Tikka Iron Sights Project Finished

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It's taken me a while to finish this up, but I'm at a place where I've tested my designs and found them satisfactory for human consumption.

This all started a while back when I put in for one of the restricted weapon rifle tags in Utah and drew with a few years worth of general season preference points. I messed around with a few different guns in the safe, but pretty quickly decided to take Form's advice from another thread and try out a biathlon sight setup. I weighed a bunch of different attachment options, but ultimately decided to design my own setup. What I came up with is:

  1. 11mm Dovetail that mounts to the factory T3X receiver holes
  2. Clamp on front sight mount to mount a Williams Precision Muzzleloader Globe front sight
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I've been messing with a T3X Drover in .308. I picked up a Rokstok, which ends up being the perfect height for the tall biathalon sight, but found the muzzle shoulder to not be thick enough for reliable muzzle device mounting with the oddball M15x1.0 thread this rifle has. I originally tried a lyman globe sight in the original dovetail, but between the limited inserts, small diameter globe, and low sight height, I decided to go ahead and design a front sight base to tackle a few of the problems at once.

The front sight base design ended up having the following features:
  • .750" inner diameter for compatibility with common aftermarket barrel diameters
  • A split aluminum adapter sleeve for mounting on a factory Tikka sporter barrel at 20" length
  • Uses a M4 flathead screw to align itself with the factory front screw hole on a Ranahan or Drover rifle
  • When mounted on the Drover with the aforementioned flathead screw to align, it also provides a shoulder for the muzzle device
  • Machined from steel with lightening cuts
  • Protective steel ears for the globe sight base include set screws to lock in the sight with more than the provided single 8-40 screw
I had a 6.5x55 barrel at Kampfeld's shop getting shortened to 20" and threaded. He normally adds a short collar to shoulder up a muzzle device when the 5/8 threads are cut into the thin factory sporter profile. I had him extend that shoulder to 1" in length at .750" diameter so I could clamp the sight directly onto the barrel. It will also work great on a Taperless .750 or Tikka Hybrid profile barrel from Preferred:
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The muzzleloader globe sight is well reviewed elsewhere on this site, but here's an example of some of the inserts available:
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The front sight dovetail uses four of the factory scope mount screws to mount, centers via flathead gunsmithing screws, and is reversible. The reason for reversibility is to allow the rear to overhang the area behind the receiver and support the rear sight when mounted further aft.
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I've tried several different sights at this point mounted on two different rifles. One is the factory Drover in .308, the other is the shortened 6.5x55 barrel from Kampfeld. The rail height, width, etc have all been great with the various biathalon and 11mm airgun sights I've tried:
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Now for the results...

I fired back to back to back 10rd groups with the .308 this weekend with various ammo types. All three were 2MOA or less. I forgot to pack the crosshair reticle to try out at the range, so these groups were fired using the fiber optic sight in a lollipop 6 o'clock hold. I'll pack the other reticles to give them a try next time. I am the limiting factor on this setup at this point.

I'll be shooting the 6.5x55 next go around also, I finished putting it together after my range trip.

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Due to volume manufacturing discounts, I had 10 sets of these machined. I'm keeping 3, the other 7 will be up for sale. I've got two folks in line for a couple, but anticipate about $200 for the dovetail and front sight base set, including hardware and the adapter sleeve for the sporter barrel. To that, you'll need to add the rear sight of your choice and a Precision Muzzleloader globe front ($50-60 bucks online depending on what reticles you want)
 
I did a couple similar variations as well.
one was Anchutz sights with a similar muzzle adapter, I left a recoil shoulder so the sight couldn't slip forward.
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second iteration moved the sight back so it couldn't interfere with a large suppressor, added wrench flats.
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dual apertures is silly fun how accurate they can be.

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two 4 rnd mags, top 1st, adjust, 2nd mag, 1" dot @ 100yds.
 
