Cheater rifle

The old Stevens model 56 squirrel rifle that I won a turkey (the smallest whole frozen turkey that I’d ever seen!) with last year is the one I popped the golf ball with at 50 yards during yesterday's range session. Not that hitting a 1.25” target at 150 feet is that impressive of a shot (especially from prone), but the part that made me feel good about it was the fact that I had utter confidence that I could do it, even with the wind. Why? Well, it’s certainly not because of the trigger, that’s for sure. But while a good trigger sure makes it easier to shoot well, I find that great sights make it even easier. Dig the wonderful old diopter sights on this rifle:

Note the front sight, with its aperture post. The correct sight picture is to place the target inside the aperture.



Now check out the diopter style rear sight.

See that itty-bitty hole in the middle? That’s the small aperture. The other two holes are the next two sized aperture. The dimple to the right of the small aperture settles into dimples in the disc as the aperture plate is slid up or down to the desired setting. This rear sight is about 30 inches behind the front sight, for serious sight radius.