hunting with a ghost ring?

[billprestonesquire]

ok, next in my series of stupid questions is this:

has anyone tried hunting birds in the field with a ghost ring sight?

i am fairly new to hunting and have been out in the field several times with my friend's benelli super black eagle 2. when it came time for me to purchase my first shotgun i decided it was benelli or bust. i'm sure some of you will think i'm crazy but i ended purchasing a benelli m2 tactical with an 18.5" bbl. WAIT: before you start screaming "idiot": i purchased an extra 28" field bbl thinking this will be a multi-purpose firearm for hunting/shtf/hd.

the 18.5' bbl a tritium front post sight with wings to match the ghost ring on the receiver. the 28' field bbl came with a front red bar and bead sight. i ended up buying a burris red dot that's custom for the m2. it sits between the receiver and stock. the red dot matches perfectly with the front post of the shorter bbl. when i switch to the field bbl the red bar/bead sight is useless because it is lost behind the ghost ring on the receiver.

i figure it doesn't really matter because i have the red dot there to get on target no matter what. but, i like having a back up that doesn't rely on mechanics or battery life. so, i was thinking about talking to a gunsmith and seeing how much it would cost to put on a front post on the longer field bbl. has anyone ever tried anything like this? is there some reason that i don't know about that would make this idea incredibly stupid?

thanks in advance for bearing with the newbie and answering stupid questions.

-Shanti

p.s. i'll try to take some pics so y'all can have a visual

[sideshowhr]

i'd be more worried about being in the field all day with a pistol-grip shotgun... especially if you're going to be shooting a lot (dove).

as for the ghost ring, i haven't tried it but you'd think it'd be slightly more difficult to aim with an obtrusion like that right in your face when you're trying to aim and fire as quickly as possible... sometimes one after another.

[Thefeeder]

Take the 28" barrel to Lake Merced and try it on some skeet and trap.

IMOP no sights are better then what you discribed...not being insulting. One of the ways we teach hitting flying targets is to cover the sights with tape. This way the shooter learns to point and not aim. All the stuff on top will just inpair your field of view.

[billprestonesquire]

hmm. at the range the ghost ring blurs pretty fast and i am able to get it on target pretty fast. guess it's all theory until someone (maybe me) actually tries it.

this benelli is actually configured with the standard ComforTech stock. didn't want to commit to pistol grip. and, i really like those ComforTechs.

[Thefeeder]

<>

Get it out there and give us a range report

[Trapper]

Isn't the rear sight removable? If so, just remove the rear sight fill the screw holes with the correct screws to protect the threads, then install the 28" barrel. All you need for bird hunting is a bead front sight.

[billprestonesquire]

Trapper: yeah, the rear sight is totally removable. i was just thinking that it would be a lot easier if i didn't have to remove every time to go to the field, then have to put it back on if i want it to be effective as an hd gun.

i think i'll just try taking it out as is, using the red dot and see how i fare. thanks all.

[TERRYGER]

thanks in advance for bearing with the newbie and answering stupid questions.

you don't want answers to your stupid questions. you want people to agree with your stupid ideas.

go ahead and pay the gunsmith and hunt with what ever kind of sight you want. it's your time and money.

you are not the first one that has had a stupid idea but like them you will eventually get it!

and btw, you're welcome!

[BigDogatPlay]

I would spend some time and several boxes of shells at a skeet, not trap, range. That will more closely approximate pass shooting and hunting conditions. That or several courses of sporting clays or five stand. I think you'll soon find the ghost ring a complete waste of time and an obstruction to your vision when wingshooting, and you will ultimately wish it wasn't there.

For what it's worth, I don't have anything other than a plain bead on either of my self defense shotguns either. Aside from aimed fire with slugs at greater than CQB conditions, built up sights on a shotgun are (again my opinion here) not worth the cost or effort to put them on.

I get the concept of one gun for all purposes. Only makes sense in this economy. But if that gun is a shotgun, I recommend the old fashioned bead, with maybe a fiber optic to help visualize it, each and every time.

[billprestonesquire]

now you guys got me thinking that maybe i should go the exact opposite route and take the ghost ring off and replace the front post with a red bead.

thanks a lot for all the advice!!!

[Trapper]

The sights on your 18.5" barrel are good quality and will help in taking shots from 25-100yds with slugs. I'd send Benelli an e-mail and ask them to send a set of screws to fill the holes in the reciever when your rear sight is removed. Then buy a case of #8 shot and spend some time at the trap range. Shooting trap and five stand is the best way to gain confidence with a shot gun before the hunting season.
I set my TC Omega muzzle loader up with a Leupold quick release base and a VX-II 2-7 scope. Durring the general season I can hunt at longer ranges with the scope, then when muzzle loading season opens I remove the scop, instal the iron sights and fire a couple shots to verrify point of impact. The scope removal and sight instal takes less than five minutes.

[-hanko]

you don't want answers to your stupid questions. you want people to agree with your stupid ideas.

go ahead and pay the gunsmith and hunt with what ever kind of sight you want. it's your time and money.

you are not the first one that has had a stupid idea but like them you will eventually get it!

and btw, you're welcome!

That's the correct answer, but I probably would have posed it a little differently.

You don't aim at birds on the move. You practice mounting the gun correctly and pointing at or ahead of your target.

Ghost rings do NOT work for bird shooting. Period.

YOU REALLY NEED to find a coach who can get you started in skeet shooting...trust me on this. If this seems like too much work, find some COMPETENT hunters and tag along.

-hth

-hanko

[billprestonesquire]

Thanks hanko,

I did not like Terryger's wording at all and have been having pm dialogue with him about his condescending tone. After much rumination and lots of advice, I have decided that I will definitely not be adding a front post to my field barrel. I will probably just end up taking off and putting on the ghost ring every time I take her out. I'll have to see what best suits me.

I have some very informative friends that have introduced me to this world and taken me out hunting with them several times. I would be asking them this stuff now but they are actually in Africa right now putting down cape buffalo, giraffe, zebra, and the like.

I really appreciate everyone's advice and now have a better understanding of some of the questions I had.

I did want answers to my stupid questions and got them. I believe those answers helped prevent me from making a possible mistake.

[Al LaVodka]

The question was not stupid but coulda been improved: "Has anyone SUCCESSFULLY tried...?" To which the answer woulda been: "No, not really."
Al

[Skidmark]

Shotguns are pointed, not aimed. Unless you're working with slugs at the range... or maybe out in the field taking down pigs and deer. But for birds and HD, we just point and fire, the bead sight works fine.