I did a couple similar variations as well.
one was Anchutz sights with a similar muzzle adapter, I left a recoil shoulder so the sight couldn't slip forward.
View attachment 910328

View attachment 910329
View attachment 910330
second iteration moved the sight back so it couldn't interfere with a large suppressor, added wrench flats.
View attachment 910331
dual apertures is silly fun how accurate they can be.

View attachment 910336
two 4 rnd mags, top 1st, adjust, 2nd mag, 1" dot @ 100yds.

One of those Gehman adjustable diopters is next on the list for mine. Which rear sight model is that?

I like the double aperture for black dot target work, but I think either the fiber optic post or crosshair reticles are going to be preferred for field use where there's a brown deer vital zone instead of a 3rd dot to center up.
 
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One of those Gehman adjustable diopters is next on the list for mine. Which rear sight model is that?

I like the double aperture for black dot target work, but I think either the fiber optic post or crosshair reticles are going to be preferred for field use where there's a brown deer vital zone instead of a 3rd dot to center up.
I'm not sure on the rear sight. ask formalicious.
I agree, front post is better on game, I need to get that fiber front post.
not being able to see the crosshair cost me my only opportunity at a doe last fall. near dusk in the timber, just couldn't POSITIVELY place the crosshair with a muzzleloader.
in good sunlight or a bright day, no problem. That glow post probably would have made the difference.
 
I'm not sure on the rear sight. ask formalicious.
I agree, front post is better on game, I need to get that fiber front post.
not being able to see the crosshair cost me my only opportunity at a doe last fall. near dusk in the timber, just couldn't POSITIVELY place the crosshair with a muzzleloader.
in good sunlight or a bright day, no problem. That glow post probably would have made the difference.
I noticed the same thing. I switched mine out last year on my muzzleloader and had no issues seeing it while sighting it in and didn't even think to go into the timber with it. If you were only going to be in open country I could see it but for me in North Idaho it isn't going to work.
 
I'm not sure on the rear sight. ask formalicious.
I agree, front post is better on game, I need to get that fiber front post.
not being able to see the crosshair cost me my only opportunity at a doe last fall. near dusk in the timber, just couldn't POSITIVELY place the crosshair with a muzzleloader.
in good sunlight or a bright day, no problem. That glow post probably would have made the difference.
I was thinking using the fiber at dawn/dusk and switching to the crosshair once things lighten up and shots grow potentially longer. I'm going scouting up there next week and will probably try to get a little "seat time" aiming with both setups to see what I like best.

I also haven't decided between the red or green fiber yet. There's a smaller diameter fiber that I haven't tried yet either.
 
I was thinking using the fiber at dawn/dusk and switching to the crosshair once things lighten up and shots grow potentially longer. I'm going scouting up there next week and will probably try to get a little "seat time" aiming with both setups to see what I like best.

I also haven't decided between the red or green fiber yet. There's a smaller diameter fiber that I haven't tried yet either.
I prefer green. For me, red is too bright, it has a glow around it that makes it appear bigger than it really is which makes it hard to be precise. Green is more of a bright pin point. Don't know if it's just my eyes or if others have the same issue.
 
Much better place for me to ask questions lol. you obviously have put a lot of work and effort into this. Very cool to see. How much of a handicap to you find this? Vs a scope? I’d imagine the average joe isn’t going to be this prepared. Love the setup though and that is great shooting!
 
Much better place for me to ask questions lol. you obviously have put a lot of work and effort into this. Very cool to see. How much of a handicap to you find this? Vs a scope? I’d imagine the average joe isn’t going to be this prepared. Love the setup though and that is great shooting!
I am finding them to be just as effective as a 1X scope or red dot. With these sights, the range limitation becomes size of the target and reticle (which in this case is the front sight insert), not difficulty in focusing or aligning as in other types of iron sights.

