Sight notch for rear sight

[rjpalmer]

I need to deepen and widen the notch in my rear sight to make it easier to see my front sight. Is there any preference for a V, U or square notch? I ‘m not sure which would be best. Anyone have a preference and suggestions about how to do the job. Thanks

[Mike payne]

I widened my rear sights and made them square and have been happy with them.

Mike

[Don Steele]

What does the front sight look like..
A post-and-dot front sight would likely work best with a V-notch rear. OTOH...a wide Patridge style front blade would call for a square notch. Width of the rear is a personal choice thing. A lot depends upon the eyesight of the shooter.  Some folks like the front blade to fill the rear, others like to see a lot of space, some like just a wee-little space on either side of the front blade.

[recurve]

look up Herbs sight
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=51483.msg511904#msg511904

[Daryl]

Some of us have found an English Express-type wide V rear sight does well with aging eye's, when used with a bead front sight. Others use this wide V with a blade, having a 45 degree polished angle on the rear of the blade. In the bush, this shiny blade gives a similar appearance to a bead.
Others like a small U notch with blade or bead.
If in bright sunlight, the shiny bead or blade can be instantly dulled, with the use of a black dry-erase felt pen. This dull black can be instantly removed with the wipe of a thumb or finger.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I have practically every type of 'notch' imaginable on my rifles and pistols, and they all work just fine.  What you need is a sight that you can tell when the front sight is LEVEL with the top of the rear one.  A sight notch that is too small will fuzz this out and you will make elevation errors when shooting.  This too has much to do with your vision.  For folks with bad eyes, I have often used an absolutely flat topped rear sight with a vertical gold band down the middle and no notch at all.  This rear sight slopes forward, rather than rearward, to catch light and illuminate the gold band.  The front matching sight in that case, is a post with a 45 degree filed to the tip which catches light, and to the eye, looks like a round bead.  Now it is simply a matter of putting the 'pumpkin on the post, ie:  the bead on the top of the gold band.  I encourage shooters to hold the bead where they want the ball to go..centre shot, no six o'clock hold stuff.  How do you hold six o'clock on a tack or horizontal string?

[hanshi]

I do about the same as Mike except sometimes I use a rat-tail file that forms a "U".  I like my sight notches a little wider than I use to and don't worry about the the bottom, only the width.  The idea of ordering a "V" rear and "ball" front is on my list of chores.

[WadePatton]

Put me squarely in the Daryl's Express Sights camp for sight preference for hunting guns. 


Targets-could be different, but I have no dedicated target guns so I'll hushup now.

[rjpalmer]

Thanks for the information. For the time being I’m going to widen the notch in the rear sight so I can see on either side of the rectangular post front sight. In the mean time I’m going to look for a bead front sight  and rear sight with a “V” and give that a try.

[John Shaw]

I like different sights for different chores. For a fast highly visible hunting setup I like the British V with a bright bead. For targets I like a wide flat topped rear with a square notch and a steel post front. That means that I have to have at least two different rifles.

JS

[hudson]

I have found a partridge sight with a wide notch works well, by wide around 1/8 inch. For a hunting rifle I am leaning toward a express sight.

[OldMtnMan]

Lately with my failing vision. I like a patridge front sight and peep rear for hunting.

[recurve]

[Scota4570]

For NMLRA competition you need to:

5010–OPEN FRONT SIGHT–May be a blade, pin-head, post or barleycorn.

5020–OPEN REAR SIGHT–All rear open sights must be at least six inches forward
of the breech end of the barrel or as placed by the commercial manufacturer. They
must have a U, V, or rectangular opening, as wide at the top as any part of the notch.

So I use a "U" opening consisting of a slit 0.025" wide and about 0.050" deep, 6" from the breech plug.  I usually end up inleting a piece of hack saw blade in the rear sight.  That is slit with a dremil cut off wheel run in the milling machine.  The front sight blade is about 0.10" on a 42" barrel.  For me this set up leaves a window of light on either side of the post.  Elevation is level across the top of the rear.  The wide front sight is easier to see.   

V-notches and barley corn fronts are light sensitive for elevation.  I can not see a pin head clearly.  Trial and error lead me to the above.  I am in the late 50s, and wear glasses for astigmatism, and have early cataracts.

[Daryl]

Other designs that work for some people.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mentioning the use of a piece of hacksaw blade on the rear sight, reminded me of a 'fix' that I often use when I want to change a real sight notch.

I use some very thin steel stock, such as a thin banding steel, soldering a section of that across the back of a rear sight, so that when I re-cut a notch, it is super thin and reduces the amount of paralex (sp?).  In other words, because the notch is so thin, light doesn't bounce all over the notch, making it fuzzy.  Files cut it easily.

[recurve]

Here's another Herb sight build :
 http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=14366.msg135186#msg135186
 or this one
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=33555.msg321860#msg321860

[hanshi]

On the smoothbore the notch was opened to .185" to accomodate a set of old eyes, and it seems to do the trick.  Nothing else in the stable is that open but the process of opening them bit by bit is underway.  I think, maybe, a peep could be in my future.

[Tilefish]

If you wanted to make a square rear sight a little wider what kind of file would you recommend

[smylee grouch]

I use a thin flat needle file with three safe sides to open up those sight notches>

[Tilefish]

Thanks appreciate the help                                                                                                                                                                     

[smokinbuck]

Depending on how much you want to increase the notch (square) you can use a hack saw blade or even clamp 2 together. Gives a nice clean opening.
Mark

[Hungry Horse]

So how many times now have we been dragged through this bottomless mud hole? There’s never going to be any agreement on this. It is contingent on your area of interest. Target shooters, living history buffs, and hunters, all have different ideas of what is acceptable, and appropriate. There really isn’t much common ground, and everybody come with their own soap box.

  Hungry Horse

[Leatherbark]

I've seen old timers that use a hacksaw blade to cut the rear sight notch hammer the teeth flat first for a more precise square cut.

Bob

[Daryl]

I have used hacksaw blades taped together for cutting notches, however, the outside curf,
 I ground off to make a straighter side. The inner curf needed to be left alone so the saw
 would not bind too much.
I also used this "system" of saw blades of different teeth per inch, for re-cutting the wheels
for roller derby skates.(on the lathe)