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Neat trick for rear sight

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Beerd2

40 Cal
Joined
Dec 28, 2004
Messages
108
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Location
Montana
I saw this at a shoot a couple of weeks ago.
One guy shooting a smoothie against all the rifle guns was using a magnet for his hind sight.
I might give it a try until I learn to point my smoothbore like it was intended.
..
 
I'm not sure that I understand , how would a magnet change his shooting. Please explain.
 
Perhaps the magnet was used as a reference point to aim from.
 
There might possibly be a grove cut for a rear sight in that magnet.
 
I've seen smoothbores with a groove in the barrel tang that is used as a rear sight. At least it would keep your windage consistant.
 
john12865 said:
I'm not sure that I understand , how would a magnet change his shooting. Please explain.

I am just guessing, but a magnet could work for elevation, you would have to experiment to find one just the right height in order for that to work though...
 
Jon in MI said:
wouldn't it break the no rear sight rules?

Jon

Not sure, in his original post he said:
One guy shooting a smoothie against all the rifle guns was using a magnet for his hind sight.

If there was a no rear sight rule, then the rifled guns would be in violation as well, I think it was more like evening the odds...
 
Sorry for not including more details.

The match was a "fun shoot" so there wasn't any rools.
The magnet is sort of a temporary stick-on rear sight. I still haven't tried it, but the guy that does uses it to control elevation only as it does move around some from shot to shot with recoil. I guess you could cut a notch in the top of the magnet and have more of a real rear sight only then you would need some way to index it on the barrel to be consistent every shot.
Just another crutch for us riflemen to use while learning to shoot smoothbores:)
 
john12865 said:
I'm not sure that I understand , how would a magnet change his shooting. Please explain.



Maybe it has to do with the Earth's rotation and gravitational pull as well as helping to get some equilibrium with the polar fields on the north and south magnetic fields while at the same time pruducing a hieghtened charge effect when ignition was accomplished during the second half of the month so there was no intrusion of the full effects of the moon's gravity while at the same time the high tide was out during rush hour while most people were tanking up with gas thereby offering the best possible ability to hit what the sight picture allowed, allowing that there was no unobstructed view from the grandstand.


I'm thinking about running for a political office in Blahville.....how'd I do? :haha:
 
You'll never get elected Blahman, far too much substance in your text for the average voter to follow and not enough razzle-dazzle to keep their interest. Now you may have a chance if you can get an endorsement from Hillery! :haha:
 
YOu can always put a small witness mark, front and back to the magnet to use to position it, and to check its position before each firing to insure it is properly aligned. Many shooters set the slot of the tang screw so it is in alignment with the barrel, and use it to adjust windage positions for their face when they mount the gun to shoot. As for vertical hold, they get used to how much of the front site, or bayonnet lug has to show over the barrel to hit targets at given ranges. Even scratches or light file markings on the back of the barrel will help you check windage on a smootbore when you can employ a traditional rear sight. At ranges out to 50 yds, typical for shooting smoothbores with round ball, you can do amazingly well with just these crude indicators. When you consider how fat, or wide, the bayonnet lug is on a Brown Bess, for instance, you begin to understand that accurate shooting and small groups requires you to mental disect the front sight, and put an imaginary line up the middle of it at the center of the target you are shooting. Then, those scratches, or file marks, or that screw slot seems like a pretty good sight!
 
I was hoping for the dog catcher's job!

Oh well.....back to the drawing board! :shake:
 
How about those neat tricks for rear sights, they're something else, ain't they? :winking:

Another neat trick is to superglue a "BB" about mid barrel top-dead-center, then sight your musket like you would a double bead shotgun...
 
Can you pop that bb off without messing up the barrel finish? Just thinking of when I might be in a "front sight only" situation.
 
Beerd said:
Can you pop that bb off without messing up the barrel finish? Just thinking of when I might be in a "front sight only" situation.

Now mind you, I only tried this with a polished barrel in the white, I have not tested this on a blued or browned barrel, but the satin luster finish of the polished barrel was unblemished when the BB was removed...
 
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