You make peep (OK aperture) sights a lot more complicated than they really are. Look through the hole and put the front sight on the target and pull the trigger. That's it.

 

I put the target on top of the front sight, the right way.

 

I wish it was that easy…

 

It really is that easy. I can't remember one time setting a new shooter or someone that has never heard of peep sights down behind one of my peep sighted guns and not have them hit the small target they are aiming at.

Most people try to use too small apeartures front and rear. They hear you have to size the apertures correctly for a specific size target which may be true for some. Your eye will naturally try to form a perfect bulls eye looking target with your target being the final smallest target perfectly centered.

Now, where it gets really tricky is shooting multiple distances such as my match with 15 different distances from 25 yards to 197 yards with racks every 12 1/2 yards. Just one time of not paying attention to your adjustment for each distance including any necessary "daily" tweaking due to atmospheric conditions adds to the difficulty.

And, on top of that is trying to figure out the needed wind hold between each shot since you can't spot your own hits/misses and have to rely on a spotter. So to answer the question, yes it's really easy to line up multiple circles to place a bullet on target with accuracy rivaling a scoped competitor but it's a totally different level to do it at multiple distances accurately.

And there is another and. For the most part the numbers on the slide are meaningless when shooting multiple distances but some can be close. Different manufactures from various Countries use different threads and clicks (if the sight even has clicks) that move the sight different amounts for each click value. You have to keep track of these clicks for each gun and each ammo just as you would for scope dope only it's far more involved. Then, yes there is another variable, some sights are adjusted exactly bin reverse with dial rotation.

FUN FUN FUN

I've always said, if a competent peep sight shooter can see his target I wouldn't be afraid to put money on them hitting their target.

Topstrap

 

I had always shot conventional irons until I joined the Army where they issued me an M-1Garand (I am 78yo). I could not hit squat with it but I knew I was a good shot. The night before record range I was taking a shower worrying about weather or not I would at least qualify. And it dawned on me as an epiphany that all I had to do was look through the hole and put that front sight on the target and pull the trigger. The next day I fired Xpert. I learned a lot that day. I'm not arguing with what you wrote, but I am saying IT IS easy to learn how to shoot. I make peep sights and I also buy plenty of William's which I immediately throw away the screw in aperture. I am currently working on magnetic peeps which require no drilling and tapping. You wrote some complicated stuff that people don't need to think about when they are shooting. It IS that easy. The hole doesn't even have to be round. My preferred front sight is a piece of dovetail stock drilled and tapped for an 8x32 or a 6x32 nylon screw. I cut the head off and trim it to get proper elevation. Might not be worth a darn against the snow, but I don't go out when it's cold.

 

Dear Olaf. Amen. Nothing like aperture sights. What's the old saw? "If you can see it, you can hit it". And as you suggest, it is "practice, practice, practice". The more dry-fire practice at home in the basement, the better are my results on the range. The Garand has the best aperture sight ever created. Really like the one on my M1A. Ever bored that aperture larger? Novice aperture sight users often neglect to consider, that by removing the "screw in aperture" that they've created a "brighter" almost "ghost-ring" type view. I'm fascinated by your insights and opinions. Do tell more about the experiments with "magnetic peeps". Do you have a site? (pun intended) I have a recent 10/22. Just recently put on the Williams RU22 (?) receiver sight. Can't wait for some warmer weather. I prefer shooting outdoors.

 

...

The theory of operation behind the aperture sight is often stated that the human eye will automatically center the front sight when looking through the rear aperture, thus ensuring accuracy.[2] However, aperture sights are accurate even if the front sight is not centered in the rear aperture due to a phenomenon called parallax suppression.[10] This is because, when the aperture is smaller than the eye's pupil diameter, the aperture itself becomes the entrance pupil for the entire optical system of target, front sight post, rear aperture, and eye. As long as the aperture's diameter is completely contained within the eye's pupil diameter, the exact visual location of the front sight post within the rear aperture ring does not affect the accuracy, and accuracy only starts to degrade slightly due to parallax shift as the aperture's diameter begins to encroach on the outside of the eye's pupil diameter.

...

So let me get this right. Suppose you line up your sights so that the front sight is centered on the target and centered in the aperture. The rifle is now definitely pointing at the centre of the target (ignoring bore offset for the sake of discussion).

Now you move the rear end of the rifle to one side, or up, or down, so that the front sight is still centered on the target, but no longer centered in the aperture. You are claiming that this don't make any difference to accuracy, i.e. the rifle is still aimed at the same place, even though you moved it?

