Sights vs. Eyesight

[USMA65]

My ML is a T/C 45 Hawken, with the original sights. My eyesight has over the years gone from 20/20 to a state where, while not bad, it is reduced to a point where bifocals are necessary. Farsightedness is the problem. It has reached a point to where I am experiencing difficulty getting the sight picture I want; mainly due to the smallness of the groove being blurred. I have started to think that replacement with something like a buckhorn rear sight might help. While I appreciate the adjustable rear sight of the T/C, the idea of a bigger rear sight is appealing. Am I about to make a mistake? Or, is there something I'm not seeing in this situation?

 

USMA,
Does your TC rear sight have the square nothch or the shallow V / If it is the V, I'd try to change it to a square nothch and then play with the width until it suites your need.
Mark

 

[garandman]

USMA,
Does your TC rear sight have the square nothch or the shallow V / If it is the V, I'd try to change it to a square nothch and then play with the width until it suites your need.
Mark

This ^ ^ ^

Open up that rear notch, to let more light thru, so that the front sight "sits" into a wider rear notch.

Works for me.

 

[leslie]

Please excuse the dumb question,but have you seen an opthamologist lately,it sounds a lot like my problem until I had the cataracts fixed.While I was waiting for them to get bad enough for the surgery I did what others have suggested open up the rear sights.

 

[damron]

use one of these.it works for rifle sights very well.
http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html

 

[nchawkeye]

I had cataract surgery last summer...I took my flinter out and couldn't see the front sight because when trying to look through the rear the fuzzyness wouldn't let me see the front sight...

So I opened up the notch and everything is now fine...

I now know why they had such long barrels.... :grin:

 

[Bo Jones]

I was graced with perfect eyesight most of my life also, until age set in. It didn't matter where the sight was located on the barrel or what type of blade or notch, I could see perfectly. I have found that a very wide V notch works best for me. The rear sight is fuzzy but doesn't interfere with the front sight. That's the one I concentrate on, I just let the rear sight be fuzzy. It took some getting use to but I shoot as well as ever. I might add that I sight in the gun with the front sight even with the top of the V notch to hit bulls eye. Not low in the V notch where the fuzz monster can ruin things. Hope this helps.

 

[William O.]

Personally I can't get any use out of those adjustable sights and prefer the fixed sights such as the buckhorn type. If I remember correctly, the T/C rear sight is mounted with screws so you may have to get a dovetail cut in the barrel in order to be able to mount the replacement that you want, such as the buckhorn. In doing that you can have the dovetail cut a little farther back or more forward enabling you to see things a little more clearly.

 

[Dean2]

Nothing works better than an arprature sight for aging eyes. You will be able to shoot well with one till you are darn near blind. Try one and you will never go back to the standard or buckhorn style rear sights.

 

[garandman]

Nothing works better than an arprature sight for aging eyes. You will be able to shoot well with one till you are darn near blind. Try one and you will never go back to the standard or buckhorn style rear sights.

Yup. Good advice.

 

[ohio ramrod]

When I went to bifocals I found two options. One for hunting and personal use I added a third sight, a folding peep sight to bring the origional sights into focus. The principle is that of the merrit disc. And since it folds down when not in use it provides for wide field of view when hunting moving targets, yet will fold up with a flick of the thumb for use on still targets. For competion I went to a fixed dovetailed buckhorn as shown. The mounting plate ueses the origional holes and screws and moves the sight out about two inches which also helps older eyes.

 

[don hepler]

I'm 62 and have a lot of issues with sights, myself. The TC Hawkens and Renegades have, had several different sights used over the years. The Renegades, used both round front sights and square patridge type front sights. So there are a variety of combinations that can be tryed.

However, be aware, the hole spacing on the rear sight has changed over the years. To me working on sights is just as important as load developement.

I use a Lyman 57 peep on my Hawken flintlock and it works well, and there are different apperatures available. Again, some guns don't have the third hole drilled and tapped in the tang to accept the TC, or after-market peep sights.

I keep changing things until I find a combination that works. And I limit my shooting to 40 to 50 yards.

 

[crockett]

There was a guy called Capstick (sic?) who was a white hunter in Africa and a guide over there and he had a monocle- worn on a thong around the neck. The idea was to put it on right before shooting. I'm not sure if that would work but it might. The lense would be what was needed solely for shooting. Maybe an eye doctor would know if such was do-able.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Nothing works better than an arprature sight for aging eyes. You will be able to shoot well with one till you are darn near blind. Try one and you will never go back to the standard or buckhorn style rear sights.

