Sight Question

[AndyJ]

Hello...a while back I built a 44" smooth bore trade gun and while its great to shoot I thought I might up my accuracy by putting a 44" rifled barrel (1:56 - 50 cal) on it...well I think the barrel will come in the post next week so I need to purchase sights for it. I was initially considering medium range vernier rear and a globe front. However, and here's my question, can I expect the rifle to be accurate enough to benefit from those sites? I hope to run mini's in it if thats at all helpful. I would like to get plugged into some competitive shooting with it but just not sure what I aught to expect. I had thought about LRML matches but its not really a replica of any historical match rifle.

Comments would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tom

 

[Bad Karma]

I wouldn’t get too attached to any one projectile or sighting system until you know what it really likes. Typically a .50 1-56 is a round ball twist so unless you can get a 400+ grain .50 moving really fast (1500 or so at least) you just aren’t spinning the bullet fast enough for long range stability. I would be kinda surprised if the combination of twist and bullet, mini or flat based, will be suitable for long range target shooting. For instance, the 50-415I was designed for 50 caliber Thompson Center rifles with a 1:48 rate of twist. If driven around 1400 fps it will stabilize way out there but I think it’s still marginally long for the twist and some people haven’t been able to get great results over a couple hundred yards. You might consider a shorter bullet say, .60” to .7 inches. Accurate Molds produces two of them that carry sufficient lube for blackpowder and would likely be more suitable for that twist. I’ve ordered the 50-275B for a stock 50 Hawken with the 1:48 twist and I anticipate it will be a dandy for antelope and deer..
Otherwise, yes, sights are key to realizing the accuracy of your rifle, whether it’s a vernier or something like the Williams Foolproof or Lyman 57 any of them would benefit from a good adjustable aperture so you can adapt to different lighting conditions. I also like the Lyman 17 or 20 MJT foresight with Lee Shavers Gunsmithing inserts.

 

[AndyJ]

I wouldn’t get too attached to any one projectile or sighting system until you know what it really likes. Typically a .50 1-56 is a round ball twist so unless you can get a 400+ grain .50 moving really fast (1500 or so at least) you just aren’t spinning the bullet fast enough for long range stability. I would be kinda surprised if the combination of twist and bullet, mini or flat based, will be suitable for long range target shooting. For instance, the 50-415I was designed for 50 caliber Thompson Center rifles with a 1:48 rate of twist. If driven around 1400 fps it will stabilize way out there but I think it’s still marginally long for the twist and some people haven’t been able to get great results over a couple hundred yards. You might consider a shorter bullet say, .60” to .7 inches. Accurate Molds produces two of them that carry sufficient lube for blackpowder and would likely be more suitable for that twist. I’ve ordered the 50-275B for a stock 50 Hawken with the 1:48 twist and I anticipate it will be a dandy for antelope and deer..
Otherwise, yes, sights are key to realizing the accuracy of your rifle, whether it’s a vernier or something like the Williams Foolproof or Lyman 57 any of them would benefit from a good adjustable aperture so you can adapt to different lighting conditions. I also like the Lyman 17 or 20 MJT foresight with Lee Shavers Gunsmithing inserts.

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Great information, really appreciate it, is paper patching used very much?