 

So let me get this right. Suppose you line up your sights so that the front sight is centered on the target and centered in the aperture. The rifle is now definitely pointing at the centre of the target (ignoring bore offset for the sake of discussion).

Now you move the rear end of the rifle to one side, or up, or down, so that the front sight is still centered on the target, but no longer centered in the aperture. You are claiming that this don't make any difference to accuracy, i.e. the rifle is still aimed at the same place, even though you moved it?

No, you've changed the alignment of all those little circles you've lined up.

Topstrap

 

NO! You don't align anything! Just look through the hole, put the front sight on the squirrel and pull trigger. Squirrel hunting for me requires that the bullet hit within 3/4" of line of sight. That's hard with a scope mounted 11/2 above the muzzle. That leads to ten foot misses which I find so embarrassing.

 

CRS about holding an inch or so high eh?

I had all but one of the rifles I owned switched to peep sights as I loved em after using em for the first time in the Crotch, err, Marines. Alas, even after cataract surgeries, the eyes aren't nearly as good as good glass these days so the conversion was easy.
More power to those with eyes that can still use the irons of of their choice.

 

I get it I really do. Sometimes calling the wrong thing the wrong name really grates on me, the old standby of clip and magazine is the classic one.

I have also noticed having real issue with irons now. And I liked shooting with irons, seemed the way it should be done. I was fighting with the below site a while ago and finally decided I just can't see through those little holes anymore. Well hell, getting old is not for the young and weak.

 

I get it I really do. Sometimes calling the wrong thing the wrong name really grates on me, the old standby of clip and magazine is the classic one.

I have also noticed having real issue with irons now. And I liked shooting with irons, seemed the way it should be done. I was fighting with the below site a while ago and finally decided I just can't see through those little holes anymore. Well hell, getting old is not for the young and weak.

View attachment 377621

Is that a Buffington?

 

Not the squirrels! Me. I judge myself.

 

I have done it both ways. Depending on the rifle. With the 540x and the 52D and the Kimber 82G I line everything up straight done the pike. Rear, Front and Target bull. The 40x never did fit me good with with the real high comb. Big head I guess. Lol So I have a bigger 3/4 moon on the right and smaller 1/4 on the left when looking through the rear aperture. I just adjusted rear sight accordingly and make sure I see the same sight picture every time. Back when I could see, I would generally shoot 200 - 13 to 17x @ 100 with the 40X. Never was a real sharpshooter @ 100 like some were. I know, not the way we were taught but I had to make an adjustment. I hope this makes sense.

 

Think of it the same way it's done with a scope. Why do you think the Benchrest guys use scope with such high power at 50 yards? The more precise you are about being perfectly lined up the more precise your hits on the target will be.

Close enough can sometimes be good enough and a squirrel may not be able to complain but a small target at 200 or 1000 yards depending on caliber used will be scored a zero when close enough technique is used.

Topstrap

 

I can't imagine anyone using this technique for b enchrest shooting which I never have done. I use it for quick, accurate, close range shots with light weight rifles. It works good for that. I have also used it with shotguns. I have a homemade peep on a Savage 24 22 over 20 gauge. It is a squirrel killing machine even after having been runner by a truck.

 

I don't know how many of you have actually competed with metallic sights. Metallic sight cover anything that isn't a scope and can be any version. I've competed with aperture rear and front and aperture rear and post front. Having shot in the master class in both smallbore and high power, my experience only for target shooting. With aperture rear, you center the front post in the rear aperture and the post is below the black target with the thinnest line of white you can see. The reason is, if you try to align the top of the post with the center of the target, you have no frame of reference where the top of the post is in reference to the center of the black. By using the thinnest bit of white between the top of the post and the bottom of the black that you can distinguish, you have a chance of consistency for each shot. Shooting both smallbore and highpower, with aperture front and rear, we aligned the rear aperture with the front ring and the front with the black circle. This is the way my small bore coach coached me and he was also coach for a Texas small bore prone champion at one time.

Several years ago when I was 66 and before cataract surgery, I shot this target with my .308 target rifle using a Redfield International rear aperture and Redfield aperture front aligning as I explained above.

