Tip! I guess this makes me a "fabricator!" Skinner Sights aperture organizer.

[Racer88]

A while back I got the widely-respected Skinner Sights for my Browning BL-22. I couldn't see shit with my 50-something year old eyes and the factory stock all-BLACK rear "buckhorn" sight and front black post sight.

The rear peep sight has interchangeable metal inserts to adjust the size of the aperture.

But those apertures come loose in a little zip-loc baggie.... and they tend to get easily lost. Ask me how I know! So, just tonight, I FINALLY got around to making a little "organizer / keeper."

Way back when I embarked on this P80 madness, I bought a big sheet of nylon to practice drilling pin holes or as a sacrificial test bed for my Dremel tools and novice skills.

So, I cut a piece out. Drilled 5 holes and tapped them for the threads on the 5 aperture inserts.

The aperture inserts screw in perfectly!

Back side:

It's not "perfect," but it will work as a "keeper / organizer" to prevent loss of the inserts and make them easy to find in my range bag!

 

[Alpa Chino]

So you can now lose them all at once

 

[Racer88]

So you can now lose them all at once

Haha! Yep! My buddy said the same thing at the range today!

 

[Alpa Chino]

Yeah I love the all-in-one phone case crowd

Everything at once including cards, cash and ID.
You’ll be booked as a J. Doe, jail or morgue.

 

[Racer88]

Yeah I love the all-in-one phone case crowd

Everything at once including cards, cash and ID.
You’ll be booked as a J. Doe, jail or morgue.

Blech! A real man has a real wallet and wears a watch ("smart" watch doesn't count).

 

[no4mk1t]

Very nice!
Lever guns and aperture sights are made for each other. All of mine wear either vintage Lyman's, with a Skinner front, or AS.

Some things you may already know, but some folks here may not concerning iron sights...

I think you will find the brass front sight will have a lot of glare/reflection. You will eventually want to blacken it. The black does not have to be permanent if you like the contrast with the blued barrel, but the glare will be a problem.
In High Power, we use acetylene soot from a sight smoker. This gives an absolutely flat black appearance that no paint can match, and it simply wipes off later. Birchwood Casey makes an aerosol sight black. Not as flat as smoke, but convenient. It also wipes off when you wipe down the gun before storing.

As a coach for new High Power shooters, I have found that it's human nature for newbies to look at the target when using iron sights. Probably because every one starts out with a scope nowadays and no one learns the basics anymore.
One of the things I use as a teaching aid is to keep a sharp #2 pencil in my shooting stool. I would make a diagonal mark across the face of the front sight and instruct the student to always focus hard on the front sight. If you can't see the pencil mark, that means you have let your focus go down range. Until this becomes ingrained, you will not shoot well with irons.

Use the smallest aperture size for the prevailing light conditions for the sharpest image of the front sight. On days when the sun goes in and out of the clouds, maybe go up a size for when the light is lower when a cloud blocks the sun.

Back in my M14 days, there was a guy at Perry selling little lenses that were made to fit in the hood of the NM2A rear sight. They could be ordered in any strength just like reading glasses you buy at Wal-Mart, and you could get the popular tints like yellow/vermillion etc. These were held in place by an o-ring that was dropped in first to protect the lens from damage, and then a slice of automotive vacuum hose that was a stuff fit to hold everything in place. They worked quite well and didn't suffer the issues that plagued shooting glasses like fogging up, and sweat from your brow. Not sure if this is still available.

Another option, but pricier, is a miniature frensnel lens.

MISO M1A Lens Kit

MISO M1A Lens Kit MISO Optics: Miniature Iron Sight Optics The MISO Sight: Includes MISO M1A Lens O Rings (2) Ridged Retainer Ring Insertion Tool Lens Remover Variable Focus Lens technology for true multifocal capabilities. Natural focusing from post to...

www.creedmoorsports.com

 

[Bongo Lewi]

I've read that the Buffington-style sights Skinner duplicated were a breakthrough way back when. I thought that Skinner sights were made specifically for the 30-30, but I guess that is myth.

I scoped my Henry but my Marlin has only the factory sights. I might consider putting Skinner sights on it. The real question is... then will it play Free Bird?