I was checking out an article in one of the current gun rags, and was surprised to read a piece that noted ghost ring sights are not favored by many shotgunners (combat/tactical, etc. NOT skeet, etc.) over 3-dots and beads. I always thought GRs were preferable due to an enhanced front sight picture. Obviously what appears in one gun rag as gospel appears somewhere else as garbage, but I wanted to get some input and opinions from those of you who have experience with GR sights on your SD/HD shotguns. I'm going to be getting a Mossberg 590 A1 in the near future, and I was set on the 18.5" barrel w/GR. I've gone through numerous Mossys and Rems over the years, but never one with a GR. Now I'm thinking about a more open front sight ... either the 3-dot or the bead.

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I'm with the banned ...

The 3 guns guys don't use them that much any more. Too slow. It is normally a holograph or a bead.

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JOSHUA 1:9

For normal close encounters a bead is just fine.
In a CQB situation, all you really need is to index the front sight.
Ghost rings are more for longer distance using slugs.

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Hold my beer and watch this!

It's kinda funny how the 12 gauge pump with 00 Buckshot has been the benchmark for close range self defense for over 115 years. Every few years someone will come up with something that is a HUGE improvement over the old warhorse making it obsolete, then a little while later this improvement fades out of the picture. I remember when many were saying number 4 buck was much better than 00 buck and several LE agencies switched to the smaller pellets until they realized it's penetration wasn't near as good. Then people were switching to rifle sight shotguns firing slugs but I never really saw the point of that, why not just use a rifle in the first place! Later came folding stocks, magazine extensions, lasers, lights, Speedfeed stocks, side saddles, one-point slings, pistol grip stocks, autoloaders, detachable box magazines, etc.

My current gun is a Mossy 12 gauge with bead sight and five round magazine and I don't want to change anything about it, but if I did it might be a side saddle ammo carrier or Speedfeed stock.

I used to shoot 3-Gun matches and at various times used a Remington 1100, Winchester Super X, and Benelli M-1.
We ran some tests with identical guns, one with ghost rings and one with a bead. Most of us were faster with the bead sight.
I think we all unconsciously took extra time to line up the sights on the ghost ring gun, but we were just as accurate with the bead sight in a shorter time.

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John

I love the factory ghost rings on my Mossberg 590. I can acquire them plenty fast at close range and I think they do give me an edge at longer ranges with slugs. With Federal Hydra Shok sabot slugs, even with the improved cylinder choke tube, I can put 5 out of 5 on a paper plate at 75 yards.

Though mine is my personal owned duty shotgun, I also hunt with it. With the Xtra Full turkey tube I've taken several goblers and the ghost rings really make a difference.

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- Change it back -

On a defensive shotty, one does not use sights.

Point, shoot, if they are still a threat, shoot twice more.

I have bead sights and rifle sights. At the range, pointing is faster than sighting and puts the shot in the same places. It seems a bit like trap shooting, look at the bird not the bead. I practice at 25 yds max so sights just get in the way. Hunting is completely different and sights are needed for slugs.

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Dennis

I have a Remington 870 with slug barrel, and a Rossi Overland Coach gun. I figure 25 feet or so, dim light, I may not have my glasses on, etc. Also a Good Old Boy and Very Experienced Shotgunner recommend bird or skeet shot, he said at HD ranges it will do nicely.

Rifle sights of any variety add versatility to the shotgun. The GR sights are both fast and accurate. If the eyes are getting aged and your arms short, the GR becomes something of an issue and the open rear sight out on the barrel may be a better choice. Using slugs, man size targets to and beyond 100 yards may be successfully engaged if required.

It's a rare shotgun that will precisely center a shot pattern around a slug. I've generally set the sights for a slug and the have found the shot pattern to be acceptably close.

You can always ignore the sights if the situation is close and dirty. Not having them limits your abilities with the weapon system. Most of us don't go about with a golf bag with an assortment of firearms for each specific situation. You don't want to limit the system to being a one trick pony.

