In the interest of brass tacks, down to business, outdoors related posts... I have some questions. I'll start with this one:

I have a Mossberg 935 waterfowl edition, purchased early 2000's. Immediately, I liked this gun... mainly because I generally hit whatever I pointed it at, which was a nice change of pace from the 870 I was using. This is not a dig at the 870... the gun simply didn't fit me well no matter what I tried and I did more missing than hitting.

Fast forward to 2020 and suddenly my accuracy with my old reliable Mossberg has declined significantly. I am not sure why, maybe lack of practice, but I remember years where I did very little shooting but was able to blow the rust off after 3 or 4 shots and be back to acceptable accuracy. So... in 2021 I installed a duck buster sight in an act of desperation LOL. It didn't help any, and I honestly think it encouraged bad shooting form/habits. I am returning to a standard fiber optic front bead sight and no rear sight.

Question - is there a preference among serious wing shooters for an aftermarket sight? Size? Style? Manufacturer?

Looking for your opinions, thanks in advance.

You hit the nail on the head when you said "hit everything I pointed it at". When wing shooting focus on the target and swing with it. When rifle shooting focus on the sights. That's the way I was taught, then again I don't hit everything ether.

I think it is your mount

your eye is your rear sight , so if you don't line it up right your off you line it up with proper fit and mounting the gun the same way every time

if you want a sight to fix your lack of practice a red dot is going to be the best thing there is
you will probably need to build up the cheek on the stock to get behind the red dot because the dot is a light that points strait back at your eye (yes refracted off a lens but same thing) if you see the dot in the path between your eye and the target then the gun is pointing at the target even if the dot is not centered in the window.

my 870 wears a dot my 500 does not

my 500 wears a morgan pad to make it fit and mount properly adjusted for me

yes dots work on moving targets like clay , birds , ect..

a good dot starts about 250usd there are a few around 150 that are not bad
will your gun need to be drilled and tapped ?
stock built up the Magpul stock works well for this as they have different height cheek risers available they come in low medium high and you buy a pair either low medium or medium high
it also has length of pull adjustment and is a nice stock they run about 110usd 20 more for the risers



if it worked for you in the past a case of target loads and clay you can probably practice back into where you were , good practice , not lying to yourself and slow down and dry fire 3 times for every round you fire , practice dry fire mount several times then load up and shoot some clay
best if you can get a machine to throw them the same every time for a while when you have that direction down move the machine to a different type of shot

a case of 7.5 or 8 shot is about 95-100usd and clay varies

The only reason I’ve ever wanted a “sight” on a shotgun was for turkey hunting.

Wing shooting is a “point” and shoot. What’s nice about a center bead and bead at the end of the barrel is you can close your eyes, bring the gun to your cheek, open your eyes and see if you’re looking straight down the barrel.

As you already mentioned, FIT is everything. I’ve never just went and “bought” a shotgun for me or my boys without first mounting it. If it doesn’t fit then it won’t hit. When I bought mine I know the guy was thinking this guy is freaking nuts. I tried every shotgun they had until I found one that fit the way I shoot. With that said, make sure you haven’t developed a bad habit of lifting your head. And float the target, not in line with it or over it. Actually that may just apply to certain guns. Pattern yours and see where the shot goes and shoot accordingly.

not sure if you have been to the eye doctor or gotten glasses

I had issues with the bead on my shotgun after I first got glasses also took a little time to get used to it again that was 2005 practice and you may also need to fit the gun a bit more , Morgan pad , cheek build up we change shape a bit in 20 some years not a lot but a little difference.

wing shooting , you focus on the clear target and bead is basically un-necessary especially if you have a vent rib it is mount so your head is is the same every time it is more of a focal reference for getting your head lined up than a sight.

in paper target shooting crisp front sight in the middle of a slightly blurry target is a more common approach.

also pattern your gun with the target as high as you can up as close to where a bird would be

for the kids I have a target stand with 8 foot uprights I set it on top of the trap house and put a sand bag on the base

back up to the 32 yard line approximately now the angle is right for the mount also , obviously birds in the wild fly very which way but I think too many people pattern from a bench and are not mounted on the gun the same way

the club I grew up at had a big metal target patterning board on posts next to the range you sprayed it with paint backed up and shot repeated it the top was 8-10 feet up it got your body in the right position just like you would be at the trap range.

This ^^^^^. The 870 I use is like a glove and rarely miss, used a rental at a range and had trouble making the adjustments.

Slydogx

You’ll find some shotgun shooting disciplines rely more heavily on sights than others. The upside of a mid-rib and front sight is that it lets you line up pretty much the same every time the gun is mounted. You’ll see folks that always start a routine with a pre-mounted gun such as trap shooters lining up those with eye. And it can help you ingrain a mounting technique tgst is consistent also. Lots of good shooters spend time with empty gun working on their mount. But make sure you do the other stuff suggested above to kniw the fit is good and point of aim and point of impact correspond where you’d like them.

