New peep sight.

[Darkhorse]

I guess this is my answer to my failing eyesight. Sight is adjustable for elevation. Windage by moving front sight. I made a new front sight from some metal I had laying around. Base is brass, post is weldable steel 1/8" thick. After sighting in the sight is right around .300" high. Thickness has been reduced to .100"
The rifle is my .40 caliber. After all the bugs are worked out I'll be putting one on my .54. I'm liking this new photo upload.


upload host

[Heavies]

Nice!  How is the rear aperture mounted?

[Smoketown]

Went from a .050 front sight to a .080 front sight and what an improvement.

I really like your Rear sight ... I may have to make one also. (actually 3) 

As a "Senior Flatulent" (old @$#%) myself, I say, "Whatever it takes to keep burning powder !!!"   

Cheers,
Smoketown

[g2608671@verizon.net]

Nice shootin' Tex!  Do you get any glare coming up from the rear bevel of the front sight blade? I would say that judging from that remarkable group that you don't. Did you take any measures to address that glare possibility?

[Darkhorse]

I drilled and tapped a 8/32 hole through the tang just behind the plug. Great care was taken when drilling as to be square with the bore the drill had to enter the material at a angle. Plus it had to be in the centerline of the bore as the only windage adjustment was with the front sight. I made the first prototype out of a .40 S&W empty case and worked most things out with that. One reason the position of the hole was chosen was to give room for a 8/32 lock washer and nut beneath the tang.
This position beneath the tang was worked flat so the nut would seat without touching the rear of the plug. I wanted both an adjustable sight and one that could be positively locked in position. Where the adjustment screw touched the stock mortice, I drilled it a little deeper for clearance and also chiseled that location for clearance for the lock washer and nut. Then sealed all new wood with Jim Chambers oil finish.
For the final version I cut off a section of 8/32 tangbolt and screwed it into the sight base using J&B weld in the theads to lock it in place. If you don't do this the sight will rotate on the screw when you try to tighten it or could get bumped off center easily in the woods. By turning the screw up one complete turn you move the sight .031" The photo's of the first 2 prototypes should give an idea of how things work. The next one I do for my .54 I'm thinking about using a set screw drilled to intersect the 8/32 hole so the rifle will not need to be taken apart to make elevation adjustments.

[Darkhorse]

Nice shootin' Tex!  Do you get any glare coming up from the rear bevel of the front sight blade? I would say that judging from that remarkable group that you don't. Did you take any measures to address that glare possibility?

When sighting in using a new blade I use black magic marker to cut the glare. As I'm doing a good bit of filing the black marker must be added every time you remove metal from the blade.
After the final sight in I use a fingernail polish I selected from a display, it is a almost blaze orange, removes all glare, and shows up real well in the shady woods. I actually use it for 2 of my pistols also.

[smokinbuck]

I did the same application on a rear peep sight that I made except I kept the tightening nut on the top of the tang. I made a leather washer to take up the angle of the tang and put my lock washer and nut on top of that. No disassembly to adjust.
Mark

[smylee grouch]

That looks like a clever set up, simple and effective. It will be interesting to see how much adjustment you make with one turn (revolution) of the elevation screw when your shooting a full charge.

[Darkhorse]

I wanted the peep low to the bore, lower than it could be with a nut between the sight and tang. That is the main reason I decided to put the nut under the tang.

Last summer I could still shoot good with the primitive sights even though the rear was blurred a little, but by Christmas it was blurred so bad I was lucky to hit the target. Though the peep has helped immensely it works best in sunlight. When it gets late and shadows are everywhere my shots string high, because I have a hard time telling where the top of the front sight is in relationship to the target. Not really something I can't live with though. I think it will take more practice to get comfortable with the sight picture. I will post a photo.

My idea when I started the project was to sight dead on with 30 grains as I use that charge for casual shooting and squirrels, and I hoped the 50 and 60 grain loads would impact about 2 inches high for my Turkey hunting and any possible shots at a distance. When I was finishing up the other evening I shot a couple of shots each with 50 and 60 grains and they did impact about 2 inches high. Though I am interested too in how much a revolution will make in POI I might not try it until after Turkey season.

There is no bevel on the front sight. I made it high enough that it would end up rounded like most primitive front sights.

[Daryl]

I have found Dry Erase felt pen to give a super black, non-glare coating to the finish, much better than ordinary felt pen. Note, it is dry erase, which means it wipes off instantly, but stays as long as you don't wipe it off.

[smokinbuck]

Darkhorse,
If you are finding it hard to see your front blade in certain light conditions you might want to try a "post & bead". It is somewhat fragile and you would want to put a hood on it which would both protect the sight but also define it it very clearly. Second, the bead would center itself in your peep automatically. Can send some pics if you want them, cannot post.
Mark

[Darkhorse]

Smokinbuck, Thanks for the offer but I'll stick with this setup awhile longer as I'm sure the problem is with me. I clearly remember moving the front sight up and down a couple of shots looking for the correct aiming point. I was in a hurry. I just need to take the time to shoot a little more and get my aiming point worked out.

[Daryl]

Zero'd at 25 yards, I usually find keeps them zero'd at 50 yards, with 4 to 6" drop at 100, depending on load and calibre.

[Darkhorse]

Yeah, when I was match shooting long ago I used one load for both 25 and 50 yards, and a little heavier load for 100. Worked pretty good as I won my share of stuff. I built this rifle over 10 years ago and did the load development to hit center at 25 and 50 yards, this rifle is very sensitive to changes in loads so it was easy to work things out. I never did start shooting competition again.
One day I shot 60 grains of 3f at 100 yards. I wasn't using any kind of sight black and the front silver blade was giving off a lot of glare but I still managed to get 5 shots in a 3 to 4" circle right about 5" above the bull. I thought it was good enough for a turkey.
I load 60 grains of 3f in Turkey season for the same reason I initially decided on a .40 caliber, hogs. We have a lot of them, some quite large and ill tempered and I just thought a .40 would be better than a .36 or smaller if any decided to ruin my turkey hunt.
I have lost all those early targets and notes and my memory isn't what it used to be. Now with new sights it needs to be done all over again. But that's a lot of shooting!