Trade gun rear sight

[Brokennock]

Historically, did any have folding rear sights?

I mounted my little brass sight on my Fusil des Chase back far enough that it is kind of blury in my vision, just clear enough to tell if the fringe sight is centered in it when focused on the front sight. As such, it is pretty easy to ignore when target focused shooting and the rear sight isn't needed.

 

[nit wit]

well done
Nit Wit

 

[Bushfire]

I mounted my little brass sight on my Fusil des Chase back far enough that it is kind of blury in my vision, just clear enough to tell if the fringe sight is centered in it when focused on the front sight. As such, it is pretty easy to ignore when target focused shooting and the rear sight isn't needed.

Does your fusil have the vnotch near the breech/tang like mine? I find it's enough to keep my left and right on the money and to be honest I think I'm okay at instinctively having the elevation consistent-ish. I just don't know if the vnotch would classify as a rear sight which I'm legally required to have for deer.

 

[Brokennock]

Does your fusil have the vnotch near the breech/tang like mine? I find it's enough to keep my left and right on the money and to be honest I think I'm okay at instinctively having the elevation consistent-ish. I just don't know if the vnotch would classify as a rear sight which I'm legally required to have for deer.

No, mine doesn't have a groove in the tang.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

No, mine doesn't have a groove in the tang.

I can't see anything that close anyway.

 

[Nuthatch]

Would you be willing to make another and.sell it to me

Nope. But I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you.

 

[Rob M.]

Not a folding rear sight but ..... When I went to the Museum of the Fur Trade a few years ago I was very excited to see my favorite Fusil de Chasse . I'd admired it for decades in pictures but was now going to see it for real . Two things , well three .... It was gorgeous ! You could still see the tool marks ever so slightly , weird , and ..... it had a rear sight added ! In pics the cock is in the way to see it ....the rear sight being right at the same spot your folding rear sight is . By the by ....a fusil or trade gun with a rear sight added is not called a smooth rifle .

 

[springfield art]

Smoothbores with rear sights were called smooth rifles and are perfectly historically correct.

Always liked smooth rifles tho I don't have one; the concept of them just intrigues me.

 

[Rob M.]

....

 

[Rifleman1776]

Some smoothies did have rear sights. There is nothing wrong, or non-pc, about them. But, since the majority did not most clubs have rules that prohibit rear sights to make the competitive field more even. You would not be allowed to shoot that in matches at many events.

 

[Flintandsteel]

A Type G tradgun, is just that. Not a smooth rifle, but a smoothbore trade gun, with a rear sight.

 

[Brownwl]

For those who think something that isn’t period correct is sacrilege, please move on.

I finished making a rear sight for my Pedersoli Trade gun & it was really simple. Posting here in case somebody else finds it helpful. The steel is just a piece of right angle bracket from the hardware store. I widened the hole to allow the tang screw to pass through. I then drilled another smaller hole for the aperture. I tested it out over the weekend to see where it was hitting on paper & check my group size. Satisfied with that, I then cut & shaped the rest to how I wanted it.

The first photo is the finished product. The second is my son shooting it this weekend with it attached as just a piece of right angle bracket with a couple holes drilled to see how it might work.

I went with a sharp point at the rear to help index it to a groove I had cut behind the tang. This way, when I clean it, I can hopefully realign it to get the same, rough, POI. Being able to remove it also leaves it free for wing shooting.

I’m still working on my flintlock skills. So small deviations in the POI are the least of my accuracy problems for now. But I’m satisfied with the results.

Hope somebody else finds this useful.

I've entertained the notion myself..
My only real concern is a lack of adjustment for windage.
I reckon a man could carefully slot the tang screw hole for left to right adjustment. And after getting it to hit POA, add a witness mark front an back to insure consistent alignment.
I do like the idea. And a peep sight is especially helpful with 61 year old eyes.

 

[Brownwl]

Some smoothies did have rear sights. There is nothing wrong, or non-pc, about them. But, since the majority did not most clubs have rules that prohibit rear sights to make the competitive field more even. You would not be allowed to shoot that in matches at many events.

One would need to enter it in " rifle" competition.

 

[Rob M.]

One would need to enter it in " rifle" competition.

Yep , I just shoot against/ with the rifles and its fun . If one really wants to shoot in the smoothbore competitions you just simply tap out the rear sight if its dovetailed in ...its not a big deal ....easy peezy

 

[Nuthatch]

I've entertained the notion myself..
My only real concern is a lack of adjustment for windage.
I reckon a man could carefully slot the tang screw hole for left to right adjustment. And after getting it to hit POA, add a witness mark front an back to insure consistent alignment.
I do like the idea. And a peep sight is especially helpful with 61 year old eyes.

The tang screw is the pivot point for a windage adjustment. That's why I wanted the back of the sight to come to a point that I can use to index with a notch in the stock.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

It is hard for me to believe that no one ever put a rear sight on a smoothbore. If your using a ball to hunt larger game it is just common sense that you would want a rear sight. Yes I know muskets didn't have rear sights but the guys using them weren't taught to aim them it was just load point and fire.

 

[tenngun]

One would need to enter it in " rifle" competition.

Not always, I shot a smoothbore event in May. Range officer said no problem with my rear sight
Howsomever, I scored zero on the five clay birds

 

[Polecat_Tom]

Herer's a historically correct rear sight for a trade gun. Carolina guns all had them when they were shipped from England.

Mr. Evil Mike Brooks,
I am assuming that you filed that rear site out of a piece of brass bar stock. Would you mind showing a photo of it from the top or front so I could perhaps try to copy.
Thank you.

 

[Grenadier1758]

It is hard for me to believe that no one ever put a rear sight on a smoothbore. If your using a ball to hunt larger game it is just common sense that you would want a rear sight. Yes I know muskets didn't have rear sights but the guys using them weren't taught to aim them it was just load point and fire.

It's likely that you never heard of the Museum of the Fur Trade at Chadron, Nebraska. Many of the smooth bored Trade guns have rudimentary rear sights that were installed in the year.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=museu...c=10-15&cvid=08962ad2b4bf45eaa7043b6bdf706fd2

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Mr. Evil Mike Brooks,
I am assuming that you filed that rear site out of a piece of brass bar stock. Would you mind showing a photo of it from the top or front so I could perhaps try to copy.
Thank you.

It's cast from. An original I own. I sold all of the castings I had of it a couple days ago, I'll have some more in a couple months.