Peep or Ghost ring for Revolvers?

T

tacotime

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2003
Messages
531
Reaction score
102
Location
Texas
I had not seen until recently any peep or ghost ring sights for handguns. Has anyone used these?

In a brief simulation using an empty ball point pen tube held at arm's length, I don't see why it would not work well for target shooting on a handgun.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
The typical use of such a rear sight is to have it very close to the eye, where it is not readily visible and the front sight automatically centers in it quickly. I think the optics work out differently at arms length and it is not so fast or precise as blade and notch sights. Interested to see what others think.
 
Yes, looks like they abound for Rugers, but not S&W. I don't see why one could not replace the rear blade on an S&W as well.

A tougher trick would be to mount one on a fixed sight frame. I like the idea of it though.
 
Logically a ghost ring rear sight should be much easier to access and use than a notch and blade. The sights on the M-1917 were superior in speed of use and accuracy to those on the M-1903. When the Army developed the M-1 Garand and M-1 Carbine, the aperture was used and it was made very large. When Remington simplified the 03 into the 03-A3, the rear sight was moved to the rear and made a aperture... a very large one. Now some complain about having a problem using such a sight. Almost always it is because they are trying to look at the rear sight, font sight and target. They soon learn to look through the rear sight, focus on the front sight and aim at the target. It is a extremely effective sighting system.

I know that the notch and blade is traditional on handguns. But, a good quality adjustable ghost ring rear sight combined with a properly set up front sight would be a very fast sight for range or field use.

It's about like using a laser sight. It is not traditional. However it's utility is undeniable, especially in low/no light conditions when getting hits is essential.
 
Good info. Now that I see the pics, I might even be able to grind out a peep blade that can fit as a replacement blade on the standard adjustable sight.

Interesting project, just now hatching.

Like said, fitting one to a fixed sight frame would be more challenging. Front blade height I suppose would need to come up. Partly the whole idea came from having in hand an ejector rod collar - a little blue steel tube about the right diameter... maybe a little JB weld and a section of tube on the rear of the J frame... this old Mod 36 here is very well worn and told me it is game for experimenting. Not much to lose really.
 
I have a couple for my Ruger BH's..they are very easy sights to use.

The only complaint that I have with a peep, especially on a sixgun...is that in order to shoot really long range, (100yrd+++), I like to hold up some front sight and take a 6 o'clock hold on my target so that I don;t block the target with the sight....the peeps don't give me a very good referance point for hold-over.

I also have trouble with low-light and peeps...they just don't let in as much light.

The fist time I saw this was with a guy that used to glue a small machine washer into his rear sight blade and it worked real well. you might try this with your smith

Some more good pictures and a link to the man that sell the sights for Rugers is here... They say you have to break the rear sight on a Smith to remove the blade... here is the link... RugerForum.com • View topic - REVOLVER PEEP SIGHTS
 
Last edited:
The fist time I saw this was with a guy that used to glue a small machine washer into his rear sight blade
Click to expand...

This is easy to do, and lets you see if you like it. Just center the small washer at the existing rear zero.
I tried it; I don't like it.
For anything up to 50 yds, I much prefer a fiber optic front sight for speed and visibility. Beyond that, a red dot optic is vastly superior to the peep sight. IMHO, the peep on a pistol is an old idea made obsolete by improvements in technology.
 
I found a S&W peep/ghost sight blade years ago but not sure if it is factory but sure looks like it. I will post a pic if anyone is interested to see it - but it is not for sale....
 
Sure, like to see it if you fell like posting.

The washer - good cheap non-commited trial option. And maybe the bottom could be ground to fit into the half-round slot at the rear of the fixed sight frame M36. Worth a try.

I layed the ejector collar in the sight channel of the M36 and definitely liked the sight picture. Only issue there is it will shoot high, just not sure how high. Instead of cutting up the collar, I may try a short piece of copper tubing to make the ring. But first, the washer.
 
tacotime said:
I had not seen until recently any peep or ghost ring sights for handguns. Has anyone used these?

In a brief simulation using an empty ball point pen tube held at arm's length, I don't see why it would not work well for target shooting on a handgun.
Click to expand...

Caspian at one time made an adustable rerar sight for 1911's which had a peep/ghost ring configuration for the rear sight blade instead of the usual square notch. ou may be able to find a photo on their website. I had the diamond shaped one mounted on a PO16-40 which I used for practical pistol shoots. It seemed to work well especially with a fiber optic front sight. When I sold the gun I restored it to it's original configuration - that rear sight must be here somewhere but I cannot seem to locate it.
 
I have three rugers with peep sights and they help me with my old eyes. The are easily changed back if you choose. 10 bucks each.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ddeanjohnson
another round of PRICE REDUCTIONS on grips, sights, scope rings, etc.
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
T
H&R Model 632 Guardsman .32 caliber revolver.
Replies
1
Views
361
lihpster
lihpster
D
Ruger Security-Nine issue. Possible PSA
Replies
14
Views
812
Model 15-4ever
M
sandog
At Last, a K frame .22 Again
Replies
13
Views
1K
Green Frog
G
A
Thoughts on Sight Adjustment Tool?
Replies
2
Views
494
Green Frog
G

Latest posts

Back
Top