So I had my old cooey out, and i got thinking, after all these years of shooting it, I have no idea about what distance each step on the ladder represents. I know its a dumb question, and feel stupid asking, but is there a set standard for 22 ladder sights? I've always kept mine in the middle and never adjust.
Ladder sights on a .22 what distance does each step represent?
- Thread starter Bulldog26
- Start date
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Is not "dumb", but I do not know the answer either, and would like to know!! I had read was supposed to be a known thing when firing Winchester rifles - each "step" on the elevator was supposed to be a particular range, but never gave it much thought - my gopher shooting days with the iron sight Cooey involved a LOT of Kentucky windage and elevation - we were not much to mess around with Dad's sights!!! (Truth be told - I do not think, now, that he messed with them much either - needed a "gunsmith" for that - so learned to hold off as needed to hit what you wanted to hit.) Hence, there was "correct" elevators for specific cartridges, so they were different one rifle to the other, if the cartridge was different, even if the rifle was same model. 32 Special versus 30/30 and so on. Is my assumption that same thinking moved over to Cooey - especially after Winchester bought them out.
I suspect the step design of the wedge was just the simplest, cheapest way to make an adjustable rear sight, so the user could zero it to whatever range they desired with their choice of ammo. I don't think there was ever an intent that each step represent a particular distance. That would in part require a standardization of the ammo you used. You could always measure the height of each incriment, the distance between the front and rear sight, and use trigonometry to figure out the MOA that it represents by calculating the small angle of the triangle it forms with the height of one incriment being the height of the short side of the triangle and the distance between the sights being one of the long sides.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
As per Grizzlypeg Post #3, should be simple enough to set up sandbags at 50 yard target and work through the "steps" - see where the holes end up. But from my growing up - Central Sask - I do not EVER remember anyone "wasting shells" to shoot at targets, let alone "sight in" - was supposed to be done at the factory, I think. And that included rifles for hunting deer - not just the Cooeys. My Dad passed away about 10 years ago - I doubt he fired 20 rounds at targets, in his life - his WWII RCAF training excepted.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
It would be different based on the ammunition you used. So only way is testing it yourself.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Post #5 is "yep - pretty much" - a 4 MOA sight adjustment is actually 4 MOA - but then depends on the ammo, for where the holes started out / ended up? But adjusting sights 4 MOA should move those holes 4 MOA, no?
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Little Badger - kind of up to you to shoot at 25 yards or 50 yards and tell us what those numbers result in - if can not shoot to show difference, really does not matter, does it? I have an elderly Husqvarna single shot rifle with octagonal barrel - a type called "Sakrat" - I think like a Model 165 or similar - has engraving on barrel that the notches for rear sight at "20", "50", "100" and "200" - I have no clue if yards or meters - no clue if standard or high velocity ammo - so is set at "20", and I shoot stuff with that - lots of Kentucky windage and elevation, from time to time.
- Location
- Brockville, ON
Just like Grizzlypeg says, I'd measure the distance from front to rear sight and the height of each notch on the elevation ramp. The only difference in my approach is that I use ratios, so at say 20" of sight radius and one step is .09", I would take the target distance in yards (say 25 yards), convert it to inches (25 yards x 36), divide it by the sight radius, then multiply by the notch height. That would tell you what a notch is worth at 25 yards, but if 100 yards was used for the target distance, then you'd have basically MOA.
Results in my example would be 25 x 36 / 20 x 0.09 = 4.05" per notch at 25 yards. That would be approximately 16.2 MOA which is a lot, but I just picked numbers off the top of my head here lol
I use this strategy to figure out adjustment values on my open sight guns. Sometimes I'm figuring out the increments by thread count on a aperture post. On a ramp like Williams and Remington rear sights have I measure the ramp height at the first and last lines, find the difference and divide that by the number of lines to get the value of height change at each line... There's always a way to figure it out with a caliper and calculator.
Results in my example would be 25 x 36 / 20 x 0.09 = 4.05" per notch at 25 yards. That would be approximately 16.2 MOA which is a lot, but I just picked numbers off the top of my head here lol
I use this strategy to figure out adjustment values on my open sight guns. Sometimes I'm figuring out the increments by thread count on a aperture post. On a ramp like Williams and Remington rear sights have I measure the ramp height at the first and last lines, find the difference and divide that by the number of lines to get the value of height change at each line... There's always a way to figure it out with a caliper and calculator.