Yup. Good advice.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

YOu can either go with the Lyman 57 or the TC peep sight. The Lyman is easier to adjust, but both will work just fine once adjusted. Make sure you order some extra appertures of different sizes and put your hunting apperture in the patch box.

 

[Rifleman1776]

This is a common issue among aging ml shooters. It is often said you can judge a man's age by the position of the rear sight on his rifle. They get moved up with time. Of course, cataract surgery can change that.
However, there is no denying older shooters do have difficulty with getting a clear sight picture.
My club usually has about 20 shooters at our montly shoots. Of those, maybe three are under age 70. We allow peeps. If we didn't we wouldn't have a club. We also allow shaders. Our range points SE and sun glare is a big problem.
Consideration by the NMLRA, and other ml organizations should be given to relaxing, or eliminating the open sight only rule. I understand the historical connection with open sight only rules, no argument there. But, by not ajusting to the reality of today's aging population on the range, we might lose it all.
And, we don't have enough high cliffs around my area to push us all off. (and for the sake of the semi-literate grouches out there...that last sentence was a joke. You may now go :haha: )

 

[shortstart]

Many years ago a fellow shower me how to cut a small disc out of electrical tape and use a leather punch to put a hole in the middle. Stick it on your glasses in the area you sight through. Instant peep sight and you don't have to modify the rifle. It works with all types of firearms and it's cheap.

 

[plinker]

I have two GPRs. They are the only rifles that are not wearing peeps or (shudder) scopes. I used the Lyman adjustable sights that came with the rifles until I got a load dialed in and then switched to the primative sights they furnished. For whatever reason, they work better that the fixed notch type sights on my other rifles.

For pistol, I use a home made aperture on a pair of safety glasses that are "readers". The prescription lets me see the front sight clearly and the aperture gives me the depth of field I need to see the target. It is just a piece of thin sheet metal with a 5/64 hole drilled in it. The sheet metal piece is just taped to the safety glasses.

 

[dbutch]

Could not get myself to put a peep on the new squirrel rifle....
I suffer from 54 year old eyes
tried bifocals and sent them packing.....
Went this route after much trial and error....
Received a bunch of great advise from other shooters from around the country.Ml forums are great.

Got plenty of per-suction rifles with peeps.

low profile wide v

front sight short post..kept the height just above the heat wave image of the barrel...gotta thing for low profile sights on a flint rifle.

comfort range is 50 yard squirrel head shots.

this is how I practice..off had..pieces of sidewalk caulk on a string...
started at 25 and worked out to 50

Give the wide low v sight a shot.

First bead on a chuck at 30yards last evening.after sight filing..

 

[Rat Trapper]

This is a common issue among aging ml shooters. It is often said you can judge a man's age by the position of the rear sight on his rifle. They get moved up with time. Of course, cataract surgery can change that.
However, there is no denying older shooters do have difficulty with getting a clear sight picture.
My club usually has about 20 shooters at our montly shoots. Of those, maybe three are under age 70. We allow peeps. If we didn't we wouldn't have a club. We also allow shaders. Our range points SE and sun glare is a big problem.
Consideration by the NMLRA, and other ml organizations should be given to relaxing, or eliminating the open sight only rule. I understand the historical connection with open sight only rules, no argument there. But, by not ajusting to the reality of today's aging population on the range, we might lose it all.
And, we don't have enough high cliffs around my area to push us all off. (and for the sake of the semi-literate grouches out there...that last sentence was a joke. You may now go :haha: )

:thumbsup:

Not allowing peep sights seems to be a problem with the NMLRA and our local clubs that needs fixing. I wrote to the nMLRA to find out if there were any matches that allowed peeps, and got a reply not many and I should change out my sights.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Many years ago a fellow shower me how to cut a small disc out of electrical tape and use a leather punch to put a hole in the middle. Stick it on your glasses in the area you sight through. Instant peep sight and you don't have to modify the rifle. It works with all types of firearms and it's cheap.

Familiar with them. I have one of the Merit types that fit on with a suction cup.
Interesting responses by others. I have to chuckle at the 54 year old complaining about his eyes to a 73 year old. :haha: