I shoot a lot of LR BPCR and as I get older, I'm having a tougher time seeing the bull and getting it consistently centered up.  It's worse when it's hazy in the early morning or later in the afternoon.  I've started using apertures with a thicker annulus (.060") and that helps some.  There are plenty of good globe front sights out there to pick from and that is not a problem but I was wondering about a longer front sight.
What was the idea around the length of the Redfield Olympic and other sights like it??  What was the purpose of the large hood on the front of the sight.  These were very popular on the target .22's and there is one long sight out there for BPCR and was wondering if it could be a help?  Any experiences or thoughts on these?  Thanks. Bob

Chuck Blender used to use a sight mounted on a piece of flat stock that stuck out about 4 inches past the muzzle to give him a longer sight radius. I always thought that it looked like a boil on a baby's butt, but Chuck shoots a lot better than I do so there you go.

40 Rod

I don't shoot BPCR, but I have been told by some benchrest shooters that the long globes on front sights are to ensure light wont enter tha front sight, even when the sun gets closer to the horizon.
The large disc around the front globe seems to just aid in keeping the shooter centered and focused on that front sight. I've used them on my old Win 52, but find the large disc a distraction for me. I took it off my gun.

I had a large diameter long tube front on my Anschutz 54.  Did not seem to make any difference, compared to much shorter 17A on the old 1922MII.  If there was adverse light falling on the aperture itself might have but that's a unusual situation.  50 Meters there was no issue with setting on the wrong target not needed for that possible problem.

39A in CLA silhouette matches I switched the Marlin bead for a flat top post. It's too high for the factory sight hood so shoot the matches post exposed.  They are all fired under a shooting house roof so no problem with light falling on it.

Sight extension is another story. They help a lot, so far I can get a sharp front sight by stopping down the rear aperture. That's a game of diminishing returns though more you stop it down to get sharp less light you eye gets to resolve the target. Moving the front forward does the same thing with no reduction in light.  Some across the course match rifles have the front sight extended a very long way. I am not sure extension is allowed in BPCR

No question my scores iron sight matches are limited by vision.  If I had the eyes I had when I was 20  or even 40 could shoot a lot better.  Only thing is I do shoot better than I did when I was 20 or 40. Whats with that ?

Boats