Merit Adjustable Aperture - Master or Target Disc?

[Jason]

As I said in the other thread, I'm thinking of ordering a Merit adjustable aperture or two. I was originally thinking about the target disc as I thought the master disc with the light shield might be a bit too big and too "target looking" for cowboy, for lack of a better description. Then I noticed that the master disc is only 11/16" diameter, which is a lot smaller than the 1" discs that come with the Williams Foolproof sights that I've been using. It doesn't say on the Merit page how big the light shield on the master disc is, but I found 1.5" in the description on the Brownells website. Anyone got one of these to verify? Which ones have you guys seen in use? I'm torn between the larger master disc as I think it would be better to use but I also don't want to violate the spirit of the game.

[Tlee]

Jason -

I've used both, but one thing to consider on the larger disc is the hammer clearance. My son and I both shoot identical Henry H001T 22LR rifles, and for some odd reason he can use the larger disc with a good .050+ clearance, but on my rifle the hammer actually hits the disk. The hammer also hits the disc on the H001TM 22mag.

-Tim

[Jason]

Thanks. This is going on a Marlin 57 with no exposed hammer.

[Finprof]

The Master disk has a neoprene shield around it. If you want a smaller version, just cut off some of the shield. I don't think there is any reason other than aesthetics to cut it doen though. It doesn't bother me.

[boats]

Rubber around the disk is not too important you can make a cardboard shield out of a piece of target or score card paper if light conditions require it. I rarely see a light condition from the front that makes a shield necessary. Do like my left eye shaded but take that on my glasses. One of my Schuetzens has a MVA Montana Magnum Hadley. It's real big and I don't like it as much as the smaller MVA Hadley on the other Schuetzen Single shot. Silhouette you need to look around the disk to pick out your bank and critter and a big one would be in my way. This of course is a personal opinion.

However how much the disk opens is real important. The # 4 Hunting disk opens wider and is often very useful in low light conditions. We shot in misty rain few matches ago and opening up all the way made the difference in my score. Merritt # 3 Target disk have smaller holes. It's always been believed that small hole means more precise when the opposite is true. Your eye will center a large hole just as well as a small one. What you want is enough light to see the target picture well and enough stop down to sharpen up the front no more. More light means better definition. Real critical on steel critters with post front sights.

Boats