Stupid question - Smoothbore sight

Don't laugh . . . Has anyone ever put a magnetic rear sight on a smoothbore for shooting balls ? Is there such a thing? I am ok with just a front sight for shot . . . and will learn to shoot it w/o one using balls . . It's just an odd thought I had.

Never mind . . . I think that was a silly question.

My son has a magnetic bead on one of his shotguns . . didn't know if they made rear sights that were not permanent that I could line up with my front blade.

Not a silly question at all. I think most either glue or use a 2 face tape for temporary installation. I have never seen a commercially available magnetic rear sight. You could easily make one though.

Well unless you're only using it at the range, I'd say a magnetic rear sight might get knocked off in the woods, or misaligned,

I use the tang screw an a 3/4" Brass Coner Brace which I can use as a "ghost ring" or modify to a V or a peep sight.

LD

Some smoothbores did have a rear sight of some sort. Not magnetic of course, but a rear sight.

I have a rear site on my fowler because I use if mainly for hunting and need all the help I can get.

But for most competition type shooting, I get lumped in with the rifles. Since "trade gun" shoots do not allow a rear sight.

You might be very surprised at the groups you can get with just a front sight, especially with a long barrel gun where you can use the barrel to index the tang to the front sight.

Have you tried it?

Don't laugh... It's just an odd thought I had.

Click to expand...

Funny, I had that same thought last Spring. I surfed the net and found a magnet outlet and purchased one that was the size/strength I assumed would work. Well, my Brown Bess has a round barrel and a flat magnet going onto a round tends to rock. I made up a saddle shaped mount for the magnet and a slotted rear sight as a single unit. It was a magnet having over 140 pound pulling strength. (have to remember recoil) Even with strong pulling power, to me it was not a good method. It did work, but I also added some epoxy to stop the sideways roll tendency. Another bad side effect .......any other ferris metal coming near that sight wants to attach. (LOL
Forget the magnet, even if you can get one for free.
Flintlocklar :redface:

I use the tang screw on my fowler too. I line up the bead with the shadow of the slot in the screw.

Hey Mac, take a look at this thread to see a no cost temporary rear sight that worked just fine for me.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/307849/

I fitted all my fusils with a rear sight. I like it.

For load development I’ll tape a short 1” section of dowel across the breech and will file in a short ”˜V’.

In fact, LEAVE it there for a week or 2 and EVERY night pick up the musket with your eyes closed and cheek it until when you open your eyes ... you are aligned. Do it 10-20 times, but focused, not rushed. And for the advanced, once comfortable establishing the sight picture, get into your stance before each ”˜shot’ too.

In smoothie shooting roundball, your ”˜cheek’ is your rear sight and you need to build up ”˜muscle memory’ by the repeated mounting of the arm.

Smokey Plainsman said:

You might be very surprised at the groups you can get with just a front sight, especially with a long barrel gun where you can use the barrel to index the tang to the front sight.

Have you tried it?

Click to expand...

This^^

I don't even pay much attention to the front sight and keep both eyes open and focused on the target.

I hunt deer and small game hunt with traditional bows that have no sights. When I hunt with my sightless smoothbore it is the same process. Focus on the target and the conditioned/muscle memory of repetition and the eye/brain/sighting along the shaft/barrel lines things up surprisingly well . . . provided you have practiced a lot!

I can do credibly well out to 60 yards with my fowler launching a round ball.

Get a cheap or garage sale BB gun and take the sights off and see for yourself. After a while it becomes reflexive.

I had a temporary rear sight approach described in this thread: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/temporary-rear-sight-for-smoothbore.101944/

My latest approach is to take some small "rare earth" mini-magnets (there are different brands available at hardware stores, Home Depot, etc.), which are in the form of small circular disks with holes in the middle (some models have holes and others are solid across). I believe that the ones with holes are referred to as "rings" on the box. They are extremely strong magnets for their size. Different models of the disks have different outside (and inside) diameters, and different widths. Here is a link to one Home Depot model; it's not the one I have ended up using but it illustrates the concept: https://www.homedepot.com/p/MASTER-...th-Magnet-Discs-12-per-Pack-07090HD/202526371 One day, I was using one of these magnets for something else, and quickly realized that it would make a great peep sight (being similar in size to one on a M-1 Garand).

