[North country gal]

Hi Dave

First, on an adjustable sight equipped gun, where it is sighted in out of the box is no big deal for me. I've never gotten away with just using adjustable sights the way they come from the factory. Pretty much a given you will be sighting in to your preferences and style of shooting on such guns. It's more of an issue on fixed sight equipped guns because your options are much more limited if the gun is not shooting to your point of aim. If your Hunter is not shooting where you want it, adjust the sights as needed. That's what they're for.

A six o'clock hold is a hold where the entire circle of the bull is resting on top of the front sight. It has long been the mainstay of bullseye shooters because it allows a finer hold than a dead on sight picture where you are cutting into the bull. On the few guns I have left with iron sights, I'll use a six o'clock hold on those that I use only at the range for shooting paper. On those iron sighted guns that I use in the field and for spinner targets and when I hunted, I much prefer using a dead on hold where the POI corresponds to the top of the front sight. Just a personal preference on my part, but that's one advantage of adjustable sights.

For example, on Springfield Range Officer 1911, a 1911 designed for bullseye work, I use a six o'clock hold. On my SR1911, I use a dead on hold and hold over, hold under as needed for various ranges. The SR is my all purpose 1911.

As to the Hunter, I could not get along with the v notch rear sight at all. I use a scope on mine, because the Hunter is SO darn accurate, it almost seems a shame to use iron sights. Just teasing, here, but the Hunter may well be the most accurate gun of any gun I own. Amazing gun.

 

[North country gal]

Thanks for that one North country gal. I'm working on my Hunter. But I'm no where near as good as the gun. I love that gun. It's got to be the sweetest looking MK IMO. What happened to granny?

Ha! Now that is a very long story and an ever longer thread. See people avatars mess with my head. It's hilarious.

 

[North country gal]

I put a set of Crimson Laser grips on my Mark lll competition and you can knock holes in pennies at 20 yards all day.

Been thinking about laser sights, too, though I haven't tried one, yet. I see Crimson is coming out next year with a new, daylight visible, green laser sight that is still small enough to be incorporated in a grip mount. Hmmmm!

 

[North country gal]

I'd adjust it so where I'm aiming is the POI. This is why adjustable sights are such a wonderful thing -- you can adjust however you prefer. This is also why fixed-sight guns drive me nuts -- they never hit where I'm aiming.

I have a couple related questions:

1. Why does the Hunter have that V-notch rear? How is that better than a square -notch? I use a Hi-Viz front sight on my GP100 which works very nicely with the standard square notch rear sight that revolver comes with. I notice Volquartsen always has the same square rear sight whether the front sight is a plain black target sight or fiber optic.

2. An experienced bullseye shooter working at LGS wasn't a fan of the Hunter's fiber optic front, feeling a plain black target sight is more precise. Any opinions on this? At 65 this guy's eyes I'm sure aren't any better than mine at 39 & I find plain black sights to be a royal pain. I much prefer how a fiber optic front stands out. Definitely much easier to see & pick up quickly (which I guess you want if shooting at a squirrel that doesn't politely stand still forever like a bullseye). Not sure if plain black is "more precise" though. At 25 yards any front sight starts looking mighty fat relative to a bull.

In any case, if I wanted max precision + max fun I'd put on a red dot so none of this would matter anyhow.

And now you guys have me really wanting a Hunter. I've longed for that gorgeous fluted barrel for years.

1. I suspect Ruger wanted to do more to make the Hunter stand out from the Competition than just a fluted barrel. Some folks love the v notch, but I could not deal with it. Maybe it's just old me shooting standard sights for so many years, though.

2. Since bullseye shooters use a six o'clock hold on the bull with the blade just touching the bottom of the bull, a sharp flat topped blade is more precise than that fiber optic front. That fiber front is not exactly cut all that sharp at the top and the round "light pipe" insert draws your focus away from the top of the sight. Then, too, the top of the light pipe is not quite the top of the sight either. I found that the outline just varied too much with changing light conditions. Again, some folks liked the v notch, but not this girl. I do better with a conventional blade front target sight a la the Comp. You can, of course, get a set of standard target sights from Ruger if you don't care for the Hunter sights, though. Better yet, just get a red dot or scope.

Let us know when you get your Hunter.