To some, there is nothing more traditional and functional than a lever action rifle. The little carbine versions being especially easy to carry. However, the universal problem with most stock lever guns is the sights. Shooting at 100 yards or beyond is usually very difficult. Groups of 10 inches or more at 100 yards are not uncommon with these guns. This is not because these guns are inherently inaccurate. It is because the small sights, provided off the shelf, usually leave a lot to be desired.

As a result, many people put a scope on their rifle in order to shoot accurately at 100+ yards. However, adding the weight and bulk of a scope sometimes defeats the purpose of carrying a light, compact rifle. Fortunately, a piece of technology from the Old West, modernized with the latest materials, can solve this problem. Peep sights -- also known as aperture sights -- were very common and made shooting at distances easy even without the benefit of optical scopes.

Williams Gun Sight Company sells an extensive series of peep sights. They have coupled this old technology with the latest in fiber optic technology. They have been in business since 1926 and manufacture a very good product.

With traditional peep sights, you look through the rear sight. You don't try to focus on the rear sight at all. When looking through the rear site, you simply align the front sight with the target. Essentially, put the dot in the middle of the hole and shoot! This makes for a very quick and accurate sight.

Traditional sights become difficult to use as it gets darker or on very overcast days. Here is where the modern technology of the fiber optics comes into play. Williams has coupled their classic rear peep sight with a fiber optic front sight which they call the fire sight. The fiber optic rod in the sight picks up any available light and channels it to the ends on the rod, where it shows up as a brilliant red dot. In some ways, you get the benefits of the electronic red dot sight without the bulk, weight or need for batteries. Of course, in pitch darkness the sight will not light up. However, in pitch darkness, you likely can't see the target anyway.

We picked up a Williams FP-94SE peep sight with the front Fire Sight for our Winchester Trapper 94 angle eject rifle. While the trapper is no longer made, the procedures and results apply to any lever action rifle for which the Williams sights are available.  This rifle is chambered for the .44 magnum and is a potent package with 9 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. But before the peep site, we were never able to group better than 6-7 inches at 100 yards with this gun.

The rear peep sight is completely adjustable with a screw in aperture. The aperture can be removed, creating a classic ghost ring sight. While not as accurate, the ghost ring is probably the fastest site to acquire when time is of the essence. For close up protection against dangerous game, it is unequaled.

The receiver of our Winchester was drilled and tapped for scope mounting and the Williams peep sight was easily installed by just screwing it into the pre-drilled holes. The quality of this solid aluminum sight is evident and we expect it to last for many years. The front fire sight was also made of aluminum with the fiber optic insert securely embedded in the base.

Installation of the front sight posed a minor problem. Due to the minimal length (16") barrel of this rifle, the barrel band and the dovetail for the sight are right next to each other. Trying to install the front sight was impossible, as the base would not clear the barrel band. Fortunately there was enough material in the sight to where we could cut away a small amount on the base to allow it to clear the band. About 10 minutes with a file, carefully checking for fit as we filed away, solved this problem.

Taking the gun to the range and shooting some of our favorite hand loads using the 265 grain Speer and Hornady bullets, showed tremendous improvement in our groupings. Even on a cloudy day, the red dot lit up perfectly and made for an awesome sight picture. We didn't shoot from the bench or try for extreme accuracy on this trip and still, with our loads we were easily in the 1-2 inch range at 100 yards. Certainly a lot better than the factory sights and more than enough for any hunting distance that the .44 magnum is capable of. We tried to simulate bumping the sights as might happen in the field or in dense woods. In all cases, the sights stayed zeroed in and did not drift. All in all, for $70 we made a wonderful improvement in the accuracy of one of our favorite trail rifles.