In the interest of disclosure, I have long been a fan of Skinner Sights. My affinity for the product, the company, and the folks who make it all possible goes back to ole Doc Tim Skinner and continues on today with Andy Larson and his team. That said, I also own and/or have shot with other manufacturer's sights. It is my intent to presesent an objective review here but you take it for what worth you want to give it.
*****
My 336SS was wearing a top-mount Williams FP. This is one of three FP's I own, two of which developed issues in the same year. The one on this gun being one of those two. So, I'd had it with my foray into the Williams products. They are nice for adjusting and I know lots of folks love them, but no more aluminum sights for me. I made the decision to get back to Skinner Sights. I've always been fond of the cosmetics of my 336SS so not just any Skinner would do. My choice was the stainless steel Skinner Alaskan.
At a price point of $135 compared to the $65 of a standard stainless Skinner, it is obviously more than twice as much. However, considering the additional material and manufacturing requirements and the simple fact that it was the sight I just plain wanted, the additional cost was not an obstacle in my decision.
After placing my order on the Skinner Sights website I was promptly contacted with a confirmation email. My sight shipped the next business day and was at my door two days later.
I don't know if the packaging is just fancy for this sight or if it is what Andy has gone to but it's pretty snazzy.
Included in the shrink wrap is my Alaskan, silver dovetail filler, and new front sight (orderd them at same time):
A couple words of caution here; be careful when opeing the package that the mounting screws don't go jack rabbit on ya. I had one make a break for it when the plastic gave a bit. No big deal just something to be mindful of. Also, the sight rests on two pieces of carboard. In between them are your allen wrenches. Be careful not to toss them out with the packaging:
The Alaskan is longer and thinner than the standard Skinner. Not sure about the Express but I believe the same is true of it. I wanted to show some comparison pics of a standard Skinner and the Alaskan, so I went into my gun box. Now, because I know folks will ask, a little background on the standard Skinner you're about to see in the pics. It is something of a factory second if you will. It is a stainless sight but one that accidentally got mixed in with some regular steel sights and went through the bluing process. Obviously the bluing didn't take but the prep and such left it with a sort of dark gray finish. This is not a finish Andy offers just sort of an "ooops" affair. The brass stem is destined for another gun but for the purposes of the comparison, the setup will do just fine.
Back to our scheduled programming...
Here' you can see the height difference:
And the length:
I mounted the standard, again for comparison.
The Alaskan mounts with two screws and unlike the standard, both screws are plainly accessible/visible. It mounts in the inner two receiver holes. Some may have concern over just using two screws but I do not. Just a side note, a little dab of fingernail polish on the ends of the threads will keep the screws plenty secure. I also make sure I clean and protect (in my case wax) the metal on the receiver and the under side of the sight.
The aperture stem on the Alaskan sits back an additional .5" than the standard and Express sights so you gain a touch of sight radius. I don't know if it is a huge difference but worth mentioning. There are those who worry that the Skinner sights are difficult to adjust. I respect that but have not found that to be the case. While the positive click adjustments of the FP are nice, they are for me, far from necessary. This is especially true if you don't change loads very often. One trick is to put a piece of masking tape across the sight base and the sight dovetail mount, markin a straight line across the tape as close to center as you can, and then slice the tape where the dovetail mount meets the base so that it moves freely. This will give you a visual gauge as you adjust the sight for windage. I have to be honest and say I have never done that but lots of folks do. I just adjust with my eyeballs and bullet holes. While I have not yet fired through this sight, I most certainly have other Skinner sights and know this one will be just as rewarding as those have been.
The craftsmanship is excellent with much of the final touches being done by hand. However, as you can see in the picture below, the sight does sit up just a hair off the receiver at the end:
It isn't bent and it isn't tension from the screw. I suspect it is from the milling or grinding but it is very minimal and nothing that bothers me. Just pointing it out in the interest of fairness.
With it's sleek lines and beautifully rugged construction I could not be happier. This makes my fourth Skinner peep sight and there will be more in my future. When I turn my attention to my 1895CB, it will get a Skinner Alaskan in the black/gold combination.
