lighting in the range, but I can't say for certain. Grouping was still comparable to using the front and back from the Williams set. Next, I had a front site from a Truglo set with changeable tubes. I put in a white tube that was not transparent to try to cut down on the glare. I put a few rounds through the gun using this configuration. I generally liked this configuration, but I found that I had to adjust my rear sight all the way down to make up for the difference in height between the front sights that I had already tried. I got decent grouping with this sight combination. Approximately 4" diameter at 25 yards. I was using Georgia Arms bulk ammo, so I'm not too sure that the ammo didn't have something to do with the grouping also. The final configuration tried was the ORH 7/32" rear sight, and the factory front site. I immediately fell in love with this configuration. Target acquisition was both fast and easy. I had no glare, and could easily keep the front sight and my target in focus. This final configuration produced 2" six shot groups at 25 yards.
If you are on the fence about trying out a rear peep, my advice would be to go for it. I am going to use my final configuration to try to take my first handgun deer this year. I was initially worried about bending the rear peep sight, but they seem to be pretty thick metal. I feel that they should be at least as durable as the factory rear blade. I am only going to take shots that I would feel comfortable with if I was bow hunting. Being as my range is only 25 yards, I can not say how these sights would stack up with each other at longer differences. I am curious how the 9/32" aperture would perform, but that will be another experiment for after deer season. Your experiences may vary from mine, but I thought that this might be helpful for someone.
I shot it with the factory sights first before I made any changes. I found the factory sights to be adequate and rugged, but they weren't producing the groups that I knew I was capable of. I found that with this configuration that I was only capable of shooting groups the size of a small dinner plate at 25 yards. It was also hard for me to get on target quickly. While this would be adequate for Whitetail, I want to make the best and most accurate shot possible. Of the three combinations tried, this was my least favorite.
I came home that first night after the range, and ordered a set of Williams Firesights. I thought that I would really like these sights. They were better than the factory sights, but I found that the fiber optic tube on the rear sight was too bright. This tended to blur the front sight tube, and general make it a little harder to shoot. The times when the rear tube was not too bright, it shot pretty well. I think that this combination would do well in a low light situation, but I don't think that it is probably the best all around sight. I did like them better than the factory originals, and grouping was generally better.
Still experimenting, I ordered a set of One Ragged Hole (ORH) sights. My Dad likes shooting them on his rifles, but I have never been too much of a fan. Never having tried them on a pistol, I decided to give them a shot (pun intended). They come with two different apertures. One is a 7/32" and one is a 9/32". I decided to try the 7/32" first. The night before going to the range, I went to Walmart and got some white nail polish because I was concerned about being able to see the rear sight during low light conditions. I carefully outlined the hole with a small line of nail polish. I felt like this produced a good sight picture. I didn't shoot it without the nail polish, so it is hard to say what my results would have been without it. I went to the range, to try these out. I first tried them with the front site from the Williams set. I found that the front tube was still too bright for me. This could have been from the lighting in the range, but I can't say for certain. Grouping was still comparable to using the front and back from the Williams set. Next, I had a front site from a Truglo set with changeable tubes. I put in a white tube that was not transparent to try to cut down on the glare. I put a few rounds through the gun using this configuration. I generally liked this configuration, but I found that I had to adjust my rear sight all the way down to make up for the difference in height between the front sights that I had already tried. I got decent grouping with this sight combination. Approximately 4" diameter at 25 yards. I was using Georgia Arms bulk ammo, so I'm not too sure that the ammo didn't have something to do with the grouping also. The final configuration tried was the ORH 7/32" rear sight, and the factory front site. I immediately fell in love with this configuration. Target acquisition was both fast and easy. I had no glare, and could easily keep the front sight and my target in focus. This final configuration produced 2" six shot groups at 25 yards.
If you are on the fence about trying out a rear peep, my advice would be to go for it. I am going to use my final configuration to try to take my first handgun deer this year. I was initially worried about bending the rear peep sight, but they seem to be pretty thick metal. I feel that they should be at least as durable as the factory rear blade. I am only going to take shots that I would feel comfortable with if I was bow hunting. Being as my range is only 25 yards, I can not say how these sights would stack up with each other at longer differences. I am curious how the 9/32" aperture would perform, but that will be another experiment for after deer season. Your experiences may vary from mine, but I thought that this might be helpful for someone.
