Small laser light

[dooltubes]

Does anyone make a small laser dot projector that I could clamp on the ramrod ferrule on my double barrel .58 cal muzzleloader? By the time the deer come out I can no longer see the end of my barrel, much less the front sight. We can hunt till 1/2 hour after sunset here.

 

[brubincam]

better check with your local laws,,may not be legal

 

[roundball]

Does anyone make a small laser dot projector that I could clamp on the ramrod ferrule on my double barrel .58 cal muzzleloader? By the time the deer come out I can no longer see the end of my barrel, much less the front sight. We can hunt till 1/2 hour after sunset here.

There are probably a number of them available as "add-ons" to handguns and shotguns...squeeze type pressure switch tapes onto the forearm, etc...but like rubincam said, they might be illegal...might fall under the general guideline of no artificial lights or something

 

[blueshadows]

If its that dark, pack it in and try another day.

 

[dooltubes]

Thanks. The pistol shooters can use those red dot sights in the frame that looks like a little TV, but maybe these are legal because they don't put the light on the deer. I don't know. Would be nice to have the light-gathering capability like those seem to have. Maybe just a dab of florescent paint would do the trick or maybe a dab on both front and rear? All iron sights are blurry to me now that I'm 70 and I don't want to drill into my 1847 rifle to mount a 2007 scope.

 

[roundball]

Yes, I found when I switched to hunting exclusively with sidelocks, getting away from scopes does shave a little time off the end of the day...caused me to hunt a lot more at the beginning of the day rather than the end. I tried a couple flourescent type paints but the bottom line is even they need light to gather in the first place in order to work...settled on white fingernail polish as the best all around color in the woods for me.

One other option you might consider is the material used in night sights...they are actually tiny radio-active particles that glow in pure black darkness, last a couple years...can't recall the actual name...sitetron, nightron, triton, something like that...the material has been available for use in the sight pins on bow sights and in the front & rear sights on handguns for at least 15 years now.

You could buy a bow sight pin ($20)...snip off the tiny end that contains that glowing material, and with a toothpick dab of epoxy, glue it to the very top of your front sight, then rezero your ML.

 

[Darkgael]

Most game laws that I know about (plenty that I don't) won't allow a sight that projects a light on to the target/animal.
"Red Dot" sights, as you have noted, don't project a dot and so are legal.
A good low light Red Dot sight is one of the EOtech 5XX series or the Trijicon reflex - pricey, though.
And....very much out of place on a traditional Mler.
Pete

 

[roundball]

And....very much out of place on a traditional Mler.

Yes BUT... I think at age 70 the gentleman has paid his dues...this might enable him to extend his hunting a little more.
ie: some states allow people with medical excuses to use high tech crossbows in traditional archery seasons :wink: ..and we for sure know that most states allow in the highest form of technology in other muzzleloading equipment with high powered optics using built in laser range finders, in the traditional ML seasons...at least he's looking for ways to continue using his traditional gear

 

[Hunter66]

There are a multitude of fiber optic sights out there. If your front sight is dovetailed this would be a simple solution. I have used them and I can still see the bead even when it is dark enough to call it quits.

 

[Black Hand]

If I can't see my sight, I don't hunt. Wait until it is light enough to see.....

 

[smokehouseman]

I'm with you on that Blackhand. Around here you may lose more than your light if you have to go find a critter you winged because you couldn't see well enough to make a clean killing shot. I don't want to share my meat with Mr. Fuzzy!

 

[Darkgael]

RB: "I think at age 70 the gentleman has paid his dues."
That is surely the truth. I was unclear. I was referring to trying to mount one of these scopes to a traditional Mler (as opposed to an inline).
Pete

 

[RedFeather]

I have a pellet rifle with scope rings housing a 4x and small laser. Never really used the laser but I should think I would need the scope to really see the dot well. You can buy the laser-only rigs for about $15 or $20 at Dick's. (Just don't let the in-line guys see you with it or they will all show up with one to extend their extended hunting season. :wink

 

[dooltubes]

Thanks. Can't buy radium paint any longer, the kind used to paint clock hands, switches, etc. So I think I'll switch to a peep sight and paint the top of the front sight with whiteout. Our deer usually don't even poke their nose out of the bush till after sunset.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Last I knew you could still get Trijicom Tritium sight inserts (self glowing). A gunsmith drills the holes and inserts the tiny rods.
[url] http://www.trijicon.com/specialties/hunting.cfm[/url]

My long term plans are to switch back to a smoothbore when my own crummy eyes putter out. I'm holding on to correctable vision as yet but, if lenses were still glass, I'd be packing six pounds of glasses on my face. And the bifocals don't aid in shooting much, either.

 

[dooltubes]

Harvested a fat doe yesterday with my peep-sighted .475. Much easier to use under low light than open sights.

 

[Herb]

Way to go, Hal!

 

[dooltubes]

Is that my old buddy Herb T?

 

[Herb]

The same, Hal. Good to hear from you. Herb

 

[dooltubes]

Still burning prairie here Herb. HFD moved his hunting camp to Saskatchewan.