A few more pics just cuz...
Some of these aren't the best pics and I aplogize. Me and the camera just didn't seem to be getting along today.
If you have any questions, by all means, let me know.
*****
My 336SS was wearing a top-mount Williams FP. This is one of three FP's I own, two of which developed issues in the same year. The one on this gun being one of those two. So, I'd had it with my foray into the Williams products. They are nice for adjusting and I know lots of folks love them, but no more aluminum sights for me. I made the decision to get back to Skinner Sights. I've always been fond of the cosmetics of my 336SS so not just any Skinner would do. My choice was the stainless steel Skinner Alaskan.
At a price point of $135 compared to the $65 of a standard stainless Skinner, it is obviously more than twice as much. However, considering the additional material and manufacturing requirements and the simple fact that it was the sight I just plain wanted, the additional cost was not an obstacle in my decision.
After placing my order on the Skinner Sights website I was promptly contacted with a confirmation email. My sight shipped the next business day and was at my door two days later.
I don't know if the packaging is just fancy for this sight or if it is what Andy has gone to but it's pretty snazzy.
Included in the shrink wrap is my Alaskan, silver dovetail filler, and new front sight (orderd them at same time):
A couple words of caution here; be careful when opeing the package that the mounting screws don't go jack rabbit on ya. I had one make a break for it when the plastic gave a bit. No big deal just something to be mindful of. Also, the sight rests on two pieces of carboard. In between them are your allen wrenches. Be careful not to toss them out with the packaging:
The Alaskan is longer and thinner than the standard Skinner. Not sure about the Express but I believe the same is true of it. I wanted to show some comparison pics of a standard Skinner and the Alaskan, so I went into my gun box. Now, because I know folks will ask, a little background on the standard Skinner you're about to see in the pics. It is something of a factory second if you will. It is a stainless sight but one that accidentally got mixed in with some regular steel sights and went through the bluing process. Obviously the bluing didn't take but the prep and such left it with a sort of dark gray finish. This is not a finish Andy offers just sort of an "ooops" affair. The brass stem is destined for another gun but for the purposes of the comparison, the setup will do just fine.
Back to our scheduled programming...
Here' you can see the height difference:
And the length:
I mounted the standard, again for comparison.
The Alaskan mounts with two screws and unlike the standard, both screws are plainly accessible/visible. It mounts in the inner two receiver holes. Some may have concern over just using two screws but I do not. Just a side note, a little dab of fingernail polish on the ends of the threads will keep the screws plenty secure. I also make sure I clean and protect (in my case wax) the metal on the receiver and the under side of the sight.
The aperture stem on the Alaskan sits back an additional .5" than the standard and Express sights so you gain a touch of sight radius. I don't know if it is a huge difference but worth mentioning. There are those who worry that the Skinner sights are difficult to adjust. I respect that but have not found that to be the case. While the positive click adjustments of the FP are nice, they are for me, far from necessary. This is especially true if you don't change loads very often. One trick is to put a piece of masking tape across the sight base and the sight dovetail mount, markin a straight line across the tape as close to center as you can, and then slice the tape where the dovetail mount meets the base so that it moves freely. This will give you a visual gauge as you adjust the sight for windage. I have to be honest and say I have never done that but lots of folks do. I just adjust with my eyeballs and bullet holes. While I have not yet fired through this sight, I most certainly have other Skinner sights and know this one will be just as rewarding as those have been.
The craftsmanship is excellent with much of the final touches being done by hand. However, as you can see in the picture below, the sight does sit up just a hair off the receiver at the end:
It isn't bent and it isn't tension from the screw. I suspect it is from the milling or grinding but it is very minimal and nothing that bothers me. Just pointing it out in the interest of fairness.
With it's sleek lines and beautifully rugged construction I could not be happier. This makes my fourth Skinner peep sight and there will be more in my future. When I turn my attention to my 1895CB, it will get a Skinner Alaskan in the black/gold combination.
A few more pics just cuz...
Some of these aren't the best pics and I aplogize. Me and the camera just didn't seem to be getting along today.
If you have any questions, by all means, let me know.