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| The black dot was made by tracing around a dime and then filling it in. It is approximately 3/4" in diameter. |
Some "groups" with the Remington 1858 replica.
The taped holes were shot on a sunny day. The not-taped holes were shot on a cloudy day and after the voluptuous curves aft of the rear sight were spray-painted with flat-black paint.
The glare from the sunny day resulted in the group being about 3 inches below the point-of-aim.
The cloudy-day had two holes at 1.2 inches below the point-of-aim and two more at about 2" below the point of aim. It is very easy to remove metal from the front sight to raise where the bullets hit, but it is difficult to add it back. So it pays to take it slow-and-easy and sneak up on perfection. If you have four pieces of information that tell you that you are 1.2" low, 2" low, 3" low and 4" low, the smart money bets on the 1.2" low because it is inexpensive (in terms of time) to correct. If you bet on 4" low and you guessed wrong, you have a tougher situation to correct.
Another thing to consider is that anticipating-the-shot can result in the shooter "pushing" the gun before it goes off and that usually lowers where the bullet hits the target. It pays to look at "low" shots as more suspect than high ones.
My math suggested that I needed to lower the front sight by 0.015 inches to raise the group 1.2 inches at 45 feet.
We will shoot it again on the next cloudy day.
Any guidance from my readers about the very least reflective brand of, "flat" black paint will be appreciated.
Soot from a candle or oil lamp with the wick too high. --ken
ReplyDeleteTHanks!
DeleteSecond the candle soot trick. Back in the day, there used to be a sight smoker that ran off carbide- bullseye pistol shooter would use that. Don't know if they still make those, but they worked very well
DeleteSoot works great, we used calcium carbide for sight black when going to IHMSA matches.
DeleteGrumpy Old Macdonald
Yep, soot is the best thing. It's easy to replace, even in the field.
DeleteWhy not just a little black electrical tape?
ReplyDeleteThe contours of the frame are very curvaceous. Like a Kardashian with a champaign flute on her rump. It will be difficult to slick-down the tape.
DeleteAnd electrical tape is still fairly shiny.
The tape is way thicker than 15 thousands of an inch. It will also compact and wear making it unpredictable. That said, both my eyes and my aim aren't good enough to offer advice, but I use yellow fingernail polish.
DeleteMy dad taught me the soot trick of ken’s 50 years ago. Works good.
ReplyDeleteI used some black pasters once as a hood on a M1 front sight. The winter sun was so low, it was almost impossible to the see the blade without it. But the soot trick is a good thing to have at hand. Ken knows.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't paint it myself but the Key kon camo series is very flat.
ReplyDeleteI said Krylon!
ReplyDeleteRegarding shooting low. Next time you shoot don't load two chambers, but put caps on, and spin the cylinder so you don't know where they are. Then watch to see where it is pointing after you pull the trigger. And sit at a bench with a rest under the barrel and take a few shots to see where they hit.---ken
ReplyDeleteI usually use sunglasses to reduce glare.
ReplyDeletesam
Seems to me the accuracy is good enough for critters 4 and 2 legged. I'd not shoot at a deer with a cap and ball 44 but with that accuracy and the patience to wait until it beds down to bleed out you could.
ReplyDeleteHitting below the navel keeps most body armor out of the equation so that's good.
Pelvis/ hips are a good place to start. Possibly below body armor, and recoil tends to lift the muzzle, so follow on-shots work their way up the body.
DeleteSome people get very worried about a gun pointing at the genitals, so even a defensive display of a firearm might resolve the situation.
A major caliber (380 up) hit to the pelvis will likely break it, that will cause a mechanical failure and hitting the deck. They WON'T be getting back up and they might bleed out, giving you time and options.
DeleteAs it sits, it is not centered enough to consider it minute-of-bunny-rabbit at 15 paces.
DeleteWhile it might not be necessary, it is nice to have if we can get it inexpensively enough.
Maybe grip tape for baseball bats and other sports tools?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe a small bandaid or adhesive tape darkened with a permanent marker?
Fred in texas, I've never had to darken a sight yet. But I'm not done getting old either. I'd steer away from paint. its more permanent than soot. A small acid or rosin brush dipped in soot would do the trick and its removable. I'd consider the source because it will affect the oily products in the smoke. Maybe some soot from a woodstove? Or the exhaust tip on a diesel truck? A 'not oily' fuel source might have less shine and less 'seep into the bluing' effect.
ReplyDeleteFred
Leave the surface just a bit rough and use cold blue (or black) to reduce glare. Like 80-100 grit sandpaper rough.
ReplyDeleteHigh-power rifle competitors use either the soot from a carbide lamp or burner, or a very flat spray. Birchwood Casey makes the spray. It's available on Amazon. Champion's Choice sells the carbide lamp.
ReplyDeleteThe saying is "Light's up, sights up; light's right, sights right". The point of aim moves in the direction from which the light comes. Sight blacking reduces this effect.
ReplyDeleteBlack sharpie 2-3 layers
ReplyDelete