Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why a 45-70?

There are several advantages for the ladder over the tang aperture. One is the tang aperture is fragile and easily damaged. Another is that it is much slower to adjust for varying distances than the ladder with the sliding leaf. Yet another is that the tang aperture is just that--an aperture. That means that everything is centered up on the sight picture, and you can't "fudge" the front blade up or down for a slight, instantaneous adjustment for impact if you need to. But another big reason is that the aperture sight does not work as well in really low light as does the open notch and blade of the ladder sight. With the copper penny front sight and the ladder, I have shot coyotes in moonlight. You simply can't do that with an aperture.

I haven't shot matches competitively in a couple of years, but as a result of that experience I have several rifles with the target tang sights. I quickly discovered years ago that these sights do not work as well for hunting as the buckhorn and blade ladder sights that come as standard on a Sharps. The early Winchesters and Marlin lever guns had the ladder sights as well, and for good reason--they work.

I also experimented with a folding tang "hunting aperture" rear sight that is quicker to adjust than the mechanical vernier style sight. With these, you simply loosen the eyepiece and slide it up and down for the desired elevation. These, too, are much too slow to use in the hunting field, and have the disadvantage of being both fragile and in the way.

ALL of the original Sharps buffalo rifles I have examined have the buckhorn ladder and blade front sight. These guys hunted and shot over varying distances for a living, and this is the sight set up favored by them.

After I figured out how they were using their sights, I understood why they did it that way. It is simply the quickest, easiest, and most durable set up going.