TargetTalk

What is the general thought on front sight size for the circle? I was told go big, like 6.0 mine has 4.2 another shooter likes the adjustable because depending on light he likes a little or a lot of white.

So what is the school of thought or is it down to personal preferences?

What Say you

CFS

I think its preference i shot a 3.6 (with a 6 in tube and full barrel) at ncaa smallbore and won with that my team mate shoots as big as he can get. If its too big though you get a lot more nines but the same can be said for too small. Your going to hear alot that when your aiming the black should always be inside you sight insert. Ive done that and its too big for me my scores go way down. It comes down to what your comfortable shooting.

If your hold is unsteady meaning that the black aiming mark [bull] is bouncing off the inside edge of the fore sight ring then its too small.

If your hold is really steady and there is no bouncing, reduce the size.
There is a point however, where the band of white round the aiming mark can be too small and insufficient light from this band of white reaches the eye. This can in turn cause 'greying' out of the picture, eye strain and an oval aiming mark. It really is down to trial and error and experiment to see which size suits you.
Remember, every body is different so there is no recommended size, just a ball park area of sizes for a particular discipline. So in general, smaller for prone and larger for standing for obvious reasons.

Peeps

Good responces so far! I really like the idea of an adjustable foresight. Not so much to adjust for lighting as I believe that is the purpose of the rear aperature, but to adjust for the different positions. I like to use around 3.5 for prone, 3.6 for kneeling and 3.7 for standing. This accounts for the extra wobble a bit in each position and seems to work well.

The fore sight aperture size used by individuals, varies widely.
Age is probably one of the factors that causes this variation. I've gradually increased the ring diameter over last few the years. Although my sight picture is probably the best it's ever been.
I've used an adjustable foresight in the past, but found that I preferred a thinner ring. I currently use Centra High End inserts, which are available in a huge range of diameters and thickness', all in 0.1mm increments.
My usual starting point is 4.2mm dia, 1mm thick. Depending on which range I'm on, and the prevailing light conditions, I'll vary the size and thickness.

The rule of thumb I was taught was to make it the size such that the black never touches the inside of the aperture. AKA, there is always white between the bull and the aperture. But I have found that to be a bit too big for my liking.

I now teach that the clack should never leave the outside of the aperture. Small difference, I know, but a better fit for intermediate shooters. I personally prefer a smaller aperture myself.

I use a variety of sight radii, but my aperture sizes are 3.6-3.8 prone (depending on light), 4.1-4.2 standing, 3.9-4.1 kneeling. My prone and kneeling follow the first rule of thumb and standing the second (I'm not so great at standing, but I'm pretty darn good at prone and kneeling).

Hope this helps.

What about sight length? Do you run them all the way out or ......

I was told go short as it will show less barrel movement.

CFS

The vast majorty of stock rifles don't have much variability for sight radius. You'd use a bloop tube to get more variability, but if you're a beginner, hold off getting one.

Start off with the front sight at the length of whatever barrel you have. Use that sight radius until you shrink down the front aperture to where there is little white around the bull in the front sight.

Then go ahead and buy a 10-12in tube, but only use about the first 6in of it until your hold tops out again, then go to the end.

This will also depend heavily on your eyes. My eyes can't handle a 36in sight radius for a long prone match, but 35in is just fine.

Hope this helps.