Need advice - matchlock sight

[Canute Rex]

So I decided to become a "hemp smoker" and bought a ~66 caliber (.684) matchlock made by John Buck. It is of a 1660s military design, with a non-tapered round barrel and a broad-butt stock with little drop. It came without any sights, as would be appropriate for a volley fire gun of that era.

I managed to get a few on the paper with it by guesstimation, but I'd like to put a front sight on it.

Here's the question: What type of sight would be a decent compromise between 17th century authenticity and 21st century recreational shooting? Or do I need to compromise? Or, seeing as there weren't supposed to be any sights on that type of firearm, should I just say to heck with it and put on whatever I want?

The options I have thought about:

Filing a shallow dovetail (there is plenty of barrel thickness) and fitting a standard blade.

Soldering on a small rectangular steel block, sort of like the bayonet lug on a Bess.

Soldering on or staking in a brass or steel bead.

Ideas? Opinions?

Thanks

[Levy]

Canute: I'm not sure what style the matchlock is supposed to be, but I have worked on a lot of Spanish matchlocks that have been recovered from shipwrecks of Florida's coast (from 1618 thru 1733).  All of them had some type of sights on them.  The front sight is usually always a staked in barleycorn shaped sight.  The one I'm working on now has a front sight shaped like a SAA Colt Revolver, only much smaller in size.  The rear sight has usually been a tubular peepsight about 10 cm in length and tapered with the large end (10 mm) closest to the eye.  The other end is about 5 mm in diameter.  It is not a match holder as some have suggested.  this tubular sight is set on two rectangular posts which are staked into the barrel breech.  I have also seen backsights that were dovetailed into the breech just like on a Pennsylvania Rifle.  I have seen back sights that were staked in too.  All of the barrels I have seen tapered from the breech to the muzzle.  the earlier ones were tapered octagonal and the later ones were octagonal to round.  I have shared information with John Buck in the past.

If you would like, I will mail you a few drawings to show what I am talking about.

James Levy

[smart dog]

Canute,
There are several possibilities.  Some muskets had small front sights dovetailed into the barrel that looked like nothing more than a flat-sided pin.  On some, a shallow length-wise mortice was cut in the barrel, a sight with a slight dovetailed base inserted in the mortice, and then the edges of the mortice was peened around the base.  I also saw some with elaborate blades brazed on the barrels.  I attached a photo of a 1630's English fowler that I built with a soldered front sight.  I also think that some shooters used the end of the tang screw, which protrudes above the tang and is inserted from the bottom, as a rear sighting reference post.



dave

[Canute Rex]

Thanks for your responses - very helpful. Here is a photo of the piece:



I don't have the skill to do the mortise and staking. I might be able to dovetail in the front sight without bolloxing the job. Soldering is more my style.

I'll probably change out the tang screw for one with a bigger slot and raise it with a washer if necessary.

Dave, by the way, sweet looking sight.

[Levy]

Canute,  I've recently completed two matchlocks for Castillo San Luis here in Tallahassee, FL.  One has the tube sight and the other has a dovetailed back sight.  I soldered on both of the front sights.  The sights  were made from an underlug cut in half.  I soldered the underlugs to the bottom of the barrel.  I used matclock mechanisms from TRS, which were already assembled.

James Levy

[keweenaw]

Hermann Historica has several matchlocks in their current auction with sights.

http://www.hermann-historica.com/

click on the firearms auction catalog and then look at the wheel lock and match locks.  Their Zoom feature will allow you to get some good ideas.  The rare matchlock target rifle dated 1671 has a folding leaf rear sight another has a channel type thing at the breech and some others have pretty conventional rear sights.

Tom