However personally I am not a proponent of any beads on barrel for hunting and broader wing shooting applications if you have a properly fitted gun and have a good mounting routine. When the targets present more complicated lines snd flight patterns particularly in those case where pre mounting isnt an option such as live birds, a smooth consistent mount tends to be important. The first thing I do with a gun is take the beads off. Pretty common to see folks without any beads on in some shotgunning disciplines. I find a bead at times can cause my eyes to drift to them checking leads etc and all that does is lead to frustration. Try forcing yourself to look at the target and not at gun at all. Focused to the point of looking at head of bird, bill or even eye not just the blur of mivement. On targets it becomes looking for the ridges on the domes, etc. On days when I have great focus every target turns into slow motion presentation and things are much simpler

Shotgun fit is everything when it comes to dropping birds or targets. If you go on a site like Guns International, you'll notice stock dimensions are almost always detailed, especially on British/European shotguns. A lot of those guns were bespoke, built to a customer's specifications on fit. American makers made guns to fit the average man and those measurements don't always work.

Like some have mentioned, shotgunning is more of a poke and hope proposition when you don't have much time to get on a flushing grouse.

May have been mentioned in other posts but often times when wing shooting declines and it’s not just an issue of being rusty and out of practice the culprit is our bodies. Change of weight in face impacts where the rear sight eye falls on the stock. And eye changes are huge. I notice even the slightest shift in my sight and prescription glasses.

The only time I look at the bead on a shotgun is if Im water swatting a cripple. If I notice the bead when shooting a moving object... I ve missed.

Sounds like I'm just re-installing the factory bead, thanks everyone.

I think that those of you mentioning that my mount and the gun's fit may have changed over the years are probably right... I guess I should actually practice.

Both eyes open . Head down ........

I like a small fluorescent bead for when it’s needed it’s there and not a huge bead that crowds my sight picture as much.

I shoot a lot of sporting clays and duck hunt 7 days a week during season. The only time I use a sight on a shotgun is turkey or squirrel hunting. In wing shooting it comes down proper mounting of the gun and proper fit.

Something l learned years ago is pick a spot on a wall, quickly mount the gun and see if you are actually looking down the barrel of where you want the center of the pattern.

Mount the gun looking into a mirror to make sure you head is down on the stock and you mounted the gun properly.

Next is get a flashlight that fits into the barrel. Practice mounting the gun and tracking along a wall with both eyes open.

You do just those simple exercises several times a week and your shooting will greatly improve.

Also, follow-through is key for hitting moving targets. Keep your head down absorb the recoil and keep the gun smoothly moving.

Pattern your gun and see where the center of the pattern is. Also, see if the barrel is made for a 50/50 pattern or if not learn how where to hold to get your pattern on target. Most of my hunting shotgun barrels are 50/50, which means half the pattern above and below the line is site. My sporting clays Citori has a 60/40 and my trap gun is 70/30.

Just food for thought.

Never see the front bead when I'm shooting waterfowl. Most of my misses are the result of general rustiness in which I pick up my head to watch For the bird to fall. bear down and keep that head down. Usually that cures my misses.

I suggest a front bead AND another smaller bead further back.

Slydogx, first you're talking 20(?) years later. Your body and eyesight surely have changed. I suggest you see an eye doctor before you go making any changes to your gun. . . my .02 suggestion.

I have shot a lot of sporting clays over the past few years and have really embraced the instinctive game. Any of my clays or wing shooting guns wear a small white front bead. I am not a fan of fiber optics on instinctive guns as I feel it catches the eye and draws it back to the barrel. Fit is very important in any instinctive type wingshooting to insure the gun is pointing where you think it is. You should be able to mount the gun with your eyes closed and then open your eyes and the sight picture should be what you want. Its amazing how the hands and eyes work together. If you focus on the flying target the gun will be where it needs to be and at the proper speed/lead. Those that are very successful have the confidence that the eyes will tell the gun where to be and can stretch lead out to 12-20 feet without thinking about it and accepting the barrel in the periferal.

I always had a mid bead on all my guns, but when I purchased my Beretta 694 Pro it did not have a mid bead. I was hesitant at first but after shooting without a mid bead for 17000 rounds or so, I don't feel it is necessary, just another thing to draw your eye back to the barrel.

When trying to access fit without a mid bead using the eyes closed then open method. Place a quarter on the rib mid way up the barrel then close eyes, mount gun carefully, and then open eyes to access the sight picture. if the front bead is riding just on top of the quarter then your fit is fairly in line.

Something has changed with you, it's not the gun.
If the fit is good you don't need a bead at all, focus on the moving target and you shouldn't even notice the bead. Smooth mount, head down and follow through, sounds easy, and incredibly easy to screw it up....