[Recon Ron]

I just purchased a H001 .22lr and as much as I love my Skinner sights on my 336 I don't know how a barrel mounted aperture would work on my new gun. On my marlin it makes since to have aperture mount close to the receiver but placed father up on the barrel of the Henry makes me wonder.

Does anyone with a h001 have a Skinner barrel mounted aperture sight? How do you like it?

 

[Condition 1]

I believe your Henry has a 3/8" dovetail and you can mount it on that.
The silhouette shooters like to use Tang sights and they are very accurate with
them. I can't recall if Henry has a way to install a tang sight or not.
Tang sights like Marbles are as expensive as a medium grade scope.
The Williams receiver sights are pretty good.

 

[Recon Ron]

I'm not interested in a tang nor receiver based sights. Only on the preference of users between barrel mounted buckhorn and aperture sights.

 

[Condition 1]

Might as well stay with the buck horn because the main idea about aperture sights is
to get a longer sight picture.
It sounds like you already have your mind made up, so do whatever you want.

 

[shawlerbrook]

I put a Williams WRBG Peep on the dovetail and it works great. I like the Skinner also. I did replace the front sight with a taller Firesight.

 

[TallGrass]

Afternoon Ron,

I just picked up my first Henry, a H001TM model chambered in 22 mag. I have the same question that you have raised. I plan to use the buckhorns that came on the rifle for awhile but I just ordered one of the Skinner peeps that replaces the barrel mounted sight.

I'll post my impressions back here once Iv'e had a chance to compare the two. I picked up two additional apertures as well, one size smaller than the standard and one size larger than the standard aperture size that Skinner uses. We'll see.

Best of luck with your rifle.

John

 

[TallGrass]

Evening Ron,

The barrel mount Skinner came today for my Henry. Took about 5 minutes to install and the dovetail on the sight fit snugly but pressed in smoothly with no filing required. It is locked in place with a small set screw.

I fired about 10 rounds to make sure I had the windage dead on and got the elevation adjusted well enough to consistently hit a 4" steel gong at 50yds offhand.

Tomorrow, I plan to set up some paper targets and dial it in some more. So far I like the sight but I was shooting in bright sun today. Tomorrow, I'll take things out in the woods and set up where there is mostly shade and see how it works for my eyes in those conditions.

Here are a few photos of the new sight on the rifle.

The two holes in the top of the barrel were under the factory buckhorn sight. I have a pair of filler screws ordered to fill them but I also plan to contact Skinner to see if one of his Henry Octagon sights will fit this rifle. I wasn't sure from his web site. That sight uses those two holes to mount a different peep just ahead of the receiver. It would add about 2 - 2.5 inches to the sight radius. Not sure that makes a whole lot of difference but I want to explore the option anyway.

 

[TallGrass]

Good morning Ron,

Well I put the paper targets up at 25yds and made some adjustments to elevation until I was shooting sub 1" groups off the bench. The I moved the target out to 50 yards and fired several 5 shot groups. With my old eyes I was only able to shoot 1.5 - 2" grups at that range but It was a lot of fun. I believe the rifle will shoot much better but with the front bead size against the black target background I couldn't do any better. I really don't want to put a scope on this rifle...It's so nice to tote around in the woods as it is..

More on my current setup. I have the Marbles brass beaded front sight blade that Henry ships the rifles with. At 50 yards this covers a 3" target circle. I tried several different sizes of aperture from .70 thru .125" and also with no aperture installed. The Skinner site indicates that the barrel mount peep comes with the .125" aperture and that is the smallest that is practical with the forward mounted sight. I agree. With the .70" aperture installed it was difficult to impossible to get a good sight picture. I found the .125" to be pretty good in the sunny conditions in my back field but too dark for my eyes in the shaded areas in the woods. I pulled out the aperture in the shaded areas and was able to quickly acquire my targets using just the peep stem like a ghost ring.

I'm going to pick up one of Skinners front 3/8" wide Patridge sights in the same height (.450" )as the current Marbles front sight and see how I like that next. On my octagon barrel the front sight just fits in a dovetail cut in the top of the barrel.

For my experimenting I have been using the Federal 50gr loads, #757 . These are 22 WMR . I know your rifle is chambered for 22 LR. These Game-Shok rounds are not as flat shooting as some of the other 22 WMR ammo I have but I like the round for my purposes.

