Can't see sights

[Johnny Tremain]

Here is what the old dogs do around here. Pop your rear sight off, put your rifle on a flat fence post, and move the sight up the barrel until its in focus. cut a new dove tail.
Your good for another 10 years.

 

[LME]

Here is what the old dogs do around here. Pop your rear sight off, put your rifle on a flat fence post, and move the sight up the barrel until its in focus. cut a new dove tail.
Your good for another 10 years.

It was done back in the day of M.L. as you said. Some old rifles had several dove tails cut into the barrel. Bad eyes isn't something new.

 

[oldwood]

Again I suggest , if the rifle is not for competition where this is banned , and simply for practice range and hunting , there are some old original rifles w/ a barrel tang mounted sheet metal peep sight . I use this bent metal peep sight on my rifles for personal use. It's a miracle , and I can see the front sight , and target. It's amazing. The peep allows the rear sight to be visible , as well , but who needs a rear sight w/ a peep sight? When your beyond the age to compete , get a simple peep , and enjoy shooting again........oldwood

 

[Howard Pippin]

Wanting to be period It's not an easy thing as we age. I'm past fourscore and I can guarantee you things don't get easier, and eyes certainly don't get better. A little compromise can do wonders, a peep sight is far more effective with old eyes then the standard rear sight placed too far from the eye for clarity. I really doubt there were many real active muzzleloader hunters in those, " good old days," that really wasn't all that good, that did much shooting past the age of 60. We all have to adjust.
squint

 

[woodsnwater]

I see two blurry front sights with one eye closed, getting older sucks!

 

[oldwood]

Mr. Pippin........I've been a M/L junkie for four + decades , and went through the "move the rear sight forward syndrome". From actual experience , for me , it was an only temporary fix. The simple peep sight is the longer term fix. A yr. ago , I sighted in a new custom , primitive peep sighted , .58 long rifle for a fellow. When finished , this Pa. flint deer rifle would consistently print hits in a four inch group at 100 yds.. While there at the shooting range , a big doe walked out and fed at the 150 yd. target butt. From the rest position there , she would have been my meat , had she been in season , and only due to the simple peep sight .........oldwood

 

[Shadowalker164]

I have a Pedersoli Kentucky long rifle that I fitted with a peep and ghost ring. With the exception of its kick, this is an good solution to old eyes, but a no-no in most competitions. I also have a Kibler Colonial that I want to keep her period correct, so I want to keep the iron sights as is. In this thread I saw a link to a peep that attaches to the shooters glasses. I ordered them. I hope to use my Colonial in match shooting.
Question: is a peep on a shooters glasses a disqualification visual aid like a peep on the tang? Or is this just a another form of corrective eye ware (glasses)

 

[Mulemauler]

Thanks for the tip, going to give it a “shot”. Already thinking about a flip up/down version.

Been doing this for years. A real help for old eyes.

 

[Mulemauler]

Here is what the old dogs do around here. Pop your rear sight off, put your rifle on a flat fence post, and move the sight up the barrel until its in focus. cut a new dove tail.
Your good for another 10 years.

Looks a bit odd, I have one old rifle I've done that to and it now has three plugged dovetails and a sight radius about like a long pistol, but it works.

 

[Nuthatch]

I have a Pedersoli Kentucky long rifle that I fitted with a peep and ghost ring. With the exception of its kick, this is an good solution to old eyes, but a no-no in most competitions. I also have a Kibler Colonial that I want to keep her period correct, so I want to keep the iron sights as is. In this thread I saw a link to a peep that attaches to the shooters glasses. I ordered them. I hope to use my Colonial in match shooting.
Question: is a peep on a shooters glasses a disqualification visual aid like a peep on the tang? Or is this just a another form of corrective eye ware (glasses)

Been looking for something like that for mine. Did you buy or make one?

My current solution is filing the V-notch into a square. "Equal height, equal light" is much easier for me to see in a square notch, I learned.

