No 4 Mark 1/2 at 300 yards with Battle Sights.

Don'tkillbill

Don'tkillbill

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I love my No4. It does look nice in the sun and it shoots well. I got a 12 inch group at 300 yards using the battle sights. I have the MK2 pressed flip up sights and want the machined sights. Are they called Singer sights? Anyway the flip up sights were off at 500 yards but I was happy with my 300 yards and will work on 500 as the summer continues.

Any suggestions for rear sights. The Parker Hale are rather pricey and want something I can add to the rifle without damaging the stock.

 
I originally had the mkIII stamped rear sight on my '43 longbranch. My groups were ok but they weren't the greatest with that set up.
I then bought a Parker hale PH5C with the adjustable eyepiece and gave it another try.

I cut my groups in 1/2 on the first outing with my new sights. The PH5C sights are pricey but they are well worth the money if you shoot on a regular basis and if you are somebody that is very interested in accuracy.

BTW, I love your rifle, the wood on it is just gorgeous!!
 
The PH5C is well worth the money, shot using it out to 900 yards years ago. Originally paid $25.00 for mine from SIR in Winnipeg, should have bought more. LOL
 
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Using a large aperture battle sight, and average military ammunition, a 12 inch group at 300 yards is not bad. A good target load, and using the ladder sight will shrink those groups considerably. Also, try shooting with the bayonet attached.

The Mark I micrometer adjustable sight works well. Singer was only one of the makers of these sights.
 
That's 4 MOA, which is not bad for a 65-or-so-year-old rifle with the very minimal sights he was using. What ammunition, is my question?

From a COMBAT point of view, it is ALL HITS, which is NOT to be disrespected.

From a Deep-Freeze point of view it is one helluvva lot of MOOSE STEW, which also is not to be disrespected.

EVEN with the little Mark 2 sight, friend, there is a nasty little trick you can use to tighten up those groups. The FRONT SIGHT on your rifle is ADJUSTABLE sideways. Loosen it off and move the Sight Blade ONE HALF of a blade-width to the right (that's the LEFT when you are shooting the rifle). Now aim with the UPPER-RIGHT CORNER of the Sight Blade. Your groups WILL tighten up.

An alternative to your little Mark 2 rear sight would be the Mark 1, which was the preferred sight for the Number 4 Rifle, It was also the BOTTLENECK in production, owing to the difficulty in making that long, very fine micrometer-screw-thread elevating screw, hence the development of sights which were faster and cheaper to make. It is VERY finely-adjustable vertically; horizontal adjustment was done on your FRONT sight. They show up on the EE for about $25 these days. Changing-over from the Mark 2 to the Mark 1 is quick and easy, but it requires tools. You need NO extra parts. Do NOT lose that teensy-weensy-itty-bitty Sight Axis Locking Pin! A 1/16 pin punch is what you need to remove it, along with needle-nose pliers. Twenty-minute job.

The PH-5C sight is a beautiful mechanism, but there are not enough of them to go around. That's why they are so expensive. I had one on a 7.62 Number 4 and, even with DA 1961 ammo and my bad eyes, it would turn in just a hair over 1 MOA, same with my home-rolled stuff: 3-1/4 inch 5-shot groups at 300.

Pop over to milsurps dot com, take out a (free) Membership and download yourself a copy of "Shoot to Live!" (also free). It is the Canadian late-WW2 manual on accurate shooting with the Number 4 Rifle. It is lavishly illustrated and it EXPLAINS everything in language that even I can understand. We trained with this manual back in the early 1960s and there is NO better book ANYWHERE ANYWHEN on shooting an iron-sight rifle with Aperture Sights. And the price is right!

You are having a lot of fun. Good! THAT's what it's all about!

Hope this helps.
 
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The Mk1 sight is what you're looking for, you'll definitely see a difference. While they don't have the absolute precision of a PH, they're a big step up from the flip sight - a lot of the precision of the PH is lost outside the confines of match shooting. That and a front sight adjusting tool.
 
X2 for the "shoot to live" manual, read it and went out this weekend with 3 different 303 rifles. My groups were a little tighter and most of the fliers were gone, not much but realised how wrong I was holding the rifles. Shoulder hurts a lot less after a day of shooting. Just need to learn to get the same sight picture each time. Not as easy as I thought!
Hopefully with some practice I can do as good as Don'tkillbill

Rodney
 
Thanks For the tips Smellie I will take a read of the article you mentioned.

I'm closing in on a set of Mark 1 sights then I heard about the Parker Hale 8/53 and I think that's what I will try and get. The ammo was reloads 174 grain rnd Hornady I'm not sure if I got the powder just right but I'm close.

I'm pleased with the group when you are target you shoot against yourself. I just want to improve.

If you check out my channel you can see this rifle change from a sporter to this. The wood might be extra wood from the Irish contract that was never sent that came from a guy with the accent and the Lee Enfield collection to back it up. Anyway the wood is from the Fazakerley factory.

Maybe next year I can hit a 12 inch black target at 300 yards and go for the 15 rounds in a minute.

If I go black bear hunting in the fall this may be my rifle.
 
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