BTW, the shotgun has been widely used as a defensive arm for centuries. In many cases, it was the only firearm anyone had.

With a SD shotgun, and expecially a HD shotgun I prefer just a bead.

If you are lucky and get a shotgun with a "straight" barrel, even with slugs out to 50 yards or so, a bead works very good for me.

For hunting or shooting in 3 gun matches if slugs are being used on targets with a scoring ring I would prefer some type of sights.

I guess it's all about what works best for you. On the job, we have tricked out Scattergun Technologies 870s in our patrol rigs. They shoot well using ghost ring sights, but I grew up using a simple front bead and prefer that sight system. I've found I get on target faster with the bead because I'm better able to see past it at what I want to hit. Ghost Ring sights slow me down a little, but they do produce tighter slug groups at 25 yards and beyond.

My personally owned SD/HD shotgun is the Mossberg 590 Special Purpose 9-shot with a 20 inch barrel and front bead. I'm confident I can hit a man sized torso at 50 yards with slugs, and that's about the maximum distance I would expect to have to use it for SD/HD. Mine came with four tapped holes on the top of the receiver for adding a rail and additonal optics. I doubt I'll ever convert it, but who knows. FWIW: I transport my 590 in a protective Voodoo Tactical open scabbard, and the bead doesn't drag or snag against the fabric when I draw the shotgun. I'm pretty sure a ghost ring sight system would hang up and snag using the scabbard.

I have and prefer a plain bead on my HD/SD shotguns for several reasons. Not only is the standard bead less obtrusive and less likely to get caught on something but I am an avid shotgunner and it is what I am used to shooting. I figure if TSHTF I want what I have always used - not some new specialized GR sight that I need to think about.

I prefer the biggest, brightest, whitest bead front sight I can find for a HD shotgun...the bigger the better. The general tendency in low light is to over-shoot with the shotgun...seen it a thousand times in agency qualifications and a couple times on the street. (I have not tried one of the tritium beads but I need to) Given the distances a HD shotgun might well be used at, over-shooting your target might be your last act. I also prefer a somewhat shorter stock for many reasons.

Charlie Askins once wrote about using a Browning A5 at night on the border. He ended up tying a white rag around the end of the barrel to prevent his shooting too high. I'm sure that would work in a pinch as well. :-)

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Run Fast, Bite Hard!

I shoot trap and like one of the other posters said you look at your
target, not your sight or sights. A plain bead is very fast to use,
you will see it in your peripheral view as the gun comes up with your
eyes focused on your target. Shotguns are pointed, not aimed, triggers
are pulled, not squeezed. Gun fit is more important than with a rifle
and the shotgun should hit where you are looking. The gun I keep
loaded at home is a Remington 870 Express with an 18" plain barrel
with a bead and the factory standard magazine tube.

I put GR sights on my 870 for a bit, but found that they slowed me down a bit during matches. They worked great for slug use, but I almost never use slugs. I ended up going to tru-glo beads for my HD shotgun, and sold the GR.

So in my experience, if you plan to shoot a lot of slugs at distance then I'd say GR are probably the way to go. In any other case, I'd stick with a bead.

I like just a front bead on shotguns as I'm a bird hunter and they are the norm for me and most familiar that way. I have a scope on my deer shotgun but that's for aiming and slugs.
Only gun I have with GRs is a Ruger carbine in 40 S&W. They work fine on that but it's for aiming and not pointing too.
I'd feel though it's what you get used to and am most comfortable with. I doubt that many people really practice enough with their HD shotguns. I do need to shoot mine more often but do keep in practice hunting with similar shotguns.

I'm more of a rifleman than a shotgunner so I'm accustomed to using sights. I added the factory sights to my 590 and it worked great for me. Zeroed for slugs at 50 yards, I found that they're dead on at closer ranges with buckshot.