Author Topic: Hawken Rear Sights  (Read 2514 times)

Offline Herb

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Hawken Rear Sights
« on: October 31, 2018, 07:12:49 AM »
I commented on the low Kit Carson and Jim Bridger rear sights from Track of the Wolf in the Liver Eating Johnson thread.  The original Carson sight is low, and the front sight is also then quite low.  Track's sight is a close copy of it, and their Bridger rear sight is the same height at the notch, just wider for a 1 1/8" barrel.  Here is the Carson rear sight on a copy of the Carson rifle I built last spring, and targets showing 50 yard impacts.
I aim with the top of the blade at the top of the "notch". The top of the notch is .255 above the barrel and the front sight is .200 high.  The groups below are about 2" low at 50 yards, and I'd have to file the front sight down .025 to bring them to point of aim.  I don't like that low a front sight, so I have to make a new rear sight.


 These are targets I shot at 50 yards, rest, for loading data velocities.  You can hit Control and the + sign to enlarge the photo.  The first target, I aimed at the bottom left and the shot hit very low and the next one in the same hole, so I then moved to the top left target.  That is 50 grains of Goex 3F.  Then 50 grains of Goex 2F, and on the top right, 80 grains of Goex 2F.  Bottom left, 80 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F, but I ran out of my linen patching and had to use a different kind, which loaded very hard and one blew. Last two were old pillow ticking.
These were weight-corrected measures for each powder, and notice that the Olde Eynsford gave 221 fps more velocity than the Goex 2F.  I don't know what difference the patches made.  With 100 grains of OE 2F and Goex 2F, the OE is about 100 fps faster with the same linen patching.


Track's Jim Bridger sight on my Jim Bridger copy, with my hand made sight installed, and the angle iron I filed it out of in back.  A picture of the Jim Bridger sight in the background.  Just more examples of poorly designed Hawken parts for the struggling builder.
 
Herb

Offline redheart

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2018, 09:04:24 AM »
I love it Herb!
Can you make me one for the same price TOW charges for theirs? ;)

Offline Herb

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2018, 05:16:02 PM »
I think I had maybe fourteen hours in that sight, but I don't remember....
Herb

Offline redheart

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2018, 06:48:40 PM »
I think I had maybe fourteen hours in that sight, but I don't remember....

I was just funnin with you Herb ;D, but if some one ever offered castings of that height I'd sure buy a few.
I think I could make my own, but if it took you 14 hrs it would probably take me a week!
« Last Edit: October 31, 2018, 07:44:42 PM by redheart »

Offline Herb

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2018, 06:17:53 AM »
That was a joke about the time.  I think.....  Today I removed the sights and put in a cut down Large Hawken rear sight, Track's RS-PA-11.  It is just barely wide enough for a 1" barrel, but plenty high.  I put in a new front tall sight,#FS-TC-TW-B, .080 thick and .400 tall.  I'll cut it down to bring to zero at 50 yards.
Herb

Offline alacran

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2018, 03:03:49 PM »
Herb I prefer using the "Mariano Modena" sight. I used to get them from TOW. A few years back it seems they scaled that sight down about 30%. I asked them about it and they gave me what I consider to be a bs answer.  I am planning another Hawken  but I don't want to put their skinny sight on it. I hope I can find an old style one. Don't really want to get out the manual mill.
A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.  Frederick Douglass

Offline Herb

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Re: Hawken Rear Sights
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2018, 08:29:06 PM »
I fit the new sights as described above, cutting the Large Hawken sight shorter for a 3/8" dovetail and reshaping the front.  I drilled an .080 hole for the notch and heat blued it.  The top is .350 above the barrel.  I filed the front sight down for a low zero before shooting it for cutting it to the correct height

Target 1, top right, is 50 grains of Goex 3F.  After 3 shots, I filed the front sight down about .025" to .280".  I tapped the rear sight to the right after this group and shot Target 2 on the left.  Then I tapped the rear sight to the left and shot 80 grains of Swiss 2F at the center target.  For some reason, this load usually groups wide.  Next, 80 grains of Olde Eynsford on the bottom left.  One patch holed.  Then 80 grains of O.E. 1 1/2F on the center target.  Always before, O.E. 2F and O.E. 1 1/2F gave similar velocities, I don't know why the 97 fps spread here.  These loads were just for velocity comparison.  There was no cleaning or wiping of the bore for the whole series, just a wet cleaning patch on the seater jag to seat the ball.  So the rear sight had to be .070" higher than the front with this 22.5" sighting radius.





Herb