Doug T. (Doug_t)
Ink's Still Wet on My License!
Username: Doug_t
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, May 09, 2002 - 7:34 pm: | |
Hi,
I ran this on "another board" earlier and thought there might be some interest here too. I don't work for Mojo, however the sight sample was provided free of charge for the review.
If you've ever shopped around for alternate sighting systems to use on your Mosin Nagant, AK-47 clone, or Mauser, you’ve no doubt run across Mojo Peep sights. Let me answer what seems to be everyone’s first question: Yes, peep sights work fine on the long relief rear sights common to these rifles.
I recently had an opportunity to test Mojo’s MNX sight on two carbines from my collection, a wartime Soviet M44 and a “mummy wrapped” M91/59. I, like most of us, was very interested in how well the peep concept performed, and what, if any advantages it offered.
The sight arrived in a padded USPS envelope, containing the sight, a simple and clear instruction sheet, a nail to use as a drift, and an allen wrench for adjusting windage and elevation on the Mojo itself. Let me say right now, adjustable windage alone is worth the money. The sight itself is well machined and blued nice and dark. The blue looked good on either rifle. The milling on the moving parts is superb and they’ve got a really nice, tight little method of adjusting windage with an allen wrench. The expected lash of a screw system is kept to a minimum on the Mojo.
The instructions suggested that Mosin owners will most likely need a friend to help keep the spring depressed enough to get the pin back in the sight. They aren’t kidding. However, the day I moved the sight from the M44 to the 91/59, I rigged up a large C-clamp, some padding, and a narrow strip of wood to depress the sight itself and was able to do it myself.
I mounted it on the M44 first. I’d already moved the front sight over on this rifle to accommodate shooting with the bayonet closed, and it was sitting pretty far to one side on the base. Additioanlly, this rifles shoots "a little left" to begin with, so the front sight post base got pretty far over to one side. In this configuration, I would get a little of the front hood “peeking” out from the ghosting of the Mojo. At the range, while I could eventually get a good sight picture, the rifle refused to “come up well.” It just seemed to take a second to adjust for the peep. Once I got “on”, it grouped as well as the rifle did normally.
After taking the Mojo out twice on the M44, I decided to try it on a 91/59 that I knew grouped pretty well off a sandbag. On this rifle, the front and rear sights are more centered and there was a big difference in how my eye responded to the peep sight. There was no adjusting for the aperture and front hood this time. The rifle came up and, boom, there was a sight picture. Groups remained tight, plus I was able to adjust windage with an allen wrench instead of a drift and move my groups accordingly. I still found if I “over thought” the sight picture, I started flying the shots pretty bad, but if I just focused on the target and let the post kind of center itself, I got great results. After the success of the 91/59 on paper, I moved to some two liter bottles filled with water. Single target acquisition is where the Mojo really worked for me. Sitting on a sand bag, paying attention to my breath and trying to exactly duplicate the sight picture each time got me second guessing myself, but bringing the bead down on those bottles one after the other, was a snap with the peep.
Mojo is responding to requests for a larger aperture version of the sight and will offer one soon. I can see where one might want a slightly larger aperture, especially if one is used to seeing the entire front post through one, as the Mojo tends to show about 2/3 of it on the carbines. Once I got used to it on the 91/59 however, I don’t see the need.
Okay, some conclusions. Once I got the sight on a rifle with the sights fairly centered, the Mojo ghosted well and gave a good, quick sight picture. Groups may have improved offhand slightly using the Mojo, but certainly were no worse than with conventional sights. With the quick acquisition of the peep, I believe it will make a great hunting sight for this little carbine and intend to use it for that purpose this fall. Cosmetically, it actually looks pretty good on the rifle and certainly doesn’t really jump out and yell “not original!” Ok, that said, let me say this; I’d love to see this sight system on an M39. I think the three-blade front lends itself better to an aperture system, mainly because it has no hood to fight the ghosting effect of the rear peep. I also believe anyone with middle-aged eyes will want one on their Mauser – my 98/22 is begging for one now. Hmm, where did I put my credit card?
Mojo sights can be purchased directly from Mojo http://www.mojosights.com.
Images:
http://www.planetkc.com/scoupe/mojo-4.jpg
http://www.planetkc.com/scoupe/mojo-3.jpg
http://www.planetkc.com/scoupe/mojo-2.jpg
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