Gun Dog Forum

I have an SKB Gas Auto with a rib sight line. The bead is brass (brass colored). I would prefer a bright red bead. Does anyone have opinions/suggestions about painting the bead? I would like to know your thoughts and experience.

Nail polish...repeat as necessary.

you can buy a bead that you can put over top of the original, I wouldn't put nail polish on my gun but that's just me, your gun you choice.

Thanks... Where (online) would I buy the new bead?

Mollyontherun wrote:I have an SKB Gas Auto with a rib sight line. The bead is brass (brass colored). I would prefer a bright red bead. Does anyone have opinions/suggestions about painting the bead? I would like to know your thoughts and experience.

Check the HiViz website. These are a snap to install.

Used to be a front sight I think was called a "Ray Bar" that was floresent. Most visible sight I ever saw. But over the years I've discovered I shoot much better by not noticing that front site. Tends to make me aim like shooting a rifle. Ah, the Ray Bar. It was orgionally put on Ithicas, "Ithica Ray bar". Highly visible and can probably still get them, try Midway.

If you want to go to a replacment bead then try Brownell's....they have all types.
If you want to try the concept before any expense...try the nail polish....it cleans off very easily and does no damage. :roll:

I agree on not focusing on the front bead tho....even with the paid guys on TV pushing them.
However, gimmicks sell...sadly.

Mollyontherun wrote:I have an SKB Gas Auto with a rib sight line. The bead is brass (brass colored). I would prefer a bright red bead. Does anyone have opinions/suggestions about painting the bead? I would like to know your thoughts and experience.

My O/U is a SKB 785 Sporting Clays. It had a tiny white dot bead on mine, and I had problems in low light aquiring clays when we shot near dusk or had a night shoot. I added a "Browning Bird Buster" magnetic shotgun sight to it after removing the bead. Absolutely love it!

Here's the link. http://www.browning.com/products/catalo ... e_id=42012

ps.. won SEVERAL shoots & killed pleny of birds with it since adding it.

My O/U is a SKB 785 Sporting Clays. It had a tiny white dot bead on mine, and I had problems in low light aquiring clays when we shot near dusk or had a night shoot. I added a "Browning Bird Buster" magnetic shotgun sight to it after removing the bead. Absolutely love it!

Just started duck hunting behind a blind. I'm also encountering some LOW light issues. Also, the ducks are presenting more passing shots. And I think this would be helpful on my turkey gun

How do the Hi viz sights match up against the Allen Sight Science sites? http://www.cabelas.com/product/Sight-Sc ... 707810.uts

What determines which color to use: Red or Green?

Thanks!

I've got the tru glow sights on my turkey gun and love them, a turkey you aim carefully. Tried same sights on my field gun and absolutely hated them, when I pulled the gun up the front sight was all my eyes seemed to pick up on!

That sight at Sabelas looks like it slibes onto your rib and is held there with side pressure. If you get that one, I'd put a bit of silicone under it to keep it from moving till you find out if you really want it. If you do, you might glue it or better yet have a gunsmith solder it on.

I just bought one from HiVIZ that comes with 5 screws(you'll only need 1) and can replace your old bead either by taking the orginal off if you can or having a gunsmith drill and tap it which cost about 5 bucks mine came with 5 different colored fiber beads that can be swapped out at anytime by unsnapping the top part were the bead is held I think it was well worth the 30 bucks cause i use this gun for all kinds of shooting.

MOTR,
When shooting a shotgun correctly you should be looking at the target with both eyes open, not looking at any kind of bead sight, no matter the color.
RGD/Dave

MOTR,
When shooting a shotgun correctly you should be looking at the target with both eyes open, not looking at any kind of bead sight, no matter the color.
RGD/Dave

Dave,

I think that what you say is generally true, but not universally true. Tom Knapp promotes the "Easy Hit".
Just the other day I spoke with an expert trap shooter who shoots with one eye and uses the bead. She related that she tried to shoot with both eyes... but was unsuccessful.

I got a gift certificate and bought a Truglo Fiber optic magnetic. I'm going to head to the trap range and see how it works. I'll let you know if I improve or if I end up eating crow

What most folks discover is that a crutch like a red bead, fiber optic, screened front bead or whatever is that they have initial success...only sometimes long term.
What they don't often realize is what they are giving up by front sight focus.

IMHO, Tom Knapp is a salesman that can shoot....and is paid to shoot a lot...and paid to promote.

I shot Registered Trap for many decades....the tricks and gimmicks that trapshgooters use are legion.
I believe Nora Martin may have been a one-eyed trapshooter..if so, I would have hated to shoot against her score had she used both eyes.
Some target presentations put a one-eyed shooter or fiber-focused shooter at a distinct disadvantage...other presentations can almost be shot withn both eyes closed based on timing, gun position and, Luck.
I once thought I was cross-dominant but only had a dominance issue caused by tiredness and weak muscles.
True cross-dominance is rare and widely mis-diagnosed(but very popular on message boards), IMHO.
Several years of using various gimmicks, most successfully a properly positioned and highly cut-down Dot, now has me seeing no need for any gimmick.
I strenghtened my eye along with learning better habits.
Giimicks are the easy way to show a betterment...any lasting, or actual field, betterment is the real issue.
Time, and not targets at a session, is the only true test.
But...Good Luck.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Having taught Grouse gunning at the Nemacolin Shooting Acedamy I can understand how some people get into these shotgun gimmicks. Heck my sister inLaw was on the cover of Clays Magazine a couple times and was a very good instructor herself. To her credit she used and taught with no gimmicks.
On clays you might get away with the gimmicks for short time, however practicing for shooting wild Grouse, especially when practicing for gunning true Grouse doubles, it takes both eyes to pick up the birds as they fly thru the woods, especially when they flush in different directions.
Closing one of your eyes and starting to aim a shotguns is a bad idea, because a hunter must be able to see a wide flight pattern, while really gunning Grouse, especially multiple birds, the Grouse do not fly in a straight line or rise in the same flight pattern. In order to kill Grouse repetativley the Grouse hunter must be able to see, as wide an area as possibe, to react to the Grouses flight thru the woods. Closing one eye eliminates half the vison required to track numerous birds in flight, at the same time. The hunter can not usually react and shoot birds flying thru the woods, when using only half his vision.
RGD/Dave

A few years back I bought a used Winchester 101 20 ga for my daughter. It had been modified with an Ithica front "bead". The flourescent red type that came on a few of their older guns. I love that sight as well as the gun. Rather than paint your sight I would look at replacing it, replacements are fairly cheap. Brownells has a ton of different types of HI viz sights as well as Cabelas. I don't care for the fiber optic that are quite long or the magnetic shotgun type but you just might .
Ask your local gunsmith if they have one. They usually have assorted parts like that laying around in a dusty box someplace.

OK I got the Tru Glo fiber optic site. I thought I noticed an improvement in my shooting the last couple of times I was able to use it Duck Hunting.

Today... I went to the trap range and broke over 95%. I was shooting under 50%

I'm also going to take the advice of the "Instructors" and spend more time at the Range this Spring and Summer.

I'll also be using the Tru Glo on my Turkey hunt this Spring.

P.S. One word of advice on the Tru Glo magnetic. I keep them in the case and put them on in the blind and take them off when leaving the blind. I think these Mag sites would be easy to loose on a brushy upland hunt.