 

I don't know how many of you have actually competed with metallic sights. Metallic sight cover anything that isn't a scope and can be any version. I've competed with aperture rear and front and aperture rear and post front. Having shot in the master class in both smallbore and high power, my experience only for target shooting. With aperture rear, you center the front post in the rear aperture and the post is below the black target with the thinnest line of white you can see. The reason is, if you try to align the top of the post with the center of the target, you have no frame of reference where the top of the post is in reference to the center of the black. By using the thinnest bit of white between the top of the post and the bottom of the black that you can distinguish, you have a chance of consistency for each shot. Shooting both smallbore and highpower, with aperture front and rear, we aligned the rear aperture with the front ring and the front with the black circle. This is the way my small bore coach coached me and he was also coach for a Texas small bore prone champion at one time.

Several years ago when I was 66 and before cataract surgery, I shot this target with my .308 target rifle using a Redfield International rear aperture and Redfield aperture front aligning as I explained above.
View attachment 378091

Thanks for posting that. Amazing shooting. I'm trying to learn to do that too, although it's a way off. What are your thoughts on whether one should

1. pay careful attention to centering the front sight in the rear aperture, or
2. ignore the alignment of the front sight in the rear aperture and trust the eye to take care of it automatically?

 

Are we comparing apples and oranges here? Some people shoot and some people blast. I respect you shooters but I am a blaster. I am afraid to adopt the more precise technique because I think it will have a deleterious effect on my blasting.

 

I'm not sure which comment you're asking about, but you responded to the earlier discussion about sight alignment by saying "NO! You don't align anything!". That is why I began asking these questions. If you meant "NO! You don't align anything unless you are trying to be precise" then that's different. I just want to know why there are 2 distinct groups of people when it comes to this topic, and if there's a correlation between how they think sights should be used, and the accuracy they expect/achieve.

 

???????

 

I guess I’m in the shooter group, as I’ve never blasted with a rifle…..

 

If not already made 100% clear the rear hole has TO BE CLOSE TO YOUR EYE !!!!!
I see a lot of ghost ring, or receiver , even BARREL mounted holes, WHICH ARE NOT APERTURES!!

I cannot over stress a HOLE is not an APERTURE. A lot of false advertising and newbie miss understanding going on these days.

 

Not wanting to say to much in one post. A real aparture has to pass the same head wiggle test as checking parallax on a scope. If the hole is not sized and located properly it is just a hole.

 

It has to pass the head back&forth test. When it does it is a miracle of physics.

The bigger hole will be little less forgiving in distance from the eye but you generally have to get right up within an inch.

To be honest, I dont know 068, try 0.05

 

I typically use something around 3/16 which is 0.1875 so we are way apart. I still shoot minute of squirrel out to 35 yards. I don't think we are shooting apples and oranges, I think we are shooting plums and pumpkins. I think the hole should be close to the eye. My son just picked up a complete US issued Mossberg 44 with a tiny hole. I am looking forward to trying it out.

 

Dear Olaf, I'm eager to hear about your son's results with the Mossberg. Not important whether it's the early Lyman or the Mossberg proprietary S-100 "accu-click". Want to know what he shoots and thinks. There's a guy selling replacement apertures for the Mossys which he offers with an enlarged hole.

 

Note to moderators: I see this discussion is fairly warm but it is also very important to a large group of us. This is the best place on the net to discuss this. It is also an excellent demonstration of long experienced shooters approaching a subject from different perspectives.

 

I hope this gets settled to everyone’s satisfaction.

 

Frequently here as well as at the range, we hear folks calling aperture rear sights "open sights". Hopefully this little tutorial will help alleviate the confusion:

Open sights


A selection of open sights, and one aperture sight suitable for use with long eye relief: A) U-notch and post, B) Patridge, C) V-notch and post, D) Express, E) U-notch and bead, F) V-notch and bead, G) trapezoid, H) ghost ring. The gray dot represents the target

Open sights generally are used where the rear sight is at significant distance from the shooter's eye. They provide minimum occlusion of the shooter's view, but at the expense of precision. Open sights generally use either a square post or a bead on a post for a front sight. To use the sight, the post or bead is positioned both vertically and horizontally in the center of the rear sight notch. For a center hold, the front sight is positioned on the center of the target, bisecting the target vertically and horizontally. For a 6 o'clock hold, the front sight is positioned just below the target and centered horizontally. A 6 o'clock hold is only good for a known target size at a known distance and will not hold zero without user adjustment if these factors are varied.[4] From the shooter's point of view, there should be a noticeable space between each side of the front sight and the edges of the notch; the spaces are called light bars, and the brightness of the light bars provides the shooter feedback as to the alignment of the post in the notch. Vertical alignment is done by lining up the top of the front post with the top of the rear sight, or by placing the bead just above the bottom of the V or U-notch. If the post is not centered in the V or U notch, the shot will not be accurate. If the post extends over the V or U-notch it will result in a high shot. If the post does not reach the top of the V or U-notch it will result in a low shot.