 

[Shadowalker164]

Nuthatch,if you are taking about the peep ghost combo I bough a matching set, rear peep, I keep moving it, I use servo tape and can put it anywhere. The front is a ring short tube as well, with a bunch of radicals that can swapped out with each other as well. Both pieces are from Williams, just search peep sight

 

[Relic shooter]

This option has served my less than perfect well in competition shooting & hunting & it flips out of your line of sight when not in use.
This clip-on ' Jewelers Loupe' can be purchased on Amazon for about $6.00 .
Unscrew the glass lense & use as a pattern for a black plastic replacement for your aperture hole, .040 dia. works for me. The base of a 35mm film canister works well.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I use reader's glasses. My target is blurred but at least I have only a single front sight image instead of two. Haven't experimented with an aperture yet, but that seems a better solution to me than reader's glasses. Maybe I'll try some dollar store sunglasses with a small hole punched in them.

 

[Nuthatch]

Nuthatch,if you are taking about the peep ghost combo I bough a matching set, rear peep, I keep moving it, I use servo tape and can put it anywhere. The front is a ring short tube as well, with a bunch of radicals that can swapped out with each other as well. Both pieces are from Williams, just search peep sight

Williams has quite a few sights. Which one fit your Pedersoli Kentucky?

 

[user 34300]

I replace Kibler's sights. They may be HC but they are not usable for me.

I make a new front sight that is about 0.1" wide. The rear sight has a square notch that is about 0.040" wide. I make the rear with a flat top. The sight picture looks like target pistol sights.

Sights and optical theory... You can not and never could focus the rear sight, front sight and target all at once. When you were young you could change focus fast enough to trick yourself into thinking you could do that. Stop trying. There is no reason to move the rear sight foreword. Accept that it is blurry. Accept that the target is blurry. Focus on the front sight only. Sight alignment is as important as where you put the front sight when it went off, within reason. That is why I make sights how I do.

You may need to get some glasses with add diopter for the front sight to focus. Some can use readers with about 0.75 add diopter. Young guys can concentrate on the front sight and keep it in focus.

You can use a pin hole on your glasses. That WILL bring it all into focus, light conditions allowing. You can make a pinhole by burning a hole in electrical tape with a hot pin.

If you want make a peep rear sight. That fixes all these issues.

 

[Frosty861]

I have the same issue with my eyes/rifle.

It has a German Silver front sight, and I've tried everything to blacken it and reduce or eliminate glare to no avail. I use a Merit Iris at the range, but it is not practical hunting. In overcast my groups are excellent, around 1" at 100 yds off the bench; in the sun they blossom to a "pattern". As I was putting things away yesterday, I spied an empty .480 Ruger shell. Idea!

30 minutes with a Dremel, small file and a piece of crocus cloth I had a globe cover for the front sight, no glare, and to Scota's point, like pistol sights! Heck, it doesn't even look too out of place. Right now, the globe is held in place by friction. If successful I'll attach it with glue. Maybe in keeping with the browned iron furniture I'll make one of thin wall steel tubing and brown it as well. For now, I'll just run this through the tumbler.

The photo of the target is with the Merit, I'll post results of this modification.

Frosty

 

[Dale Lilly]

Hmmmmm? I am not sure what is going on with 'old eyes.' I am 90, pushing on 91, and not hunting anymore. However, I just randomly picked up one of my 18 rifles, [Charles Daly Hawken style by Investarms] took it outside and aimed at a neighbor's stump, about 65 yards away. I could see the front sight clearly. The rear sight and the stump were only a little bit fuzzy. I have macular degeneration in my left eye with a torn retina, have had cataracts removed, with new lenses, in both eyes. I can't get glasses that really work but evidently something is right with these 'old eyes.' I'm not complaining. Polecat

 

[Frosty861]

Polecat

That is excellent! Go hunting.

Frosty

 

[TDM]

I have a new peep sight to go on my Renegade. Have to drill & tap for an 8-40 first. Waiting for the tap to come in. I hope it helps.

 

[pwbsmokey]

Hmmmmm? I am not sure what is going on with 'old eyes.' I am 90, pushing on 91, and not hunting anymore. However, I just randomly picked up one of my 18 rifles, [Charles Daly Hawken style by Investarms] took it outside and aimed at a neighbor's stump, about 65 yards away. I could see the front sight clearly. The rear sight and the stump were only a little bit fuzzy. I have macular degeneration in my left eye with a torn retina, have had cataracts removed, with new lenses, in both eyes. I can't get glasses that really work but evidently something is right with these 'old eyes.' I'm not complaining. Polecat

It's your lens implants.