Where to set the sights ?

[GriscomRun]

I have plenty of experience with competition using a 6-o'clock hole on match targets with modern arms.
I'm wondering how the community sets their sights on ML's.
Do you favor point of aim at 50 or 75 yards ?

 

[Phil Coffins]

I like my sights set to hit dead on at 100 and that on my main rifle on at 25 then 2” high at 50 yards. In matches you never know what shape or size the target maybe. For hunting this allows me to make clean kills at any range I may try.

 

[MO_E_W]

I have my .50 set at : zero at 25 yds., 6 o clock at 50 yds., zero at 75 yds., 12 o clock at 100 yds. .490 ball, .018 patch, 85 gr FFF. BP. Works for me. You may have to work up your own sight picture. ML have more of an arch then modern arms.
Good shooting.

Maurice

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

I have my .50 set at : zero at 25 yds., 6 o clock at 50 yds., zero at 75 yds., 12 o clock at 100 yds. .490 ball, .018 patch, 85 gr FFF. BP. Works for me. You may have to work up your own sight picture. ML have more of an arch then modern arms.
Good shooting.

Maurice

Are these "times" where you are aiming the gun so that it hits near the bullseye at different yardage?

So is this what you are describing:
AIM AT bullseye WHEN 25 yards away (to hit the bullseye)
AIM AT 6 o'clock WHEN 50 yards away (to hit the bullseye)
AIM AT bullseye WHEN 75 yards away (to hit the bullseye)
AIM AT 12 o'clock WHEN 100 yards away (to hit the bullseye)

I admit that when I'm siting in my .54 flintlock for hunting, I tend to be happy if I can hit a fist-size circle at these different yardages, but I don't much fool around with aiming at different points. I tend to just aim for center at any yardage and expect the actual point of impact to vary a few inches up or down between 25-100y. For deer hunting, I think that tends to work well as long as you aim for the center of the "boiler room" area.

I also carry a rangefinder when hunting, and I tend to not shoot further than 100y anyway with my flintlock.

 

[SDSmlf]

I have my .50 set at : zero at 25 yds., 6 o clock at 50 yds., zero at 75 yds., 12 o clock at 100 yds. .490 ball, .018 patch, 85 gr FFF. BP. Works for me. You may have to work up your own sight picture. ML have more of an arch then modern arms.
Good shooting.

Maurice

Depends on size of your bullseye. And a bit of over thinking in my opinion. Your 25 yard zero for deer hunting doesn’t help in my opinion, probably putting a .490” ball 8” or so low at 100 yards. Agree with @Phil Coffins and @TXFlynHog using a single point of aim. I’ve found that for my traditional roundball hunting guns a ‘zero’ of around 85 yards works pretty good. With a 54 roundball and a load that gets you in the neighborhood of 1600 fps for example, find POI is between 2” a 2-1/2” above the sight at 50 yards and around 2-1/2” low at 100 yards. Confirmed numerous times at the range and by ballistic charts. The gun will put a round within 2-1/2” above or below the point of aim out to 100 yards, a practical and reasonable max hunting range for deer. Where the ball actually hits depends on the how well you can aim and shoot.

 

[Spikebuck]

I tend to just aim for center at any yardage and expect the actual point of impact to vary a few inches up or down between 25-100y. For deer hunting, I think that tends to work well as long as you aim for the center of the "boiler room" area.

Same for me. I sight in point of aim at 50 yards because the woods around here are so thick that its mostly hard to shoot much further than that, unless hunting a field edge. At 100 yards, I might hold her a tad bit higher than center of lungs since I know I'll have a few inches drop, but it would hit vitals even if held center at that range. All my practice shooting is geared to hunting, so that's how I practice...keeping it simple.

 

[hanshi]

My rifle is sighted in at 50 yards to be 2" to 2-1/2" high. This means the ball, up to around 100 yards, is still in the kill zone at 25 yds to 100 yds. This is know as the "point blank" distance. Beyond 100 yards (I don't do that) and if I'm not sure or the targets distance I can aim an inch or two high. "Point blank" simply means the max distance where NO sight adjustment or "Kentucky windage" is needed to hit the target.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Same here. Point of aim dead on at 50 yards. I try not to shoot at game past that but if I do I know that I have to aim about 6 inches high at 100 to get the big .54 ball to drop in.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Do you favor point of aim at 50 or 75 yards ?

