sight question.

[LURCHWV@BJS]

  I accidentally broke my front sight. Had to make a new one.  Went to range, shooting.  2ft high at   50yrd.   My question is,  Do I need to Raise or lower the front sight?   Only have one day before season starts


     Rich

[Daryl]

Raise the front sight or lower the rear sight - both or either will make the gun shoot lower.

The front sight movement is always opposite the direction you want the ball to strike. ie:  Drift it to the left, it now hits to the right, drift it right, it hits to the left.   Raise it's height, it shoots lower, lower it and it shoots higher.

Appears the new front sight is lower in height than the old one.

2 feet is a lot - WOW!  Perhaps something else is adding to the elevation, as perhaps the lube you are using is slipperier than the lube used when originally sighting in the rifle?

[LURCHWV@BJS]

   Thanks a million Daryl,

   I  thought it was opposite,  but wasn't sure.  As for lube, spit patched is the only way for me.  Just went to using   ./010. Patches instead of the  020  I was using.  Was very difficult seating the ball.

   Made a new   Taller sight will try it after church

Thanks again

   Rich

[Ben I. Voss]

Rich, something you may want to think about: spit for patch lube works great for target shooting where you load and shoot right away, but for hunting where you may go all day without shooting the spit can evaporate and not do it's job giving you burnt patches and poor accuracy. I like Track's mink oil for hunting.  Ben

[Daryl]

Too, a .010" patch will only go to the bottom of the grooves if the ball is exactly bore size- ie: .500" in a .50, .450" in a .45.  Otherwise it's accuracy cannot be trusted as the patches burn along with the powder.
Ben's right - oil or a specific grease of some sort that keeps BP fouling soft, is needed for hunting.

[Standing Bear]

Agree with spit on patch for hunting.  Left too long it can rust a small ring in the bore.

If a ball is .010 or .005 smaller than actual bore size (some bores run small) and hard to load w/ lubed .015 to .020 patch, the ball material may be too hard (not ure lead).
TC

[LURCHWV@BJS]

Ok Gentlemen ,

  Went back to the range after church,  New front sight half inch off the plane of the barrel.  After several shots and lots of filing I have it two inches high at. 50yrd and dead on at   100yrd

   As for patch and lube went back to the  020 with a deer tallow and beeswax mixture.  The same stuff I use to seal the pan in foul weather.  By the way it started raining  today.  That won't stop me from using ole Frankenstein.

  Thank you all for the help

    Rich

[Daryl]

Glad it worked out, Rich.  For a simply patch lube, I've also had good luck with Neestfoot oil (not compound).