Opinions please...

[doug]

  Any open sight I've tried has just looked like a very blurred stump out there with no glasses on.  If I use my computer glasses the sights are crystal clear, but the targets are non-existant. 

     I have a similar problem with my eyes but found that by using reading glasses set to focus at about 40", I can see about 95% at a distance and 100% for the front and back sights.  You might want to try some other reading glasses that focus (for you) farther away.

     The irony of about choice of sights is that there are quite a few original guns floating around that cannot be used in various competitions.  About 1/2 of the original trade guns that I have seen have had a rear sight chopped into the barrel with a cold chisel.  Original East Indian matchlocks were made with peep sights.  Plus original target rifles with threaded holes in the tang for peep sights.

cheers Doug

[Harnic]

Doug, I have an old pair of computer glasses that aren't strong enough anymore for the computer that I use for black powder pistol shooting because they're a good mix between close & far sighted.  I can see the sights well enough at arm's length & still make out the target at 25 yards.  The problem with them is the nasty headache if I wear them long!  My closed buckhorn sight works just dandy for me & as I keep harping on about, if I am challenged on it & the range master won't listen to reason, I'm happy to sit the shoot out & watch.  I'm pretty easy going in that department.

[doug]

       The issue to me is not should you be allowed to shoot but rather if through some good fortune you ace the trail, how can you be in the winner's circle.  I see no problem with people shooting the trail with peep sights or scopes for that matter as long as they don't qualify for winning prizes, assuming the rules do not permit such sights.

       The alternative to wearing computer glasses for the whole trail is to use clip on glasses that flip down to shoot then flip up between targets.  Obviously you need a pair of sunglasses or blank glasses to clip the clip ons onto 

cheers Doug

[Harnic]

I'd prefer to shoot for no prizes all the time Doug.  The reward for me is the people & the enjoyment.  I don't need a prize for having so much fun.  Another alternative to the computer glasses is the Merit disk that attaches to one's glasses, I use one for pistol shooting with great results.  My problem with it is the proper stance when shooting a longrifle which lays across your chest instead of straight out from the shoulder like a modern gun.  When I aim my flintlock I'm looking through the far left edge of my right lens & can't seem to find an acceptable spot to attach the Merit disk.  I need to work on a solution for that because I can shoot open sights fine with the Merit appliance.

[Dphariss]

Dan, I'm in the same boat as Harnic and have been thinking about a tang peep for some time. When you look through the peep, are you seeing the rear and front sights, or is the rear sight removed? Is your tang sight fastened to the barrel tang or directly to the wood stock? If it is on the wood, does humidity have any impact on sighting? I have zero experience with tang sights, thanks in advance.
        Robby

With my normal hunting zero I am looking right though the barrel sights.
Its on the long breech tang held by a slightly lengthened rear tang screw.
I should put in a pin to secure it a little better but not sure its worth the trouble and don't want to drill the tang either.
If you want to try something cut a pin hole about .060" in diameter in a piece of masking or duct tape and put it on you eyeglass lens where you look through when shooting.
Some one makes a suction cup for this purpose, or used to anyway.
Dan

[Harnic]

That's the Merit Optical device that I'm referring to Dan http://www.meritcorporation.com/products.html .  I just have trouble attaching it to my glasses where it's not in my way!  When I shoot pistol I can attach it on the outside edge & swing it to center when I shoot, but to orient it to be in on the left side for my flintlock it's smack in the middle for the suction cup... just a bit distracting!

[William Worth]

I to have experimented with an optic device similar to the Merit and it's been interesting to find out where I'm looking through my glasses to aline the sights.
It seems to move around more then I previously realized.

[Robby]

I have tried the electrical tape and have a Meret optical device. Both work on the range, like Harnic said, the suction cup is kind of distracting. I am more interested in a solution to hunting conditions where the lighting conditions change, deep woods, time of day etc., I've passed up shots many times at the end of the day because I couldn't pick up the target down range using those two methods. After seeing the tang sight on your rifle, I went to the local gun shop and found an old tang peep (T/C I think) in their misc. old stuff bin. Yesterday I taped it on the tang just to get an idea about what really goes on. I'm not sure if paralax is the correct word, but, holy cow, that thing sure bends the light waves around!! Placement seems to be very important, it doesn't seem to be affected nearly as much by lighting conditions. I think I would need something with a finer thread for adjustment, it doesn't take much movement to radically change the picture and the narrow notch it my rear sight all of a sudden looked like a canyon. I like the idea of the sights being integral to the gun. Are my observations correct, and is there anything I might be missing? I don't have the equipment to make something tike that, any recommendations? Thank you.
       Robby

[Leatherbelly]

  Eye transplant?

[Harnic]

My glasses tend to slide down my nose frequently, especially while shooting... recoil I suppose.  That really complicates lining up the Merit device with the sights & target.

Your perception is good Robby!  You need to make sure the tang sight standing perpendicular to your line of sight.  If it is tipped forward or back the hole gets all fuzzy & things get a lot less clear looking through it.  When I built my 45 Sharps on a Ruger #1 action 13 years ago, I had to weld up the notch in the arm of the Vernier tang sight & grind it further back.  Whatever rifle the sight I bought was designed for had more "slope" on the tang & on my rifle I couldn't see clearly through the aperture until I altered the notch for the detent spring that holds the sight vertical in relation to the line of sight.