distance between sights

[blaksmth]

 Hi,

Been a while since I built a rifle for someone else I am building a Hawken style  Half stock for my son in law as a gift the barrel is 36 in long and I an using a silver front sight and a fixed rear sight  any one have an idea on where to position sights on barrel ?

 His eye sight is 20-20 better than mine   I used to have this all  in memory but age is catching up I guess suggestions would be helpful
 

[deano]

Mount the front one where you want it and tape the rear sight so it can be moved forward or back in order to accommodate the shooters eye sight. Mount it where the sights are in focus looking down the barrel.

[Hungry Horse]

Make sure that you space the front sight far enough from the muzzle so when you lean the gun in a corner, or against a wall, the sight doesn't contact the wall. Most modern rifles have the front sight much farther forward than do early rifles. I glue a piece of that rubberized magnetic material that refrigerator magnets are made of to the rear sight with white glue, and then move it around until I get the clearest sight picture. The white glue can be desolved with a soak in warm water, once I'm done.

                       Hungry Horse 

[smylee grouch]

I like to put my front sights about 1&1/2 inches back from muzzle- back sight as already noted, fit to shooters eye and 1/4 inch forward of that.

[Bob Roller]

After you give him the rifle MINUS an installed rear sight, Have him slide the sight
along the barrel until HIS eye says it's right.Mark the barrel and install it.

Bob Roller

[Mark Elliott]

You want the sights as far apart as possible.   That said,  I always mount my front sight even with the back of the nose piece.   That is generally 1.5-2" from the muzzle to the business end of the front sight.    The rear sight is positioned as the others said.     For ease of carrying, you generally want the rear sight behind the carry point of the rifle.   This is generally around the rear entry.   The shooters eyesight will dictate that.   Generally,  the older the shooter, the closer to the front sight the rear sight must be.    If you have a young shooter and can put the rear sight close to the breech, be aware that there are rules with some types of shooting that specify the rear sight must be a MINIMUM distance from the breech.   I believe it is 6" for chunk gun shooting.   

[James Wilson Everett]

Guys,

I wait until the gun stock is very nearly done, then hold the gun to locate the balance point.  Then I locate the rear sight in front of where your hand will be located when carrying the gun.  Otherwise, if the rear sight is under your hand at the balance point, then the gun can be irritating to carry for a long period of time. 

Jim

[Dennis Glazener]

Having seen so many of the mountain rifles where the rear sight has been moved (usually forward) I try to make sure the rear sight is where the new owner's eyes prefer it. If the rifle is for me I sit the sight on the gun barrel and move it forward/backward to where it seems to be best for my eyes. If the new owner is not where they can do this I ask them to give me the sight measurements from a gun that best suites their eyes. Quite often the hind sight ends up further down the barrel than I would have expected almost always forward of the balance point.
Dennis

[Acer Saccharum]

I have now learned to use my hindsight before placing too much emphasis on the foresight.




There is also the style of blade and notch, which affects clarity, hence spacing.  I don't want to get too far off topic, as I am wont, but the best kind of sight is not necessarily what was used in the 18th century.

For me, a square wide front blade is the easiest and sharpest. Make a rear sight notch wide enough to give a crisp image of the front sight. You can make a mock rear sight with electrical tape, keep cutting the notch wider until the front sight is clear.

Many old rifles use the barleycorn sight, which I can no longer see. Or I see two of them.

[blaksmth]

 Acer I do agree with you on the older sights not the best for us older guys  my mule ear hunting rifle has a gold bead sour dough Lyman and a rear lyman with adjustable windage and elevation and folds down on the barrell when I store it, I know its not right for the period but when I draw a bead on an elk I can see it.

I am gonna make the dove tails in the son in laws rifle 3/8 so if he don't like the sights I can install the lymans on it too.