Love the barrel hate the sights

[Bassdog1]

Got a like new 45 caliber Seneca barrel from Track of the Wolf the other day. Took it to the range today and got some good results from the 50 yard line. The only issue I have is the factory sights. Bottoming out the rear sight I still had to bury the front sight in the notch to get where I wanted it. Loaded 60 grains Goex FFF, .445 cast ball and a .015 patch lubed with tracks mink oil. I own a couple other Senecas in 32 and 36 and switched the sights on them to Cherokee sights which I like a little better. I will work on the load some more and need to find some .440 balls to try also. Overall though loved shooting it as it was very pleasant to shoot with 60 grains and shows plenty of potential just didnt like having to burry the blade that far in the rear sight.

 

[Woody Morgan]

Bend it.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/well-i-got-the-smoothbore-but-now.137834/
wm

 

[Bassdog1]

I think I may work on the rear sight before I start bending. Not really known for being a finesse type person and I can see this going bad for me real quick. But I appreciate the suggestion.

 

[deermanok]

Taller front sight?

 

[Britsmoothy]

Can the front site be replaced with a taller one?
Can it be altered so it is slightly taller?

 

[Bad Karma]

Yes. You need a taller sight.

 

[Bassdog1]

Taller sight is what I might try although the one on it is pretty tall already. I am going to look it over today and see if there is anything i can do with the rear sight,

 

[Bassdog1]

Might try and mill down the rear sights to make a really shallow notch. Thoughts?

 

[deermanok]

Worth a shot, no pun intended.
File off some of top and cut the deeper as needed.

 

[deermanok]

Notch.

 

[Bob McBride]

Solder a piece of German silver or brass plate on top of your front sight and file it flush. Taller sight and a bead all in one.

 

[Bad Karma]

Taller sight is what I might try although the one on it is pretty tall already. I am going to look it over today and see if there is anything i can do with the rear sight,

My Seneca came with the standard patridge sight and it was too short as well. I had a t/c rear peep (made for the Cherokee/Seneca rifles) so I added a Lyman 17 to the front and all is well. I would imagine Track of the Wolf has a suitable front sight for you…

 

[Bassdog1]

Thanks for the Ideas went and shot again and I believe if I trim the rear sight down to make the notch much shallower it will work much better. Going to wait to do it as I recovered patches today and even though groups looked good patches were shredded. These were the Pushing Daisy patches from October Country .015 and were as thick as I could load with the cast .445 ball. Patch weave is loose and I feel the design of them encourages shredding. Gonna order some better patches and some .440 balls to try before I start modifying the sights. Want to have this gun ready for Gun season to open Mid November.

 

[deermanok]

Try an idea I got from Idaho Lewis.
He uses a lubed patch as an over powder cushion before the patched ball.
I tried it and my accuracy improved quite a bit and recovered patches were almost good enough to reuse.

 

[Bassdog1]

I will give that a try

 

[Hawken2012]

I recently purchased a .36 caliber Seneca. I love shooting this rifle! Like you, I ran out of downward adjustment with the factory sight. I never liked the factory modern looking adjustable sights, so I easily made something a little more traditional looking.

For the front sight I ordered a blank from Track of the Wolf. Part #FS-TC-BB-80

From there I reshaped it and left it plenty high to make adjustments if needed.

For the rear sight I had to get a little more creative, because I didn't want to cut a dovetail in my barrel. I wanted to be able to put the factory sights back on, if needed, for resale value.

I recently put a scope on my Glenfield Marlin Model 60 .22 rifle. So I had the rear sight in my parts drawer. These rear sights can easily be found on eBay for around $20.

I used my Dremel to cut off the dovetail part on the front of the sight. I then reshaped the front to a point. Then I used the cutting drill bit to make a larger slot at the front of the elevator ramp opening for the mounting screw (these spring steel sights are impossible to drill a hole through). I then measured the distance for the rear screw (mine is an early barrel with the closer screw spacing) and used the bit to make the second slot. I used the original sight base screws to mount my new sight and indexed the slots so they aligned with the barrel. Lastly, I cut the front of the elevator ramp off so that it would fit in the opening.

I am really happy with how this new sight setup works! The new rear sight is solid! No more wiggling factory boxy rear sight. Windage adjustment was made by moving the front sight in the dovetail. Elevation was adjusted by filing down the front to bring the point of impact up (this new rear sight was lower than the factory one).

I sighted the rifle in with the elevator ramp in the first (bottom) notch, so that it is dead on at 25 yards. I can then use the ramp to adjust elevation up if I need to shoot longer distances. It works great!

Plus, I think the new sights are much more period looking and give the rifle a more traditional feel.

 

[Bassdog1]

I like that setup Hawken

 

[Bad Karma]

Thanks for the Ideas went and shot again and I believe if I trim the rear sight down to make the notch much shallower it will work much better. Going to wait to do it as I recovered patches today and even though groups looked good patches were shredded. These were the Pushing Daisy patches from October Country .015 and were as thick as I could load with the cast .445 ball. Patch weave is loose and I feel the design of them encourages shredding. Gonna order some better patches and some .440 balls to try before I start modifying the sights. Want to have this gun ready for Gun season to open Mid November.

Try an idea I got from Idaho Lewis.
He uses a lubed patch as an over powder cushion before the patched ball.
I tried it and my accuracy improved quite a bit and recovered patches were almost good enough to reuse.

I’m using the patch under the prb… it’s worth doing in my opinion, but the Daisy patches are a gimmick and they do shred terribly. A standard round patch or cut from a strip is a better way to go.

 

[dave951]

My complaint about most factory "Hawken" sights is the front is a bead the size of Jupiter and it obscures most of the targets I want to shoot. Good thing I have a file and ain't afraid to use it.

 

[boker]

Wow some great info on this thread.
My Cherokee load is shooting low but wish it shot high because with mine it gets very iffy when loosing up the rear sight screw to rise it. I wish i could lock it down tight.

overall i am fine with factory sights but wish they had a more postive adjustment on elevation screw.