[rawhide]

I've searched the internet and the 1894 and Skinner forums here but haven't found any real reviews of the Tactical or Winged Skinner sights. Most of them just said something like "I really like them" or "they look great."

I'm going to mount either the Reliable or Winged front and rear sights and would like help with the pros and cons. Does one contribute to accuracy more than the other? Is one more user friendly than the other? What about the Reliable hanging up on clothes or brush vs. the bulky wings on the tactical sight? Has anyone had both? How does the sight contribute to better performance or is more practical?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[graymustang]

Prefer the Reliable, simple minimal.

 

[Treinta-Treinta]

Has anyone seen a non winged Skinner or XS snap off yet? :biggrin:

To me the wings hinder sight picture and quickness, and unless getting run over on concrete by a metal tracked vehicle, make no difference in tuffness. Every dang one of them are as tuff as the weakest point...The screws!

The performance would depend on your age, vision, whether you are using them correctly, and how much you practice.

 

[Eaglestroker]

I'm copying my post from another recent thread, so hope it helps.

I have a winger rear on my 1894P. Love the sight, but don't expect to be able to change the aperture quickly/easily. Kind of the trade off for such a rugged sight!









I run both the Express and the Winged sight on different guns. I'll just break it down into pros and cons.

Pros:
-Lowest profile of Skinners offerings per Andy AKA Parsons: .062" lower than our EXPRESS sights and .125" lower than the Reliable
-Protected aperture
-Small footprint
-Sight picture akin to my favorite rifle the Garand

Cons:
-Tough to adjust stem & aperture
-Limited windage adjustment (both style are not a quick adjust, but you can drift the dovetail in an express if needed/desired) Parsons says 12MOA 6/6 L/R, you don't buy this sight as an adjustable so really not an issue.
-Rear aperture needs to be off to remove the rear screw IIRC

My Alaskan on the 1895 caught on my scabbard and would rotate the stem if it wasn't locked down tightly with the set screw. This rifle took over on scabbard duty and the protected stem solved the problem I had with it. Eventually I'll put a fiber optic front on to compliment the quick handling combo!


For the Express sight:

Pros:
-Easy install/swap from gun to gun
-Like the fact that it takes up the whole receiver and protects it from being scratched.

Cons:
-Sits higher, with no protection (hasn't been an issue, only con I can think of)

I love all my Skinners but the Express for 94 and Alaskan for 95's are my pick for general use. In terms of improving accuracy the argument seems moot to me. All sights that I've purchased use the exact same stem and swappable apertures so your only variable is the distance from receiver to bottomed out stem height.

 

[rawhide]

I'm copying my post from another recent thread, so hope it helps.

I have a winger rear on my 1894P. Love the sight, but don't expect to be able to change the aperture quickly/easily. Kind of the trade off for such a rugged sight!









I run both the Express and the Winged sight on different guns. I'll just break it down into pros and cons.

Pros:
-Lowest profile of Skinners offerings per Andy AKA Parsons: .062" lower than our EXPRESS sights and .125" lower than the Reliable
-Protected aperture
-Small footprint

Cons:
-Tough to adjust stem & aperture
-Limited windage adjustment (both style are not a quick adjust, but you can drift the dovetail in an express if needed/desired) Parsons says 12MOA 6/6 L/R, you don't buy this sight as an adjustable so really not an issue.
-Rear aperture needs to be off to remove the rear screw IIRC

My Alaskan on the 1895 caught on my scabbard and would rotate the stem if it wasn't locked down tightly with the set screw. This rifle took over on scabbard duty and the protected stem solved the problem I had with it. Eventually I'll put a fiber optic front on to compliment the quick handling combo!


For the Express sight:

Pros:
-Easy install/swap from gun to gun
-Like the fact that it takes up the whole receiver and protects it from being scratched.

Cons:
-Sits higher, with no protection (hasn't been an issue, only con I can think of)

I love all my Skinners but the Express for 94 and Alaskan for 95's are my pick for general use. In terms of improving accuracy the argument seems moot to me. All sights that I've purchased use the exact same stem and swappable apertures so your only variable is the distance from receiver to bottomed out stem height.

Thanks. This is the kind of help I'm looking for. I saw your pictures during my search. Good looking rifle and thanks for sharing.
Not sure I need the wings but think I would prefer the lower profile and like the idea of the adjustable front sight. Thanks again.