After experimentation at the range and trying lots of different combinations (which I won't bore you with now), I realized that the best approach (at least for me) was as follows: (a) use the model with the smallest outside diameter but with a decent-sized middle hole; and (b) take all or almost all of the entire set that came in a package (perhaps 8-12 depending upon the make and model), stick them all together in a straight line, and then lay them down on top of the barrel near the lock, centered. When looking through the hole, you are actually looking through many small magnets, but, if properly lined-up (which you can readily see from above), it seems like a regular peep sight and thus goes out of focus as you focus on the front sight. The magnets are very strong , and won't readily move when handling the gun (particularly in a line of 8-12 together). After shooting, they sometimes (but not always) get slightly out of line, but it takes a few seconds to fix that (which I typically do after reloading). This magnetic peep sight is more for the range than for hunting, since you can more readily double-check they are lined up properly at the former than the latter.

As with any other peep sight, accuracy depends (among other things) upon the height of the peep sight, the size of the peephole, and the size of front sight. After experimentation, and (frankly) some luck, I was able to get the peep sight to be dead-on at 50 meters with my favorite smoothbore flintlock (or at least as dead-on as I can be - ha), without doing any filing of, modification to, or replacement of the front sight. Of course, you can adjust windage by just moving the magnet-line slightly to the left or right.

This is a temporary fix. I put the magnets on when I want to shoot a smoothbore, and then take them off when finished with my range session (putting them in a container in a range box). I've noticed no scratches or other damage to the barrel from the magnets in my experience with my guns (but your mileage may vary).

The magnets aren't as stable as the adhesive button mentioned in the above-referenced thread, but allow me to use a temporary peep sight on a smoothbore. As I get older, peep sights help my "old eyes". It might also be an useful approach for others.

I saw a musket with an improvised rear sight that I liked enough to use it myself. Take a short piece of flat steel bar material, and make a right angled bend about one inch or so long. Drill the short end to allow the tang bolt to pass through. On the other end, make a V notch. The short end gets attached to the barrel tang using the bolt, and the upright piece can be adjusted to your liking, either as a peep sight or open iron V notch. Easily reversible and doesn't mess anything up. Did I say it's cheap and easily made at home?

Micah Clark said:

Don't laugh . . . Has anyone ever put a magnetic rear sight on a smoothbore for shooting balls ?

Click to expand...

It all depends on whose balls you are shooting.

dave

Dave, you are as bad of a wise-cracker as Shawnee.

My smoothbore was built with a rear sight installed. I just shoot it like a rifle with both ball and shot. The gun shoots really well, so outfitted.

At Army basic training back in the 1960s we trained with BB guns sans sights. Good work could be done the slick barrel guns even on flying targets.

I made and installed one on my Fowler. I hunt with mine and it's just easier for me to maintain accuracy with a rear sight for reference.

HH

I designed and made a removable rear site for a smooth bored gun. It's made from a piece of thin flat brass about 1/16th " narrower than your tang, long enough to fit ON the tang and slightly bent to fit against the tang. Bend up (90 degrees to the line from the beach to the muzzle.about 3/8" on on end and make sure it fits higher than the breach and file to a decorative point on the other end. Find the center of the tang screw and drill the appropriate size hole for the tang screw. Mount the site. At the range, find the center of the bent up front by marking with a pencil, use mark to shoot at a vertical line 15 to 25 yards is fine. Move pointed end right or left (windage) until you hit the line target. Peen or scratch a small dot into the tang at the sights point; now you can safely remove the sight. To install, you screw it on, line the point and dot and tighten down. READY to go. You can make range marks by cutting the groove slightly wider and shallower for each farther distance you'd like. Cut the sight groove as thin as you can to start. Each widened slit area is a farther measure. You need to mark with pencil and shoot to determine your distance; then make a wider cut down the channel. Your distance marks are personal need. You can also mark your front sight for more, longer range marks. You can leave the finished product plain or engrave/file to dress it up. PM if ????