-
Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.
We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.
Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103
rear sight?
- Thread starter ncmtmike
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
gunmaker43
45 Cal.
- Joined
- May 12, 2013
- Messages
- 718
- Reaction score
- 3
A slight dovetail on the oct part should be O.K. if to close for your eye & needs to be out on round part, file a site 1/2 round on bottom to match bbl. & soflt solder it on after removing bbl. Like this..Tom
Grandpa Ron
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2011
- Messages
- 571
- Reaction score
- 10
Adding a rear sight to a smoothbore is as old as smoothbores themselves. However these days the challenge seems to be to shoot without one.
The easiest way to mount a sight with your octagon to round is to find a suitable sight and glue it where you think you want it with super glue. That way you can move it until you find the correct distance from your eye. On the flat you will dovetail it into the barrel; on the round you will most likely solder it. Again another reason to glue it on first to make sure the sight location is correct.
On the flat the glued sight will be higher than when it is dovetailed so you will hit high. The objective is having your group centered above the target so that when you install it you have the minimal amount to tweaking to do.
Remember to move the read sight in the direction you want the ball to go on the target. If you are hitting to the left and you want the ball to go to the right, you move the rear sight to the right.
There is no doubt a rear sight aids accuracy, but it is still not a rifle. Hence as mentioned, smoothbore shooters often forgo the rear sight. Also some competitions do not allow a rear sight.
Good luck and let us know how you made out .
The easiest way to mount a sight with your octagon to round is to find a suitable sight and glue it where you think you want it with super glue. That way you can move it until you find the correct distance from your eye. On the flat you will dovetail it into the barrel; on the round you will most likely solder it. Again another reason to glue it on first to make sure the sight location is correct.
On the flat the glued sight will be higher than when it is dovetailed so you will hit high. The objective is having your group centered above the target so that when you install it you have the minimal amount to tweaking to do.
Remember to move the read sight in the direction you want the ball to go on the target. If you are hitting to the left and you want the ball to go to the right, you move the rear sight to the right.
There is no doubt a rear sight aids accuracy, but it is still not a rifle. Hence as mentioned, smoothbore shooters often forgo the rear sight. Also some competitions do not allow a rear sight.
Good luck and let us know how you made out .
I had the same problem or so I thought. I fashioned a rear sight from a short pc. of HO scale brass rail (code 100), trimmed it to fit my Green River Forge 20ga. trade gun (copy of a Barnett), marked the bbl. flat fore & aft for center after determining the proper distance from my eye, and Crazy Glue'd it in place. Yesterday I tested it at the range and was disappointed in the results I got. I.e., while windage and elevation were fine, the gun grouped no better WITH the rear sight than without it. In truth, I removed it and tried the same patched ball - wad - powder charge combination I used with the rear sight and got 4 touching at 25 yd. which is typical of the gun.
What may work better for you is a consistent cheek weld and establishing just how much of the front sight you need to see or place on the target. A well-fitted ball and patch is also important as is some sort of over powder wad. Good luck and I hope these suggestions work for you!
What may work better for you is a consistent cheek weld and establishing just how much of the front sight you need to see or place on the target. A well-fitted ball and patch is also important as is some sort of over powder wad. Good luck and I hope these suggestions work for you!
Problem is you're sighting - not pointing.
Woodsman1752
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2010
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 0
Aim it like you would a modern shotgun { point it }
Never use mine with shot, Stumpy. I aim as I would a rifle as I want to see how well it groups at various distances, e.g., 25- and 50 yd. with a given wad and patched ball combination. Ideally I'd like to try it in a woods walk.
hanshi
Cannon
Back when I had my smoothbore built I had it built with a rear sight dovetailed into the octagon part of the 38" barrel. I seldom shoot shot loads but the rear sight doesn't hamper me one bit when I do a bit of "shotgunning".
