HI VIZ lets you upgrade your vent-ribbed shotgun sighting system with the new Lightwave H3 CompSight
by Larry Case
One of the great truisms of the hunting world is things usually don’t happen when you are ready, nor do they happen under the best conditions. Wild game birds and animals almost never appear during the middle of the day in bright sunlight and present a perfect shot opportunity. Experienced hunters know early morning and late evening are prime time for critters to make an appearance. Be it anything from deer to ducks, it is usually a low light situation.
Shotgun hunters can be just as challenged as riflemen in this aspect. It basically comes down to, “If you can’t see, you can’t shoot.” While the shotgunner may not need to be as precise as the rifle shooter, it is still important to be able to index the front bead on a shotgun. This holds true whether you are aiming the shotgun or swinging on flying targets.
HI VIZ Shooting Systems of Laramie, Wyoming, has a good answer to all this. HI VIZ has been making quality, high-visibility sights for shotguns, rifles, and pistols for many years and has offered their CompSight line of front beads for shotguns for over 20 years. Now, there is a new and improved version of the CompSight thanks to LiteWave H3 technology. HI VIZ now adds tritium technology to the original to create the LiteWave H3 CompSight. Just as in the LiteWave H3 handgun sights for personal defense, law enforcement, and military use, shotgunners can now benefit from a bead that can be easily recognized in any light conditions, any time of day. By replacing the factory bead with the HI VIZ CompSight LightPipe, sensing the sight in your peripheral vision becomes faster and easier in any daylight condition.
For the shotgunner and hunter, the advantages in the field and on the range shake out like this.
As noted earlier, shooting opportunities in the field commonly occur in low light conditions. In the duck blind, shooting hours are one half-hour before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset. I have been there and so have you. It is light enough to shoot but you could use some help keeping up with the front bead of the shotgun.
Turkey hunting? Many is the time when I have seen a gobbler fly down off the roost and show up in the predawn light. Here, seeing the front sight is even more important as we are aiming the shotgun (as in a rifle), not merely pointing it. I have also experienced low light problems on small game like rabbits and squirrels.
On the range in clay target competitions, the HI VIZ CompSight can help you see the front bead, whether in bright sunlight, cloudy days, or under the glaring lights of a nighttime sporting clays or trap match.
Another advantage of this sight is the very important issue of needing to see your sight on a home defense shotgun.
The HI VIZ CompSight is rugged. If, like me, you have had experience with replacing sights on a shotgun, you have probably encountered other brands that were less than reliable. I do not know how many times I have seen the aftermarket sights on a turkey gun get knocked off the rib while in the woods. HI VIZ sights are built to rigid standards using only the highest quality materials, then are shooter-tested to ensure they will withstand hard knocks in the field. The LitePipes on the CompSight are made of a chemical-resistant material and injection-molded to achieve maximum brightness and a consistent sight picture.
The LiteWave H3 CompSight replaces the front bead on the Benelli family of shotguns as well as a wide variety of other makes and models with a vented rib and removeable front bead. The kit includes five different screw sizes to make the modification easy.
Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl
Even those who don’t duck hunt know what the old saying, “It’s a good day for ducks” means. Duck hunting is usually done in some of the worst weather known to mankind. Cold, rain, snow, and wet—it is always wet when you are around duck hunters. Unfortunately, the conditions that make for good duck hunting are extremely hard on gear—especially shotguns and ammo. Shotgun shells that are not impervious to moisture quickly become worthless in the duck blind.
Fiocchi’s Golden Waterfowl shotgun loads are more than up to the task for a bad day (or a good one, depending on how you look at it) of duck hunting. First, Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl features a sealed crimp to ensure that moisture does not seep into the shell. This is important because waterfowl loads will be in contact with water, mud or ice, and Labrador slobber almost daily. If a duck load isn’t waterproof, it is going to let you down.
Even more importantly, the steel shot in Golden Waterfowl shotshells is zinc-plated and this is a game-changer for the performance of steel shot pellets.
Zinc-plated shot will generally outperform plain lead or copper-plated shot because it is smoother, more uniform in shape, and less likely to deform and blow out patterns. When manufacturing millions upon millions of steel shot, some minor imperfections are to be expected. We all learned in Shotgun Theory 101 that the rounder and more perfect a shot pellet is the better the flight characteristics and pattern. Plating the individual steel shot with zinc makes for a rounder, more uniform shot pellet.
There is another aspect here that the average duck hunter would be interested in and that is the zinc-plated shot is going to help with terminal performance on waterfowl. Steel shot that has been exposed to moisture and has some corrosion is not going to have the effective penetration of smooth, unblemished shot with a zinc plating. This means the shot will penetrate feathers and the bird itself for cleaner, more humane kills.
The Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl shotshells are rated at 1,3500 fps muzzle velocity, which delivers the swiftness and power needed to bring down tough ducks and geese. A wide selection of shot sizes (BBB, BB, 1, 2, 3 and 4) allows hunters to choose shot suitable for the birds and hunting conditions. Fiocchi’s steel loads are carefully manufactured using a combination of treated steel shot, high-quality wads, and the appropriate propellant powders to deliver dense patterns and high velocity.
I shot the Golden Waterfowl loads in three different shotguns—a Remington V3, a CZ-USA Upland Ultralight All Terrain model, and a Browning BPS pump gun. I saw no problems with the loading, firing, and cycling of any of the different loads tested in these guns. I saw good, even patterns from 25 to 40 yards.
The combination of the HI VIZ CompSight and Fiocchi Golden Waterfowl shotshells should be a winning combination for you in the duck blind this season.
