Best modern open sights for flintlock

[The Damned Yankee]

Glad you figured out it was the white on your site.
I started wearing bifocals years ago. Great for long distance and reading but not worth spit in between. Working as a machinist and shooting ML, I noticed as the readers got stronger the gap between near and far was useless. Talked to my optometrist and got TRIFOCALS! (Yeah let the old folks jokes begin!) Hey! It worked for me. Was now able to focus on front site again. I had trifocal lenses made for my reproduction glasses as well. Money well spent. DY

 

[Daveboone]

Thanks men. I am going to install a fiber optic front sight to begin with. The rear sight is what is messing me up more. Here is the thing: I killed three deer in rifle season using two different guns this season. Saw just fine for those shots. Something is going on here

What were the sights on those firearms? What was the distance from front to back sights? I agree, getting a good thorough eye exam can help a lot. I am lucky in that with shooting I havent had a problem, but I actually was having a lot of problems reading print...and am a voracious reader. A good exam (and not all are equal...avoid bargain basement optic chains) can make a huge difference. Talk to your opthalmologist, and be as specific as you can with your problem.

 

[smokepolehall]

I am an older codger & 2 years ago I had cataract surgery done. It got rid the film covering my natural eye lens. My seeing of light improved but it does not correct vision loss. My left eye is still 20, my right eye is 40. So would eye glasses help me ? I am sure it would but I have never wore glasses & don't want to. You sir will have decide what is in your best interest on sights n optics.

 

[morehops52]

I tried all kinds of bright colors on both sights. My current solution is that most of my rifles now have peeps in the back. I can change out the discs for range or hunting (range uses a smaller diam disc). I like a finely defined front sight so I filed my bead sights narrower and on my blade sights I epoxied a small diam. fiber optic rod. I got a variety pack on ebay for a few $4.

 

[Rebel bull]

Super helpful thank you, Dave. Really appreciate it. This is a gun made for me, in which we measured everything beforehand. The day i picked it up, Mark measured my eyes once again before installing the rear sight. Something is going on there that I am not handling. As you say, probably too small of a rear notch. I have all my deer and bear rifles stacked up for their annual migration back to the attic safes, but now I am going to look at their sights.
Re reading glasses, I am nearsighted and wear glasses so i can see beyond my extended arm. If I wear reading glasses, I probably will not be able to see what i am shooting at. But i can try it. Thanks again everyone

go to granger and ask for stick on reader lenses for safety glasses then move it around until you find the sweet spot you may have to try several different powers.
another idea is have you tried to keep both eyes open? may work I personally can't but you might be able to do it and it costs nothing

 

[pamtnman]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your thoughts. Definitely going with more black on the rear sight and a red fiber optic front

 

[morehops52]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your thoughts. Definitely going with more black on the rear sight and a red fiber optic front

Red is a good choice but if you can I would recommend trying different colors. Because I hunt in mid-fall with leaves at their most intense and varied in color I found bright green to be the best for my situation. We all see colors slightly different what works for Joe may not work for Sam.

 

[pamtnman]

So following up on the advice from you guys, I went to a local hobby store today and obtained everything i need to get my new sights into shape. Got 400, 600, and 1000 grit finishing paper to clean up the rough file marks, fluorescent orange enamel for the front, fluorescent yellow for the rear, micro brushes to apply them.

 

[kansas_volunteer]

If you're going to use a fiber optic front sight, having the look of a round bead, try using a shallow vee notch on the rear. You can make one of a notched rear by filing in the shallow vee with a cant saw file, or using a file made for sharpening Japanese saws.

Use a green fiber optic front sight.

 

[Erwan]

I'm an old man too, for me, it's Lyman Eyepal. This is pretty good and this permits me to stay with normal sights on any arm.

 

[nhmoose]

Moving my rear sight forward 6 inches improved my shooting a lot. Got cataract surgery and new lens done and could move it back to original location but I still keep them forward because they still work.

 

[pamtnman]

Moving my rear sight forward 6 inches improved my shooting a lot. Got cataract surgery and new lens done and could move it back to original location but I still keep them forward because they still work.

This gun is brand new, made for me by Mark Wheland. The rear sight was installed at the very end of the build, to ensure that we got the distance correct before finalizing the project. Last night i placed a drop of fluorescent yellow paint under the rear V notch, and two drops of fluorescent orange paint on the front sight. Used a black permanent marker to blacken the rest of the rear sight that was untouched. Short of installing fiber optic, this is as good a solution as I can find. And i just need this to work til end of January. Then i can experiment all year long. Thanks for the advice, it is appreciated