Looking forward to hearing more about how you like your rifle and what you have decided to do with respect to a peep.

Regards, John

 

[North country gal]

I have used the Skinner barrel mount peep on a lot of guns and like them. They take a bit of getting used to if you've been shooting receiver or tang peeps. On cloudy days, I have to remove the aperture and go ghost ring to see anything, but out there on the barrel, the Skinner barrel mount peep lines up fast with the front sight. Tallgrass, I do like that brass option on yours. Looks good on that rifle.

I do have a full buckhorn sight on one of my muzzleloaders and like it a lot. Not familiar with what's on a Henry, though.

 

[TallGrass]

Thanks North Country Gal,

The stock set of sights that came on the Henry I got was a Marbles, adjustable rear full buckhorn sight with a white diamond and brass beaded front sight blade. It was not bad but I wanted to experiment a bit ....Skinner also offers a receiver mounted peep for the Henry rimfires but it's likely that one would need to play around with a different front sight height than the stock front sight. I didn't want to bother with that exercise. I've done it before with my Marlin 39AS and it's not hard to do, but for now, I'm not going there.

John

 

[North country gal]

Not having to mess with the front sight is a plus with the Skinner barrel mount peep, no doubt about it.

 

[BFPGW]

In almost every instance, unless one is a medical oddity which can happen, aperture sights are inherently more accurate than buckhorns. While it is nice to get a longer sight radius from a receiver or tang mounted aperture, the aperture placed anywhere in the sight plan almost always rewards the shooter with enhanced accuracy.

Issues with a front bead covering the target can be remedied in many ways. A good way is switching to a 6 o'clock hold so the target is sitting atop the bead rather than using a 12 o'clock hold where the bead covers the target. The other, less effective remedy, is to use a front bead that is smaller in diameter. The best method for many is to switch to a straight, square topped blade and use the 6 o'clock hold. Taking a lesson from our friends like Wind and Wet Dog, I purchased a Skinner front post for my 1895CB, filed it's thickness to .040-.045" and am enjoying much greater accuracy now with a 6 o'clock hold.

YMMV

 

[TallGrass]

Thanks for the good info BFPGW.

I have one of the Skinner Patridge front sights on order now and just got word it has shipped. I believe that blade is .070" thick but I need to go review his site info. I'm having fun experimenting around with different options and will take your advice regarding trying out switching from 12 o'clock hold to a 6 o'clock hold while I'm at it.

Now if I could just find a few more boxes of 22 WMR :biggrin:

John

 

[wtkshooter]

TallGrass,

Very nice Skinner barrel mount. I wish I could use one of those. My old eyes needed a tang peep. Here is my install on a Golden Boy.

 

[Grunt69]

I have a Skinner sight on my 45 LC Big Boy and love it. My eyes can't handle the tang sight, but the barrel mount works very well for me.

 

[TallGrass]

Still having a bit of fun experimenting with different rear sights on my Henry. The latest is a Marbles and I like it so far. I replaced the original Marbles brass beaded front sight with a Skinner Patridge blade of the same height.

I find this latest rear sight easy to use. Targeting is fast, field of view is very good for me and it works well with the Skinner Patridge front sight. I'm able to hit my steel spinners and pop up targets at 50 and 75 yards with regularity.

The sight picture I get with my eyes/glasses is interesting. The front sight is crystal clear on the target and the rear inner ring appears as a light grayish (fuzzy) ring with the front blade centered in it. The heavier outer ring seems to help drive my eyes to the center and is open enough to give good view of the area immediately around the target. I've never used a rear setup like this and it is growing on me.

I also have a Marbles front sight with the red fiber optics bead in it to try out but I am truly enjoying the current combo and will shoot that for a while longer.

I'm just having some fun trying out different combos to see what I like best!

The Henry has functioned perfectly so far with a bit over 300 rounds fired so far.

Hope everyone has a chance to get out and enjoy some plinking with friends and family.

John

 

[coaltrain]

I just installed the same Marbles rear sight along with a HiViz front sight - I love it so far. It did take a little getting used to the bullseye rear sight as the center ring just about disappears. But after getting a little used to it I can find it quickly and as you say the outer ring helps with that.

I originally tried a 2x scope but I like this sight setup much better on my little 22 carbine.