Thoughts on sights

[Curtis]

Wapsuki - This is on an original Leman I have:

[Long John]

When my eyes have gotten so bad that I can no longer use the "fat-boy" Patridge pattern sights I currently use I will swap out the rear for a closed buckhorn.  That sight form is authentic for the post 1820 time period but not for the pre-revolutionalry time period. 

Mark Baker has an article in one of his books that includes an historical account of an old guy on the frontier going out to fight off indians with a piece of paper affixed to the muzzle of his gun so he could aim.  Chuck Dixon has told me that often the rifles were build without sights and the shooter just aimed down the top flat of the barrel.  It depends on what your accuracy needs are, I suppose.

Best Regards,

JMC

[Acer Saccharum]

Rifles with no sights? Point and shoot!

[eagle24]

Rifles with no sights? Point and shoot!

The way I've shot the last few times, I may need to try that.

[Waksupi]

Squirrelheart, interesting design. Can it actually function as an aperture in that form, or is it still basically a notch type sight system?

[B Shipman]

Squirrelheart, Not much chance that's an original Leman sight, but very cool.

[Curtis]

Wakasupi,

I have not yet shot this rifle, however It appears the sight can be used like a notch sight AND an aperture sight.  The rifle has a broken wrist at the moment, but I plan on shooting it when I get it repaired.  The bore on this old rifle is excellent and I'm certain it would love to be taken squirrel hunting...... 

Bill, I would have to agree with you that the sight is not original to the gun, but it is appears to be a period replacement.

[northmn]

To me period replacements should be as valuable as the origninal sight.  Kind of like peep sights on the old Winchester 30-30's in my neck of the woods.  That how they were used a great deal.  This thread got my tail in gear to replace a sight on my 54.  I bent over a sheet of 1/16 brass to get a 1/8 in sight.  When I look at the fine target sight it had before, it was no wonder I could not see it in the woods. Opended up the rear sight too.  maybe that rifle is not jinxed

DP

[Daryl]

As DP noted in an earlier post, I am kinda partical to this sight- especially for hunting.  For target shooting, it still worked well enough to gather a few 1sts at Rondy - as a matter of fact, in every round ball match I used it in. The longest shots were in the 175 to 200 yard range.


In this picture, I've used a flash to brighten the pic. so the sight profiles could be seen.  Actually, the sight picture in the bottom picture, is the 200 yard zero for the hunting load.  If I didn't move the rifle and raised the next leaf, the bead would be sitting in the valley of the 'v'.  The British proved this to be the very best open hunting sight there is, to the point of filing it into all the rifle's express sights, all the way to a 500 yard zero on some rifles.  The design is over 150 yards old and is used on all double rifle as well as modern bolt action African rifles sold today.