 

[rawhide]

Maybe my question about accuracy wasn't as well worded as it could have been. I'm not so much expecting one to be more accurate than the other but one more user friendly. I'm now experiencing the 50+ eyes issues.
In other words, do the wings help or distract from seeing the sight and target. I use and like battle field rifle sights like those on an AR or the tech sights on my 10/22.

 

[Eaglestroker]

Maybe my question about accuracy wasn't as well worded as it could have been. I'm not so much expecting one to be more accurate than the other but one more user friendly. I'm now experiencing the 50+ eyes issues.
In other words, do the wings help or distract from seeing the sight and target. I use and like battle field rifle sights like those on an AR or the tech sights on my 10/22.

Think this is variable from person to person, unfortunately. An earlier poster stated they they don't like the wings and view it as a hindrance. My favorite rifle to shoot is the Garand which has the same basic style of sight from rear appearance just a lot more adjustment so these were an easy transition for me. Can't say that it matters which one I pick up because my eye naturally goes to the aperture not the wings (or lack there of).

Only gripe for the winged rear sight is the hassle of getting the aperture on and off the stem. You can't adjust the sight for elevation without removing the aperture either. For that 94 I added a threaded rear sight blank with intent of sticking the aperture there in low light and shooting it as a 'ghost ring' but in practice that it pretty much stays with one aperture in it all the time.

Hope that is clear as mud for you now :tee:

 

[Treinta-Treinta]

Unless you weld it on, the extra ruggedness is a fallacy. :biggrin:

 

[russell4570]

I personally like the original sight. I don't see "snagging" of the sight to be a problem. Hopefully your not dragging your rifle behind you for this to happen. I have never used the winged sight but i would think the sight picture would be limited with a winged front sight. I put one on my 45lc cowboy, 44ss and they both work perfectly with no snag issues

.

 

[BloodGroove4570]

I have both types. The Express, Reliable and Winged/Tactical front & rear on an 1894.
They are All excellent sights. The tactical might be a touch harder to adjust BUT its a small price to pay for excellent durability IMO! Another nice feature is that the front is also adjustable... They are NOT a problem for sight picture IMO and actually help with target acquisition by getting the target bracketed between the wings and the sight just seems to float to the target...
I like'em all, but if given the choice I will take the tactical/winged IF it will fit/look right on the gun needing sights...!
The snag issue is a moot point, especially with the tactical, no sharp edges or corners to snag anything.
To clarify, Tactical on 1894. Express on 1894, Reliable on 39 Mountie.


Hope that helps... :tee:
BloodGroove4570

 

[Eaglestroker]

Unless you weld it on, the extra ruggedness is a fallacy. :biggrin:

Unless you had an issue with the stem twisting in a scabbard, like I did. Easy solution was cut the scabbard but I chose to guard the sight.

 

[rawhide]

I do have a 336 44 mag also. I could put a Reliable or Express on the 1894 and a rear Tactical on the 336 and compare that way. Keep the information coming. Much appreciated.

 

[BloodGroove4570]

I personally like the original sight. I don't see "snagging" of the sight to be a problem. Hopefully your not dragging your rifle behind you for this to happen. I have never used the winged sight but i would think the sight picture would be limited with a winged front sight. I put one on my 45lc cowboy, 44ss and they both work perfectly with no snag issues View attachment 101886 . View attachment 101885

I guess you will be trying them Winged/Tactical Skinners! :biggrin:
They're on the way as of approx 3:15.... :driver:

 

[russell4570]

I guess you will be trying them Winged/Tactical Skinners! :biggrin:
They're on the way as of approx 3:15.... :driver:

Yes sir and I am looking forward to trying them out. May have to eat my words but I'm sure they'll taist good.

 

[BloodGroove4570]

Andy at Skinner Sights says he's only had 2 broken off peep/sight stems, 1 sheared off getting slammed in a safe door, and 1 that decided to jump out the truck still attached to the gun doin 60 MPH!

That's good quality IMO....

 

[Lunarphase]

This is the Skinner Reliable sights I have on my 44-40, but I'm going to swap out to a Express Blk-n-gold. Only because I think it will look better with the brass saddle ring.

 

[Treinta-Treinta]

Eaglestroker, the stem of what twisting? Are y'all talking about diff sized threaded aps? If both sides of the main sight stem are flat and your screws are tight like XS, it isn't going to twist.