Fowler rear sights

[gizamo]

I have to admit that I'm torn between no rear sight and the guns that are out there with one.. example would be the Caywood. Have to admit that I do better with the rear sights at longer ranges but seem to do pretty good without them close in.

With older eyes, having the rear sight set forward so far seems to allow me to see them pretty well and I can focus on them like when my eyes were better (reads Younger :grin: )...

Anyrate, I wonder if they were common on the originals or are as unusual as they are today?


giz

 

[flintlock75]

I think that it would have been a matter of personel preference. I have seen smoothbore trade guns and muskets with rear sights in museums in canada and europe. One musket i saw in quebec had a rear tube peep sight and it was from the the early 1700's. I have seen wheellock muskets with rear sights as well. I have them on my trade gun and brown bess carbine, better accuracy at 50 yards and i shoot 90% PRB out of them.

 

[tg]

Many smoothbores had rear sights. I think that the true fowling guns made for that purpose might be less likely than other types to have a rear sight.

 

[LRB]

It is my understanding that rear sights on trade guns were more common than not. One reason you see few of them, is that they are not allowed for most competition shooting. The type G English trade gun has a very attractive acorn finial rear sight, or at least they are offered by The Rifle Shoppe as being original. The french trades were available with a butterfly looking RS.

 

[Lorne Johnson]

Northwest trade guns were multi-purpose tools loaded both for shot and for ball. With ball, the shooter almost always aims and uses the rear sight.

For fowling, the gun is best pointed, and the rear sight is mostly in the way. But, an experienced fowler would not be distracted by this. (The experienced fowler would not notice the piece of fuzz stuck on the front bead, until he went to clean the gun.)

 

[Mike Brooks]

For fowling guns I prefer no sights at all. For a gun I will shoot PRB I want front and rear sights. For shooting both PRB and shot I prefer to have two guns! :haha:

 

[hanshi]

Since I'll shoot mostly prb I ordered mine with a rear sight. Turkey will be about the only thing I'll use shot on.

 

[roger sells]

I did some restoration work on a nice fowler a few years ago, and it had a very small rear sight similiar to what Allen Martin uses on some of his rifles. It appeared to be original to the gun. I could not see any name on the piece, but it was an original flint brass mounted octogan to round barrel piece that was nice.
Roger Sells

 

[Rod Lassey]

I'd guess that at least half of the NW guns on exhibit at the Museum of the Fur Trade have had rear sights installed. They didn't come that way, but adding a rear sight seems to have been a very popular modification.

Some have two or three empty dovetails, as the rear sight moved progressively up the barrel (aging eyes are historically correct!).

Rod

 

[BenCoogle]

Type "G" Fuzee's had them as Wick says. Old records call them 'double sighted' I have seen one original dug barrel that had the sight removed and a small rifle type sight dovetailed at the ring transition.

I saw the original one TRS has, there are variations in detail but all I've seen have the acorn finial. The dovetails also seem to be cut with a chisel rather than filed in.

The originals have the sight about an 1 1/2" in front of the breech. The very deep notch seems to work almost like a peep sight.

Ben

 

[Mike Brooks]

Early French Fusils de Trait had them too.

 

[tg]

I was going to make a period type rear sight for my Fusil de Chase from Tulle but after the enitial sightingin/load work up I found that I was fine without one out to about 50 yds, my Chambers Virginia smoothrife has a rear sight and I can shoot a little farther with good groups with it maybe another ten yds or so. it is surprising how well they will shoot without the rear sight if you can mount the gun consistantly and follow thru every shot (in whatever manner you define follow thru)as mentioned elsewhere you can remove it for matches that do not allow them, this may be a handy cap if not being used to shooting without one.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

There is an original Brown Bess at the San Jacinto Museum in Tx. that has a rear sight installed on the gun. Clearly the original owner had the same problem as us and wanted to be more accurate with those big musket balls.
Ohio Rusty >

 

[Tsegoweleh]

oatsayo,
I have a fowler with front and rear sights. I was never able to shoot it well. Not really sure why, My rifle shoots great.
Anyway, I removed the rear sight and have yet to take it and try it. I am hopeing it will be better for me.

 

[Deadeye]

Just reading in Grinslade's book "Flintlock Fowlers". In the section on Kentucky Fowlers
they studied 27 originals and stated that 85%
of them had rear sights. Way more than I would have thought.
Deadeye