Ageing eyes and front sights

[lizz]

Hello fellow flinters; I need some help with my ageing eyes and seeing my front sight when in the squerril timber [low light]. I'm useing a wide iron front blade and I have polished a 45 at the top to catch light but this has not helped alot. The promblem is losing focus on the front blade. Is there anyone else out there with this same ageing eye problem and what have you done to fix it? I realy don't want to put fiber optic on my Dicert 40 cal flinter. Any help. I'ld like to stay with some kind of traditional sight that I can see better. Thanks Doc Or

 

[roundball]

Interesting timing of your post...for the past couple years I have been wearing some 1.25 diopter drugstore glassed to get rid of some blur on the front sight...and just this week graduated up to 1.50 diopters.
:grin:

To your question, you can't get light where none exists of course, so shooting in low light is always a challenge...I've tried a few colors on the front sight for woods conditions and found that white on the front sight lets me find it easier than red, orange, etc...bought a bottle of "hard as nails" white fingernail polish and have used it on several flinters with excellent results...you might try a bottle...handy in that it comes with an applicator built in too.

PS:
If you like having good excuses for additional flinters, now might be a good time to consider a flint smoothbore...a load of # 5s or 6s will do a number on a squirrel.
:thumbsup:

 

[Vaino]

I have the same problem and soldered a rectangular piece of sterling silver into the front blade and filed the front face at 30 degrees. I use a blade that's .100 wide and have found that a rear sight located at the entry pipe tang { down the bbl aways} helped a lot. The rear sight has a rectangular notch that's twice the width of the front blade when viewed in the shooting position. These sights have head hit a lot of squirrels and has worked well in a dim lit woods.....Fred

 

[PitchyPine]

Yep, opening up the rear sight as too get more light around the front helped me. :thumbsup:

 

[lizz]

Thanks for the help. I'ved tried the white polish on the front sight, did'nt help. I never thought about moving the rear sight up the barrel farther. But before I move the rear sight I my make a new front sight out of bone or white macarta and also open up the rear sight even more than I already have. As for the smooth bore fusil I guess I've left it in the safe trying to hang on to my youth[ thats not working very well]. I'm up to 3 different powers [ try focals] on my eye glasses, no room for any more. Thanks. I'm not giving up just yet.

 

[jethro224]

I don't remember who said it, but there was a thread recently where someone said they had a pair of specs made just for shooting. They were focused for the front sight.
Might be worth it to ask your eye doctor...
Good luck! :hatsoff:

 

[Johnny Tremain]

When I made my rifle I used a silver front blade on a brass base.

Dang does it show up nice at dusk.

I also slide my rear sight forward and cut the dovetail for my eyes. An older Gent than me picked up my rifle today, and asked if ID set his sights for him. Said mine was the clearest he had seen.

 

[RickD]

I`ve toyed with the idea of buying a Merit thingy that attaches to my glasses

 

[Ironwood]

I am 70 years old and wear Tri-focals. I use the tri-focal lens to get the front sight in sharp focus and let the rear and target be fuzzy. Sort of like shooting a handgun. Works for me.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I've got a 1/16" wide front (silver blade) and a rear a piece up the 44" barrel. Makes it a tad easier to get the sights out nearer where the critter is.

 

[Slamfire]

Have you tried lookin' through a hole. You can try it pretty cheap at the range. Punch a hole in a piece of masking tape and stick it on your shootin' glasses, at the right place to aim through. :wink:

 

[Billhuntz]

The rear sight on my 38" barreled haines is moved forward quite a bit, and my bad eyes really lie it. I wouldn't have thought about it but Tip Curtis suggested it and it works.

 

[lizz]

I may give the tape a try, it would be alot like the soule sight on my rolling block. I think I'll try electrical tape. Moving the rear sight may also work but I don't want to put in another dove tail just yet. Doc