Patridge sights, named after inventor E. E. Patridge, a 19th-century American sportsman, consist of a square or rectangular post and a flat-bottomed square notch and are the most common form of open sights, being preferred for target shooting, as the majority of shooters find the vertical alignment is more precise than other open sights. V-notch and U-notch sights are a variant of the patridge which substitute a V- or U-shaped rear notch.[2]

Other common open sight types include the buckhorn, semi-buckhorn, and express. Buckhorn sights have extensions protruding from either side of the rear sight forming a large ring which almost meets directly above the "V" of the notch. The semi-buckhorn is similar but has a wider gently curving notch with the more precise "V" at its center and is standard on classic Winchester and Marlin lever-action rifles. Express sights are most often used on heavy caliber rifles intended for the hunting of dangerous big game, and are in the form of a wide and large "V" with a heavy white contrast line marking its bottom and a big white or gold bead front sight. These sights do not occlude the target as much as some other styles which is useful in the case of a charging animal. In cases where the range is close and speed far outweighs accuracy (e.g. the shooter is being charged by dangerous big-game), the front sight is used like a shotgun bead; the rear sight is ignored, and the bead is placed on the target. When more time is available, the bead is placed in the "V" of the rear sight.[2]

Open sights have many advantages: they are very common, inexpensive to produce, uncomplicated to use, sturdy, lightweight, resistant to severe environmental conditions, and they do not require batteries. On the other hand, they are not as precise as other forms of sights, and are difficult or impossible to adjust. Open sights also take much more time to use—the buckhorn type is the slowest, patridge, "U" and "V" type notch sights are only a bit quicker; only the express sight is relatively fast. In addition, open sights tend to block out the lower portion of the shooter's field of view by nature, and because of the depth of field limitations of the human eye, do not work as well for shooters with less than perfect vision.[2]


I


Aperture sights


Rear, rotating diopter drum sight of a SIG SG 550 assault rifle. The viewing aperture above the "3" (denoting the 300 m setting) can be seen



Pictures taken under identical conditions through large (left) and small (right) diameter aperture sights, with camera focused on front sight

Aperture sights, also known as "peep sights", range from the "ghost ring" sight, whose thin ring blurs to near invisibility (hence "ghost"), to target aperture sights that use large disks or other occluders with pinhole-sized apertures. In general, the thicker the ring, the more precise the sight, and the thinner the ring, the faster the sight.[2]

The theory of operation behind the aperture sight is often stated that the human eye will automatically center the front sight when looking through the rear aperture, thus ensuring accuracy.[2] However, aperture sights are accurate even if the front sight is not centered in the rear aperture due to a phenomenon called parallax suppression.[10] This is because, when the aperture is smaller than the eye's pupil diameter, the aperture itself becomes the entrance pupil for the entire optical system of target, front sight post, rear aperture, and eye. As long as the aperture's diameter is completely contained within the eye's pupil diameter, the exact visual location of the front sight post within the rear aperture ring does not affect the accuracy, and accuracy only starts to degrade slightly due to parallax shift as the aperture's diameter begins to encroach on the outside of the eye's pupil diameter. An additional benefit to aperture sights is that smaller apertures provide greater depth of field, making the target less blurry when focusing on the front sight.

In low light conditions the parallax suppression phenomenon is markedly better. The depth of field looking through the sight remains the same as in bright conditions.[10] This is in contrast to open sights, where the eye's pupil will become wider in low light conditions, meaning a larger aperture and a blurrier target. The downside to this is that the image through an aperture sight is darker than with an open sight.

