Tube Sights

[Seth Isaacson]

Anyone here use a sight like this? Not a scope. I've only seen a couple of them, and couldn't locate a good picture of one on a mid-19th century rifle. They were just long tubes with globe style sights or cross-hairs near the front. What are your results? How do they compare to peep sights?

I might be younger than most on this board, but my eye sight is probably as bad as most of you grumpy old men.  Anyways, focusing on sights has always proven a challenge for me, and I thought this might be an interesting "period" option for something easier on the eyes. I still haven't even purchased or built my rifle, but I am just kind of thinking ahead.

[kudu]

i saw one at a shoot this summer I belive it was homemade. and even got to sight thru it although I did not shoot it.
I thought to myself  it should be shorter and should be "real black" the finnish on the INSIDE of the tube which it was not- it should be dark real dark and or not too smooth, as to produce any shine whatsoever.
Other than that I think it could work It may not work in the low light but it seemed ok.

In my opinion it should be good at about 27" or so and mounted like a modern scope with the eye piece coming up to the eye- when mounting the gun like a finely "custom fitted" shotgun it just is part of you at fits like a Glove.

If it keeps a fellow shooting instead of giving it up Im all for it

[Hungry Horse]

 The "tube sight" pictured is a scope, because I own one. It is made in Japan, and is 4X. The mounts are non-authentic, and virtually worthless. Real tube scopes are easily made from brass tubing, preferably in a size you can get scope mounts for. BTW scope mounts from a small airgun scope will fit the scope pictured, but you have to make the adjuster at the breech, and the windage adjustment at the muzzle.

   Hungry Horse

[Seth Isaacson]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not thinking about buying that. It was just the most similar image I could fine. The few I've seen were simple long brass tubes with basic sights in the front. They were dark on the inside of the tube either from age or some treatment.

[T*O*F]

I believe they call those Malcolm style scopes.  Here's a picture of a similar one on an English rifle.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=malcolm+scope&view=detailv2&qpvt=malcolm+scope&id=45535C1693B498F37D230FABCDB37255543F5119&selectedindex=26&ccid=2dom%2F3mI&simid=608022337822855142&thid=OIP.Md9da26ff7988947fb9d83c8e27a0da7fo0&first=1

[L. Akers]

I made a tube sight out of a length of thick-wall brass water pipe and mounted it on a bench gun I built around a 1-1/2" octagon, .50 cal. Bill Large barrel.  I made cross hairs out of .007" dia. wire and an aperature at the rear.  As Hungry said, the adjustment for elevation is at the rear and windage is at the front.

[Seth Isaacson]

I believe they call those Malcolm style scopes.  Here's a picture of a similar one on an English rifle.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=malcolm+scope&view=detailv2&qpvt=malcolm+scope&id=45535C1693B498F37D230FABCDB37255543F5119&selectedindex=26&ccid=2dom%2F3mI&simid=608022337822855142&thid=OIP.Md9da26ff7988947fb9d83c8e27a0da7fo0&first=1

Malcolm scopes are true scopes that came in use around the mid-1850s with glass inside but look very similar externally. True scopes were first used around the mid-1830s to 1840.

I made a tube sight out of a length of thick-wall brass water pipe and mounted it on a bench gun I built around a 1-1/2" octagon, .50 cal. Bill Large barrel.  I made cross hairs out of .007" dia. wire and an aperature at the rear.  As Hungry said, the adjustment for elevation is at the rear and windage is at the front.

How do you like it?

Anyone know when were tube sights first used? I recall seeing sight shields or covers on some Golden Age target rifles like the one by George Eister in "The Kentucky Rifle" by Merrill Lindsay but nothing like these.

[Hungry Horse]

Sight tubes became more common when match shooting got really popular, probably developing from sight shades that weren't a complete tube. The early 1850's and 60's would be my guess for actual scopes. By the beginning of the Civil War actual scopes were becoming more common.

 Hungry Horse

[smokinbuck]

I had an opportunity to shoot an original Bodenheimer rifle with a tube sight on it. The tube was mounted much like we would mount a scope today with adjustments  for windage and elevation in the bases. There were no cross hairs or any other sighting devise in the tube, just a small hole in one end and a smaller hole in the other. So tiny and with the dark interior it was hard just to see through the tube. It was used much like a tang rear sight and aperture front sight would be today. Can't brag much about the accuracy but with some practice it would probably work pretty well.
Mark