Limbsaver Dead Center. Illustration courtesy
of Sims Vibration Laboratories.

Limbsaver brand of Sims Vibration Laboratories offers a series of light-pipe type front sights designed to fit on the vent rib of your shotgun without any modification to your gun. It comes complete with six different bases to fit most variety of ribs. You pick the spacer that fits your rib, glue it to the Dead Center sight base and you are done. The Dead Center sight itself has an array of four rare earth magnets that make it stick like crazy to metallic ribs. If you want more assurance, you can further use the included strip of 3M VHB double-sized tape to secure it. I don't think you'll find that necessary, except on plastic or carbon-fiber ribs.

As this bead is affixed against your preexisting bead, recoil tries to push it forward against what is already a positive stop. The Dead Center comes in a standard version and also in a .078 inch “Micro Sight.” How do I like it? Well, as a generalization, I don't. In shotgun shooting, the bead isn't in focus; the shooter's focus is supposed to be on the target.

Adding a front sight of this type has the tendency to lower the point of impact somewhat. The Limbsaver Dead Center sight, particularly in “micro” version is a good choice for turkey hunting, where a smaller yet brighter bead has an advantage over many factory beads. Turkey hunting would be its most suitable application, for after the hunt your upland gun is quickly returned to regular configuration.

For skeet, sporting clays or general hunting, I find light pipes and glow-worm tubes worthless. This is no particular dig at the Dead Center sight specifically, as this entire class of product is of dubious benefit.

All that said, it is easy enough to try with no marring or change to the gun. A good idea for a quick, enhanced sight for turkey hunting, but not the direction I'd look to for anything else. We all tend to look at things differently, though, and the placebo effect sometimes works.