Correct peep sight setup?

[TomH]

I just received a Larue/Troy folding rear sight. The thing is built like a tank, is precise, and bulletproof. But I noticed something about it and I'm wonder if anyone else ever noticed....

If you look at a stock carry handle peep sight (the small one), the sight is kind of shaped like a bowl, or "cupped" with the sight hole being at the bottom of the hole. The "cup" is facing towards the eye. I had always assumed this was a method of diffusing light so none could reflect directly back into the eye.

With the Larue/Troy sight, the small peep hole has the cup/bowl... but it is facing towards the front of the firearm! I can't for the life of me figure out why it would be set up like this. And YES I have the sight on correctly (as far as I know), I even checked pics on their site to make sure.

Anyone have any input as to the actual functionality of the "bowl".... is it for light diffusion as I suspected? If so, I believe it is possible to unscrew the flip sight, put it on the other way and have it facing towards my eye. The close/far flipping would then be backwards from a stock setup though.

I'll try to post some pics of what I'm talking about when I get home tonight.

(BTW, I'm not knocking the sight at all, it's worth every penny imo!)

 

[Chris]

Different Strokes for Different Folks. (obligatory link to the Dana Plato thread)

Anyway...

The 'bowl' is to create a sharp relief instead of a tunnel. That close to the eye any real thickness in the hole would appear as a constricting tunnel and possibly cause issues with the natural tendency to center the front. You also get some light focus similar to a pinhole camera to help with target depth of field. It doesn't matter if the reduction in metal to the edge at the hole is in front or in back, or for that matter in both places. all that matters is that you have an edge and not a wall.

 

[TomH]

Thanks Chris, I think that answered all my questions!