These sights are used on target rifles of several disciplines and on several military rifles such as the Pattern 1914 Enfield and M1917 Enfield, M1 Garand, the No. 4 series Lee–Enfields, M14 rifle, Stgw 57, G3 and the M16 series of weapons along with several others. Rifle aperture sights for military combat or hunting arms are not designed for maximal attainable precision like target aperture sights, as these must be usable under suboptimal field conditions.[11]

Thanks Wikipedial

Frequently here as well as at the range, we hear folks calling aperture rear sights "open sights". Hopefully this little tutorial will help alleviate the confusion:

Open sights


A selection of open sights, and one aperture sight suitable for use with long eye relief: A) U-notch and post, B) Patridge, C) V-notch and post, D) Express, E) U-notch and bead, F) V-notch and bead, G) trapezoid, H) ghost ring. The gray dot represents the target

Open sights generally are used where the rear sight is at significant distance from the shooter's eye. They provide minimum occlusion of the shooter's view, but at the expense of precision. Open sights generally use either a square post or a bead on a post for a front sight. To use the sight, the post or bead is positioned both vertically and horizontally in the center of the rear sight notch. For a center hold, the front sight is positioned on the center of the target, bisecting the target vertically and horizontally. For a 6 o'clock hold, the front sight is positioned just below the target and centered horizontally. A 6 o'clock hold is only good for a known target size at a known distance and will not hold zero without user adjustment if these factors are varied.[4] From the shooter's point of view, there should be a noticeable space between each side of the front sight and the edges of the notch; the spaces are called light bars, and the brightness of the light bars provides the shooter feedback as to the alignment of the post in the notch. Vertical alignment is done by lining up the top of the front post with the top of the rear sight, or by placing the bead just above the bottom of the V or U-notch. If the post is not centered in the V or U notch, the shot will not be accurate. If the post extends over the V or U-notch it will result in a high shot. If the post does not reach the top of the V or U-notch it will result in a low shot.

Patridge sights, named after inventor E. E. Patridge, a 19th-century American sportsman, consist of a square or rectangular post and a flat-bottomed square notch and are the most common form of open sights, being preferred for target shooting, as the majority of shooters find the vertical alignment is more precise than other open sights. V-notch and U-notch sights are a variant of the patridge which substitute a V- or U-shaped rear notch.[2]

Other common open sight types include the buckhorn, semi-buckhorn, and express. Buckhorn sights have extensions protruding from either side of the rear sight forming a large ring which almost meets directly above the "V" of the notch. The semi-buckhorn is similar but has a wider gently curving notch with the more precise "V" at its center and is standard on classic Winchester and Marlin lever-action rifles. Express sights are most often used on heavy caliber rifles intended for the hunting of dangerous big game, and are in the form of a wide and large "V" with a heavy white contrast line marking its bottom and a big white or gold bead front sight. These sights do not occlude the target as much as some other styles which is useful in the case of a charging animal. In cases where the range is close and speed far outweighs accuracy (e.g. the shooter is being charged by dangerous big-game), the front sight is used like a shotgun bead; the rear sight is ignored, and the bead is placed on the target. When more time is available, the bead is placed in the "V" of the rear sight.[2]

Open sights have many advantages: they are very common, inexpensive to produce, uncomplicated to use, sturdy, lightweight, resistant to severe environmental conditions, and they do not require batteries. On the other hand, they are not as precise as other forms of sights, and are difficult or impossible to adjust. Open sights also take much more time to use—the buckhorn type is the slowest, patridge, "U" and "V" type notch sights are only a bit quicker; only the express sight is relatively fast. In addition, open sights tend to block out the lower portion of the shooter's field of view by nature, and because of the depth of field limitations of the human eye, do not work as well for shooters with less than perfect vision.[2]


I


Aperture sights


Rear, rotating diopter drum sight of a SIG SG 550 assault rifle. The viewing aperture above the "3" (denoting the 300 m setting) can be seen



Pictures taken under identical conditions through large (left) and small (right) diameter aperture sights, with camera focused on front sight

Aperture sights, also known as "peep sights", range from the "ghost ring" sight, whose thin ring blurs to near invisibility (hence "ghost"), to target aperture sights that use large disks or other occluders with pinhole-sized apertures. In general, the thicker the ring, the more precise the sight, and the thinner the ring, the faster the sight.[2]

The theory of operation behind the aperture sight is often stated that the human eye will automatically center the front sight when looking through the rear aperture, thus ensuring accuracy.[2] However, aperture sights are accurate even if the front sight is not centered in the rear aperture due to a phenomenon called parallax suppression.[10] This is because, when the aperture is smaller than the eye's pupil diameter, the aperture itself becomes the entrance pupil for the entire optical system of target, front sight post, rear aperture, and eye. As long as the aperture's diameter is completely contained within the eye's pupil diameter, the exact visual location of the front sight post within the rear aperture ring does not affect the accuracy, and accuracy only starts to degrade slightly due to parallax shift as the aperture's diameter begins to encroach on the outside of the eye's pupil diameter. An additional benefit to aperture sights is that smaller apertures provide greater depth of field, making the target less blurry when focusing on the front sight.

