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Aperture sights, often just called “peep sights” have been around on Marlin rifles both from the factory and as an aftermarket accessory for more than a century. These sights are, for many, the best alternative to optics and have proven themselves for generations in both target and hunting applications.

What are they?

Vintage Redfield peepsight on a Marlin 336

Basically speaking, peep sights work through a theory called parallax suppression (for an excellent 23-page explanation of just what that is click here). The concept goes that the human eye will immediately jump out to and focus the front sight when looking through a very small, sometimes pinhole-sized, rear sight. The smaller the peephole, or aperture, the more it will force the shooter’s pupil to focus.

These sights have been around since the time of the Civil War and hunters in the late 19th Century often used tang-mounted peep sights to take plains buffalo (bison) down at ranges out to a half mile with huge .45-70 and .45-100 rounds. At the same time, the practice of Schuetzen societies, in which polite city folk in silk and tweeds would gather to fire hyper-accurate target rifles at extreme distances or at tiny targets that simulated those same distances was very popular on the East Coast. Like the hunters, these recreational shooters used peep sights.

They proved so popular that most modern military rifles dating from the M1 Garand to the M14 and M16 use a small and often adjustable rear peep sight to help force the eye to the front post, making it more accurate.

Further, Marlin has a long history with these…

Marlin 1897 Bicycle gun with an optional factory Lyman peep sight.

Read the rest in my column at Marlin Forum