I built a NWG and left the sights off. If I was very careful I could shoot it well...but it was too much of a pia. After a few months working with it I added sights. It dosnt shoot any strieghter, but is a whole lot easier. Stumpkiller is right on the mark, most old smooties were sans rear sight,many sans front, but right back to the 16th century rear sights were around. Lazy tis as lazy does :haha:
I don't have a rear sight on my smoothbore. I had the same problems with accuracy most people do when I got my first one, went through all that filing and missing for a long time. Pretty frustrating. One of my main interests in studying the ways of the old boys is to learn some of the skills they had, and I thought shooting a smoothbore without a rear sight might very well be one of them, so I never considered adding one. After quite a while, 3-4 months, it all seemed to come together, and I've now used that gun as my main one for the last 17 years. I've killed about 20 deer with it out to 70 yards, shot 4" groups at 100 yards, etc., and I have to say, none of the old skills I've learned gives me as much satisfaction as that one.
It's a personal choice, of course, just depends on what the objective of your shooting is. My way is not for everyone. I have several rifles with rear sights which I could use to collect my deer, but somehow I usually reach for that smoothbore, because there's much more to my hunting than killing deer.
I can't think of a single reason not to put a rear sight on a smoothbore if a man want's to. It was done historically, if that's of any interest, and it certainly does make hitting things easier for most shooters.
Spence
It's a personal choice, of course, just depends on what the objective of your shooting is. My way is not for everyone. I have several rifles with rear sights which I could use to collect my deer, but somehow I usually reach for that smoothbore, because there's much more to my hunting than killing deer.
I can't think of a single reason not to put a rear sight on a smoothbore if a man want's to. It was done historically, if that's of any interest, and it certainly does make hitting things easier for most shooters.
Spence
Not sure where you're located but there must be somebody close capable of the machining and filing required. Folks like TOTW may be able to help you find somebody in your area. If hot, they can do it for you. When yo put one on, you might think to use something that's low enough so that if you decide to take a pot at some pesky doves or pigeons it doesn't interfere with your front sight picture.mtmike said:
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/imgPart/rs-am-14_0.jpg
Last edited by a moderator:
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2013
- Messages
- 20,091
- Reaction score
- 1,023
Correct!Stumpkiller said:
I gave up trap shooting for about 20 years and when I started up again I was shooting one day and was hitting all my birds 6-10 feet from the ground and some even closer. About half way though a set a friend of mine came up to me and said "been shooting a lot of long range rifle lately haven't ya." I said yep why? he said "because your aiming!" he was right, I wasn't "trap shooting", I was aiming at moving targets. didn't even realize I was doing it.
Billnpatti
Cannon
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2008
- Messages
- 7,340
- Reaction score
- 44
Before adding a rear sight, you have to make sure that you won't want to use your smoothbore in any smoothbore matches because most of them don't allow a rear sight. At least no rear sight that is above the top of the barrel. Most, if not all, of the folks who shoot in smoothbore matches use the slot in the tang bolt like a rear sight. They do this by carefully turning the tang bolt until the slot lines up with the barrel. Then, since they cannot actually see the front sight in the tang bolt slot, they sight using the slot as a reference. They align the front sight up with the slot in the tang bolt, knowing just how much to allow the front sight to sit above the tang bolt slot. With a bit of practice and adjustment of the highth of the front sight, you will be amazed at how well you can "sight" your smoothbore using the tang bolt slot sort of like a rear sight. You will have your rear sight and yet not violate the match rules about not having a rear sight. It's the best of both worlds.
kingsax26
45 Cal.
I had a .58 smooth bore built for me. I tried a friends smothbore with no sight and couldn't hit beans, so I had a rear sight installed during the build. the nice part is if at some point I want to shoot with just a front sight I can remove the rear sight and replace it with a steel filler...problem solved. But like you I mainly use it for deer. I feel that until i get good enough with no rear sight I owe it to the animal to be as proficient as possible.
kingsax26
45 Cal.
and as a side note if your wondering if its really worth putting a rear sight on your smoothbore...this is a 3 shot group at 75 yards off a rest. Can I shoot like that free hand? nope, but I wouldnt hesitate to take a rested shot off a tree or leaning against one at the distance. So I feel that rear sights are a worthwhile investment if your so inclined. Im sure there are others who shoot even better off a rest but last time I checked I only needed to put one round in the boiler room... :dead:
