Which do you thinks is better between the Wild West Guns (kit with Firesight and hood)and the XS sights? I'm leaning toward the WWG because you can put Williams apertures in it for more accurate long range and because it seem sto be more rugged. But I'm not sure if it would be too big. Soes anybody have pictures of thiers? Thanks for your help.

Anybody???

Anybody???
It's not like we're ignoring you...the numbers show that 21 people have read your question so far...it's just that (1) people don't know or (2) some have no use for ghost ring sights at all.

Don't know how good the picture is but I went the Ghost Ring route the first time round with my Guide Gun. Didn't find them too accurate. Migrated to a scope, highly accurate but took away from the balance of the gun and added too much weight. The third and present solution is the Firesights, red dot front and dual green dots rear. I really like this combination alot, easy to pick up, even in low light conditions. I carry this gun frequently, I call it hunting but I have since been corrected by another forum member and now I call it armed hiking. I believe it was a derogatory comment about our inability to put meat on the table. :D My luck in the woods has to change sooner or later and I anxiously await the change to the better. I do like these sights.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/GuideGun/firesights1.jpg

Guy i work with has the Ghost Ring on his 444 Marlin, and he likes it. Along with this, you gotta realize that his normal shooters are an M-1A1 and an AR-15, so he's used to that type of sight. I've looked through them and they look fine to me, but i haven't shot for accuracy, either.

My friend loves his ghost rings on his 45-70 and 444. I just purchased a 1894SS in 44mag and am trying to make the same decision as the original poster. Seems the ghots ring sights would be faster, but the WWG would be more accurate.

Decisions, decisions. :)

Robb

I have an XS ghost ring with Williams threaded aperture. They don't list this on their website but I bought it from Brownells for $12. Add another $12 for the Williams aperture itself. The bad thing is that it limits the downward elevation adjustment. I have pretty much mangled my aperture up with a file trying to get another turn or two downward.

This setup does look much better on the rifle than a Williams FP or the like but the adjustments aren't as good.

As far as the smaller aperture goes. The only reason I have the small .050" aperture in my sight is to make my 45 year old eye focus and to try and shave a 1/8-1/4" inch off my groups for the postal match. The big ghost ring aperture can be very accurate, I had really thought it would make more difference than it did going to the small hole and I think 99% of the improvement is because of focus, not alignment.

You HAVE to make yourself let the front sight line up in the ghost ring by itself. If you make a concious effort to get it in the center your accuracy WILL suffer.

If I can figure out how to post pics I'll put some on of the WWG Ghost Ring sight I put on my Marlin 45-70 Guide Gun. It really looks nice and is not to big and bulky. It looks like it might be in the pics, but once you get it on the gun it really adds to it. Hope this helps.

Do the wings on the side bother you when you are trying to shoot? I can see how they would protect the sight ALOT better then the XS version without them. Just curious if they would block the field of view.

Thanks,

No the wings don't bother me at all, when you are looking through the ghost ring you don't really even see the wings at all, and they really protect the sight well. I picked these out for packing in the mountains on horseback, and wanted something that wouldn't get messed up if it got banged around. So far it's been doing good. I have noticed any blocking of the view either when using them.

I have used both the XS system and a William peep with a firesight red and a firesight green front. As mentioned you can get a threaded aperture from XS just call and ask I don't know why they don't advertise it. I never had any issues with the XS getting knocked out of sight. It is a very tough sight, now they do offer a winged version if you feel you need it. For my shooting I can simply shoot more accurate with a front blade than with a round bead or round firesight. The adjustments are quicker and easier with a williams foolproof. I really think the best of both worlds would be a Williams rear with a front blade that has a white or orange post that goes all the way to the top of the post (the XS white stripe stops before the tip of the post for some reason). XS does make a front post with a tritium (sp?) insert for low light situations. On my next marlin I think I will be going with a williams rear and probably a white or orange front blade you can order these from brownells I think, either them or midway. All in all I think thats the best of both worlds, and bought seperately they are cheaper than the XS package or the WWG package. I really like a lot of WWG's stuff, but man they seem to be pricey.

Here is another option: The Williams WGRS (http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=681364). It's aircraft grade aluminum and can be used with or without peep inserts - $25 at Midway. Here are some pictures of it with, and without inserts (ghost ring mode) mounted on my 444.

some thing you have to consider with a ghost ring is target aquisition, especially in the woods (if you hunt) the ghost ring sight is very acurate but it makes aquiring a target slower and a bit harder especially in the woods when the outline is often broken in the first place.
when out on the rane with lots of light i really had no trouble, but i was never really shooting for time so that may be something you want to consider.
but in the woods i found it very dificult to find a target that hiding in the trees that i could see just fine with my eye but through the ghost ring it would be very difficult to see. i think this has smething to do with no depth perception but i am not really sure.

While your eyes are good I would learn to shoot a peep or open sight at 100 yds or so. If the eyes are gone or you already wear bifocals, give up and get good optics. All else seems to be a waste of precious time.

While your eyes are good I would learn to shoot a peep or open sight at 100 yds or so. If the eyes are gone or you already wear bifocals, give up and get good optics. All else seems to be a waste of precious time.


Chief, I just came to that sad realization while shooting the Postal Match this year. My eyes just aren't up to the task for open/peep sights anymore. :( :( :(

While your eyes are good I would learn to shoot a peep or open sight at 100 yds or so. If the eyes are gone or you already wear bifocals, give up and get good optics. All else seems to be a waste of precious time.

For hunting, I would agree. There are; however, some options that will help a great deal if you want to shoot iron sights at bullseye targets.

While your eyes are good I would learn to shoot a peep or open sight at 100 yds or so. If the eyes are gone or you already wear bifocals, give up and get good optics. All else seems to be a waste of precious time.

I have trifocals and still can hit the barn. I just have to jam them up on my nose once and a while.

I sure like the armed ghost ring idea. Couple of days ago bought a Lyman peep (installation problems with the screws being a bit too short for the Marlin, but working on solving that with a drill press, locktite and a smaller hammer. If that don't work, will try riviting it on; gluing it on; welding it on. lol.) Shooting 9" too high now, need a swirling dirvish of a front sight to finish her off smartly. That Firesight idea on Flashhole's Marlin looks pretty nice.. Will try for something like that.