Peep sights

[roamer]

Evening ,as my eyes age Im thinking putting peep sights on some of my guns any instructions on building various types
Thanks

[RonT]

I'm in the same boat.  But I'm sneaking up on peeps by using a Lyman diopter.  Another thing I've gone to for hunting is redneck snapon shaders made out of some thinwall PVC tube for the front and rear sights.
R

[roamer]

Yeah i was talking about the type that look like a little dish on a post or extends back toward the comb on an extention piece

[RonT]

nope, I'm talking about one that stick to eyeglasses.  You description suggests a rifle mounted sight.
Some clubs will permit the eyeglass mounts but not the closed sights on the rifle.
R

[northmn]

Peep sight styles can vary according to gun uses and type.  A peep on a half stock percussion, for instance, can be fairly modern and not look out of place.  Look at TOW at the Johnson peep sights which would not be too bad on a flintlock.  I shot a deer with a hunting peep sight I made out of a 8X32 thumb screw I drilled into the tang and used a nut to lock it in with.  May have to try a couple to get the hole centered so that you do not have any serious windage adjustments.  You also need to use a set up in a drill press to make sure the hole is perpendicular to the bore so that it does not tilt one way or another.  You adjust windage by drifting the front sight. 

DP

[Dphariss]

See the rifle on pg 321or Kindig.
I don't know when this was applied to the rifle but its pretty common in the 19th century.
The sight shade is fairly old technology as well.
Dan

[Dphariss]

This is one I started this AM.
Its a "lollipop" tang sight.
It is slide adjustable for windage it is secured with a set screw.
Dan

[alyce-james]

The peep sight information has been helpful to old eyes. (Mine) Trukeyfooter.

[LRB]

  I really like that one Dan. Would you mind if I copied it? For my own use.

[Acer Saccharum]

Drilling the tang for a lollipop sight can be a risk. If you have plenty of material on either side of the hole, go for it. Many old guns I have handled are cracked right thru the tang at that hole. The wood is OK, but the tang is bust.

If starting a new gun, you may certainly plan for a lollipop tang sight by leaving a swell of material on either side of the tang.

Tom

[Acer Saccharum]

Here is another lollipop idea with windage, taken from originals:

The lollipop is a disk forged on top of a shank. Just like a lollipop. disk is fixed to shank, no moving parts.

Across the disk a dovetail groove is cut. Drill a big hole in the center of the lollipop, but slightly smaller than the groove.

Make a small strip of steel to slide back and forth in the groove. Put the peep hole in this strip. You can put a small screw near one edge of the strip to lock the strip in place once you have the gun sighted in.

If you have a big enough lolli, you have room to put windage marks.

[Dphariss]

 I really like that one Dan. Would you mind if I copied it? For my own use.

Heck I probably copied it from something I have seen at some time anyway. They came round or any other shape the shooter or maker though looked good.
I have to mat finish the "eyecup". Lay a piece of 220 or 150 wet or dry on it grit down and tap with a light hammer moving the paper around as needed.
The screw has to be shortened a little and the unmatted surfaces polished and blued. Probably use Brownells cold blue. Want to leave the staff hard.
Its an 8-56 thread staff. Its casehardened cold rolled rod. The "eyecup" is 3/32" 1018 flatstock. Slot was cut in the staff and then crushed in a smooth jawed vise to make a tight fit then filed smooth again.
Lock screw is a 5-40 just because I had one in a drawer.

Windage can be put in an eyecup with a dovetailed slide as well with or without tiny lock screws. I have seen this on old ML rifles and 19th century SS sights as well. Put windage in the eyecup because its on my swivel breech.

Tap the hole then use a split die expanded to make the threaded staff snug in the hole.
I made one with a 1/4 80 thread and a "lock" that is another piece a steel under the tang tapped at the same time as the tang but spaced away from it about .030. Its about 1/16 or 3/32 thick and is secured by a screw from the bottom at one end that allows it to move. A screw tapped into it from the top binds the staff when its tighted. The 80 thread gives very fine adjustments with the 40" barrel. But it was intended as a dedicated target rifle. Which I should have kept for myself it turns out since it shoots to good to belong to someone I shoot against.



Here it is helping to win a turkey match.
All the windage in this is in the front sight it has a pointer and scribe lines on the barrel.

Ned Roberts "Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle" is a place to look for ideas as well.

I use these to sharpen the barrel sights and they work very well but are not so good for hunting if the light gets low.  Larger hole is required. This one is 1/16. Hunting needs something nearer .100"
In low light a larger 1/2" minimum cup is better than a "ghost ring" which can't be found in low light.
I need to go shoot it before the temperature hits 90 or 100.

Dan

[LRB]

  Thanks Dan.

[roamer]

MY THANKS

[Dphariss]

Drilling the tang for a lollipop sight can be a risk. If you have plenty of material on either side of the hole, go for it. Many old guns I have handled are cracked right thru the tang at that hole. The wood is OK, but the tang is bust.

If starting a new gun, you may certainly plan for a lollipop tang sight by leaving a swell of material on either side of the tang.

Tom

This is a concern in some cases.
Its possible to use a smaller staff size.
One must remember that the old guns were often made with what would be very low grade material by today's standards even for run of the mill quality steel.
The 1874 Sharps receivers, for example, were made of pretty poor stuff from the Civil War era, iron, and some are broken through the screw holes in the tang. Even the unbroken ones are so riddled with inclusions that welding them can be a real nightmare. I have done some welding on them and I know it took Wolf at Shiloh a lot of time and some comments in German to weld up a "sound" receiver someone had drilled a hole in the side of.
In the case of the one on the swivel breech the 8-56 staff diameter is less than the #10 tang screw behind it and it carries no load so I am not concerned. The tang is ground finish 1018. 1/4" thick IIRC.

Dan

[RossN]

Here is one I made for my English Sporting rifle (nearly all the other work was done by John Rehm). It is filed it up out of a piece of key steel, and fitted a very shallow dovetail in the tang. It works fine, and doesnt look too out of place.





Cheers
Ross

[DutchGramps]

The Turks used this system; quite effective, I used it for matchlock matches:

[T*O*F]

If you want to spend a little money for a good sight, I mounted one of these on an English sporting rifle I built last year.  It's a Pedersoli item and cost $200.  Both windage and elevation adjustable.  I hand filed the base from a piece of brass stock which is held on by the tang screw and the threaded post of the sight.  I did have to open the aperture a bit.

[Majorjoel]

 This original peep sight set up has a very large hole through the disc orifice. I haven't measured it but when sighting through it the entire target field including the front sight shows up very clearly. The first time I shot this rifle I was concerned that the hole was too big and the increased field of view would place my shots all over the place. By placing the front sight on the bull of the target I was happy with my accuracy. 

[Majorjoel]

 

[alyce-james]

Thanks for the pictures and sharing information about the peep sights. AJ