In low light conditions the parallax suppression phenomenon is markedly better. The depth of field looking through the sight remains the same as in bright conditions.[10] This is in contrast to open sights, where the eye's pupil will become wider in low light conditions, meaning a larger aperture and a blurrier target. The downside to this is that the image through an aperture sight is darker than with an open sight.

These sights are used on target rifles of several disciplines and on several military rifles such as the Pattern 1914 Enfield and M1917 Enfield, M1 Garand, the No. 4 series Lee–Enfields, M14 rifle, Stgw 57, G3 and the M16 series of weapons along with several others. Rifle aperture sights for military combat or hunting arms are not designed for maximal attainable precision like target aperture sights, as these must be usable under suboptimal field conditions.[11]

Thanks Wikipedial

Dear JN, Thank you for starting this thread. For me, one of the best that I've followed.

 

Thanks for that, I appreciate it.

 

I am forming an opinion that we have two different concepts of the purpose of peep sights: 1 Increase precision. 2 Increase the ability to make fast, accurate hits. The two can and often conflict.

 

Not much more satisfying than sitting down behind a gun peering thru two holes at a distant target knowing you've made the right adjustment for elevation and wind and hearing the distant tink when the scoped shooter right beside you just missed it.

Old School satisfaction.

If you ever want to try it my targets are always up either for the match or a fun day of shooting in East Ohio.

Topstrap

 

My son and I have started a peep sight study. We have eleven peep sighted 22lr rifles and an 800 round box of cheap Federal ammo. What we care about is more effective blasting than precise riflery. He shot five rounds with each rifle, replaced the target, picked up the next rifle and fired again. So far we have learned that all the rifles are capable of minute of squirrel especially if we just consider the four closest shots. The range was 25 yards .

 

C’mon down, I got scads and scads of peep sighted 22LRs, and lot of ammo to test……….

 

Regarding the whole question of parallax reduction and sight alignment with aperture sights, I did some experimenting too.

However, aperture sights are accurate even if the front sight is not centered in the rear aperture due to a phenomenon called parallax suppression.[10] This is because, when the aperture is smaller than the eye's pupil diameter, the aperture itself becomes the entrance pupil for the entire optical system of target, front sight post, rear aperture, and eye

The first sentence here is what I had a problem with, and I still do, but only because it's too general. The second sentence is the truth: as long as the aperture stays within the area of the eye's pupil, you can be off quite a bit with where the front sight is in the aperture. The reason I have a problem with this is that that condition doesn't typically hold, at least from my experiments.

An AR-15 sight has a 1.8mm (0.070") aperture. M1 Garands have the same, as do Lee Enfield No 4s. The standard aperture that came with my Tech sights is slightly smaller, around 1.5mm (0.060"). If I put any of these in a stable rest and aim them at a target even within the room, I can see huge parallax errors by moving my head around. The front post doesn't stay with the target as you vary your head position. There's less parallax then I get without the aperture, but still more than enough to make me shoot big groups. Therefore, consistent alignment is essential. I always knew this from experience. I can't shoot any of these as accurately if I ignore alignment in the aperture as I can if I pay attention to it.

But I picked up a target rifle recently with a really small aperture, I think it's 1mm, and a globe sight in the front. Now repeating the experiment with that, there's a dramatic difference. I can move my head around a lot and the front sight stays with the target. They both move around in the aperture, locked together, and it's clear that keeping the front sight+target in the centre of the aperture is of minimal importance.

Now this was all indoors with moderate lighting. Outdoors on a bright say, I would expect my pupils to be smaller, and the amount of parallax reduction would be less. Maybe I have very small pupils, I don't know. But for me at least, this effect is only achievable with the smallest of apertures. There is some reduction in parallax with the AR-15 size aperture, but it's not enough allow you to ignore alignment if you want to shoot your best groups. And alignment is harder than with a notch because the aperture is so much bigger than a typical notch. The end result is that I get about the same results with notch sights as with the AR-15's small aperture in most cases.

The big AR-15 aperture provides me with absolutely zero parallax reduction and very little sharpening of the sight picture to boot. So that one just behaves like a really big notch sight.