To answer your question, neither. Because ML targets vary in size, I never use a 6 o'clock hold, but a dead on. I don't hunt, but that thought still applies. I try to adjust my powder charges for 25, 50, and 100 yrds. My method may not be the most perfect group charge, but it has worked for me since the early 70s.
Flintlockar

 

[Tom A Hawk]

My rifles shoot point of aim out to 100 yards or so. If I wish to make a Timothy Murphy shot beyond that distance, I use the elevated front blade ( Elmer Keith ) method.

 

[oldwood]

If a 50 , or 54 rifle is sighted in at 50 yds. , and holding about 2.5" group , it should be in the boiler room using a forward above vertical center line hold on deer @ 100 yds.. Killed many using this procedure.....oldwood

 

[Art Caputo]

I’m predominately a deer hunter. With my sighting point being the horizontal (fine)I line running the top of the front and rear sights, I set my zero, centering that fine line at 50 yards to point of aim with my 50/58 caliber muzzleloaders. This enables me to hit a golf ball(sized) target at 25 yards, tennis ball at 50 yards, and softball at 100, using point of aim at all distances to 100 yards. While ballistic charts call for vertical corrections, optical/sighting effects seem to self correct for me out to 100 yards. This approach as worked well for me whether off-hand, supported, or bench-rested over the last 40 years or so. As an aside, while most of my Northeast woodland shots are 50 yards or less, with some practice, a deers chest size guaged to the height to the particular rifles front sight height at 100 yards can serve as a very fast/accurate ranging tool for confirming that shots are under 100 yards. This can be easily calibrated using two horizontal strips(16” for a whitetails chest) on paper measured against the height of the mounted rifles front sight at 100 yards. IMO

 

[Ben Meyer]

I like dead on at 50yds. I dont see much if any difference between 25 and 50yds with my gun in terms of hitting where I aim. I doubt id take a shot further than 75yds with a PRB at a deer or anything else with a heartbeat. At 100yd+ targets, ill aim a little higher.

 

[Mad Professor]

Same as my avitar, 50 yds

 

[Art Caputo]

My typical sight picture for my ML’s.. POI/sighting off the top of front sight is at 6’o’clock on the 2” red bullseye. Same hold to 100 yards, Center shoulder of deer.

 

[Sun City]

It ain't like trying to shoot a turkey in the eye! A mature whitetail deer within 100 yards is a rather large target so if the shot placement is within 4" of where the aim point is....all is good!

 

[Hawk78]

To answer your question, neither. Because ML targets vary in size, I never use a 6 o'clock hold, but a dead on. I don't hunt, but that thought still applies. I try to adjust my powder charges for 25, 50, and 100 yrds. My method may not be the most perfect group charge, but it has worked for me since the early 70s.
Flintlockar

I'm interested in the way you adjust the amount of powder for different ranges. Do you mind telling me what caliber and how much powder you are using for these ranges?

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I'm interested in the way you adjust the amount of powder for different ranges. Do you mind telling me what caliber and how much powder you are using for these ranges?

Hawk, My 54 cal, 44" long Douglas barrel flintlock likes 60 gr at 25 yrds, 80 gr at 50 and 100gr at 100 yrds. (2F real black) I made this rifle in about 1975. It weighs ten pounds and still shoots well today. I am not the one shooting it any more, my SIL does. It is too heavy for me. I use an adjustable powder measure with the funnel attached on top. My other flintlocks that are different calibers, have different charges, but use the same process. I keep on hand a small 6 ring binder log that lists the powder charge for each. Most every ML will have a sweet spot with a specific amount of powder for optimum accuracy. I do not want to lead you in the wrong direction. Work up a load for your gun that gets results, then if you can/want to simplify by going more powder for longer etc, try it. If it don't work, it is simple, don't do that. Changing powder charge for yardage is what I do, but that method is not the bible by a long shot.
Flintlocklar

 

[hanshi]

Mostly I only shoot one load in any rifle; except the .40. The .40 likes 30 grns 3F for small game, call that 25 to 30 yds. 40 grains for all around at any range I shoot. But if I'm doing only 100 yards the load will be 55 to 60 grains.

 

[Mulebrain]

Here is a rifle I have been working on, just got the elevation correct, then got windage set. That is two shots in the x from bench at 25