I have been shooting iron sights (mostly peeps) since long before I picked up my first scoped rifle (thanks Dad, for that training), and I'm also a homo sapiens, so the native ability of a human being to center concentric circles coupled with lots of practice makes aligning the sights a subconscious behavior that doesn't really need effort to make happen. This is also the advantage of peep sights over open sights: the human brain is very good at centering circles.

The traditional limitation for iron sights (even peeps) is the inability of the human eye to focus on multiple planes at once. This means your eye can focus on either the front sight, or the target, but not both simultaneously. A young eye can quickly focus from one plane to the next so this is essentially workable, but as the muscles in the eye age that process becomes less effective, and we find ourselves really struggling to focus properly with irons. Traditional teaching is to blur the target and focus on the front sight, but that becomes much more difficult when the "target" is a brown hairy thing on an ill defined backdrop instead of a nice black on white circle.

The very small aperture in these rear sights has a wonderful effect involving physics, biology, and light particles that essentially puts everything viewed through the aperture into the same focal plane. This only works for small apertures (i.e. it's an effect not really found with traditional "peep" or "ghost ring" sights which use larger apertures), but it wonderfully solves the problem of multiple focal planes. With the focus problem solved and concentric circle alignment happening naturally, it becomes a simple matter of getting the front sight on the right spot of the target, which is essentially the same action taken with a 1X scope or other non-magnified optical sight.

It's funny, because this project hasn't ended up too far from the Redfield peep sight equipped M94 Swedish Mauser carbine sporter in 6.5x55 that I started my centerfire shooting, hunting, and reloading career with about 25 years ago. I still have that rifle, I should probably dig it back out and give it some love...
 
I am finding them to be just as effective as a 1X scope or red dot. With these sights, the range limitation becomes size of the target and reticle (which in this case is the front sight insert), not difficulty in focusing or aligning as in other types of iron sights.

I have been shooting iron sights (mostly peeps) since long before I picked up my first scoped rifle (thanks Dad, for that training), and I'm also a homo sapiens, so the native ability of a human being to center concentric circles coupled with lots of practice makes aligning the sights a subconscious behavior that doesn't really need effort to make happen. This is also the advantage of peep sights over open sights: the human brain is very good at centering circles.

The traditional limitation for iron sights (even peeps) is the inability of the human eye to focus on multiple planes at once. This means your eye can focus on either the front sight, or the target, but not both simultaneously. A young eye can quickly focus from one plane to the next so this is essentially workable, but as the muscles in the eye age that process becomes less effective, and we find ourselves really struggling to focus properly with irons. Traditional teaching is to blur the target and focus on the front sight, but that becomes much more difficult when the "target" is a brown hairy thing on an ill defined backdrop instead of a nice black on white circle.

The very small aperture in these rear sights has a wonderful effect involving physics, biology, and light particles that essentially puts everything viewed through the aperture into the same focal plane. This only works for small apertures (i.e. it's an effect not really found with traditional "peep" or "ghost ring" sights which use larger apertures), but it wonderfully solves the problem of multiple focal planes. With the focus problem solved and concentric circle alignment happening naturally, it becomes a simple matter of getting the front sight on the right spot of the target, which is essentially the same action taken with a 1X scope or other non-magnified optical sight.

It's funny, because this project hasn't ended up too far from the Redfield peep sight equipped M94 Swedish Mauser carbine sporter in 6.5x55 that I started my centerfire shooting, hunting, and reloading career with about 25 years ago. I still have that rifle, I should probably dig it back out and give it some love...
Fantastic explanation! Thank you, let us know how your hunt goes! Good luck!
 
Well said, @cal30_sniper. You have a great sighting system. The biggest limitation of iron sights isn't magnification or precision but low-light shooting.
True! I've been messing with an Gehmann adjustable iris diopter in the rear that can be opened up to provide superior low light performance. This helps, but there's still only so much light you can get through the front globe before everything starts fading (this seems to show up essentially as a loss of contrast as light decreases).
 
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