Front sight for black shiloette targets?
- Thread starter Valiant
- Start date
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
With my "marginalized vision" I much prefer the O insert...shooting white or black, if you see the color of your target in the circle, pull the trigger
I put up a white target on a black sheet of cardboard. The circle or lollipop front sight was awesome.
But I have a black horse. One is black and other is a dark Bay. They where not so far from my backstop.
I started looking at them with my sights. The front sight just disappeared.
So I started switching inserts. They all just disappeared on the dark horses. On the red dun. They worked. But not on the dark horses. Not even the post insert. To black or shaded.
Today I took some orange fingernail polish to the one insert that has four posts. It's like the lollipop but it's 4 posts instead of the circle. Hopefully this will help.
At the club where we shoot the shiloettes are black. I've always used a normal either brass or blade regular open hunting sight and these I can see.
I might have to go back to a normal front open blade sight.
I will try the fingernail polish and see if it helps .
Thanks for the response
I assume your using a globe front site. Pick one of the circles. Use the right size. Different sizes for different distances. The idea is to have the bullseye match perfectly. Outer edge of the bullseye and inner edge circle lining up perfectly. Doesn’t always happen. The idea is if you can’t see the white background you should be shooting the center of the black bullseye.
The post inserts I do a 6 o’clock hold and adjust my sites to hit center of target.
On my military surplus I have an automotive white paint marker I paint the front blade with.
The post inserts I do a 6 o’clock hold and adjust my sites to hit center of target.
On my military surplus I have an automotive white paint marker I paint the front blade with.
So at the cowboy shoot I can't adjust my sights.
Range is unknown. Shiloettes will be black.
I have a idea of the range but it might be different next shoot.
So sighting in so gun shoots high at certain range and low at others.
Kentucky elevation and windage.
After my last post I went outside and held up gun at different targets.
The orange fingernail polish does nothing unless sun directly behind me.
I tried different inserts and it's brighter today than yesterday.
The thicker lollipop insert is easier to see on a black Angus cow. But visibility depends on location of the sun.
I'm not sold on these hooded insert front sights yet. I definitely wouldn't use one on a moose or bear hunt.
Thanks for your reply
Have heard of shooters putting fiber optic into those globe sights, something adapted from archery sights iirc
I put a Pedersoli fiber optic set on my 1885, front and rear
If you have a front blade maybe try just gluing a fiber on top to test how it looks, local archery shop should have something
I put a Pedersoli fiber optic set on my 1885, front and rear
If you have a front blade maybe try just gluing a fiber on top to test how it looks, local archery shop should have something
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
You need to educate your cowboy shoot director...all lever gun sillywet targets should be at a "known & positive range from match to match so folks can line their rifles up at home for a specific range and have an expectation of hitting targets and then positively re-setting their sights for different animals....nothing will discourage new shooters into leaving a sport faster than always missing the targets...I hear it all the time "damn this is just a waste of ammo"....especially wives that dont understand "holdovers & ballistic drops".
It's side match at cowboy action.
Pistol cartridge lever guns at unknown ranges but roughly 100 to 200 yards I'm guessing
Rifle cartridge lever guns at unknown ranges but I'm guessing 200 to 300 yardish ranges
Single shot rifles at a Buffalo I'm guessing 350 yards or more.
All guns pre 1898.
Cast bullets only
No scope
Timed event so you need 10 shot lever guns and no sight adjustments
Off hand standing shooting but you can cheat by using a shooting stick that club provides.
I actually love it.
The key is to show up with guns you know very well.
If you know where your guns shoot at different ranges.
Make best compromise sight adjustment before you go up to shoot because once you get there you can see the targets and guess the ranges.
It's more about how well you know your rifle. You won't win by luck.
And another reason for doing it this way is it keeps the gun's and loads more authentic.
Example I'm probably going to ditch the target front sight and go back to original open blade sight.
Also with targets at different ranges and no sight adjustments as you shoot. Plus we are in a really windy area.
Target or really light smokeless loads with lightweight bullets are a disadvantage compared to a full black powder load with heavy cast bullets because of wind drift and trajectory.
Keeps guns and gear more authentic. Keeps match moving along without guys adjusting sights or swabbing out their bore with cleaning patches between shots.
If you are having trouble focusing on the front sight , go to your optometrist and have him make you a set of glasses that will keep you on the front sight . All I shoot is irons and can keep my group the size of a teacup at 20 yds offhand , one hand and I am going to be 69 this year. Can’t see the target worth beans , but that doesn’t matter, front sight only.
I have a reproduction of a 1876 Winchester that has a black blade front sight.
Because the sight does not have a hood on it. I can see it when shooting a black target.
I just bought a 1874 Montana sharps that has one of those target hooded front sights that has different inserts. It's this sight that I have trouble with.
It depends on sun's position and how cloudy.
But the hood or Because it's covered is the problem. Just makes front sight blend in with target.
I'm pretty good with a rifle. I've been out shooting guys who have these fancy hooded target sights.
I've been using normal open sights. I thought they had an advantage over me because of their fancy vernier or peep rear sights and fancy aperture front sights.
Now I'm starting to wonder if I had an advantage over them because I just had plain open regular front sight?
Sounds like fun Valiant, those distances sound rather generous
Know your gun and load , plus being familiar with seeing silhouettes at various distances in practice would be good too
assumimg they are full size? what cartridge are you taking? BP or substitutes only? or is smokeless okay at lower BP speeds?
Where is the shoot taking place?
Know your gun and load , plus being familiar with seeing silhouettes at various distances in practice would be good too
assumimg they are full size? what cartridge are you taking? BP or substitutes only? or is smokeless okay at lower BP speeds?
Where is the shoot taking place?
They had two side match long range rifle shoots last year. I'm not sure of target sizes because they won't let you walk over to the targets but they are fair sized.
I have different surgeries coming up this year but hopefully I can go when they have the long range rifle shoots.
Primarily it's a cowboy action club with regular monthly shoots. There are two clubs. A summer and winter club.
The summer club has the rifle shoots. It's in Southern Alberta. If you PM me I can get you in touch. Basically right now most of the summer club is in Arizona during the winter.
If God willing I plan on using my regular 45 colt 1873 uberti match rifle. 1876 uberti 45-60 for the mid range rifle part and a Montana 1874 sharps in 40-70 ss for the Quigley part.
I hope to get all three running with blackpowder.
You can use smokeless or black. The 1876 and the 1874 are new to me this year guns so I c ont really have them running yet.
The 1876 seems to run better with Trailboss than with black but I have to keep working at it. See the lever guns you are shooting each 10 times in a row and you can't cleanyour barrel. So with the black right now my accuracy goes down with every shot and you have to shoot the closer targets first and then workout to the farther ones. Ten shots in a row is quite a bit with black.
Black is just more fun to shoot. I've been playing with duplex and I'm going to have to get some woll felt and make some grease wads.
You can use anytime of powder you want. Just have to use cast lead bullets. It also has to be in a traditional pre 1898 cartridge. Although 357 magnum and I think 9mm is finding its way into cowboy action.
But you can't shoot a 444 marlin or a 1895 Winchester in 30-06 and jacketed bullets.
For lever guns you really should have a 10 round magazine capacity or as close as you can get.
