Home Forums Hunting & Shooting BPCR Hunting sights

So,

After a quarter century love affair inspired by Quigley Down Under, I put down a deposit at Shiloh Sharps on one of these:



It's chambered in 45-70, because I'm not a BP purist and might consider shooting smokeless rounds (although then again, I might not.)

I'm not likely to be shooting steel at ungodly distances. However, I believe I'd like to hunt with it.

Your suggestions for sight packages would be welcome. At 53, I don't have the greatest eyesight, so consider that with your reply. Also, as I doubt that I'd be shooting over 250 yards, is a mid-range vernier tang sight worth the jingle?

Thanks in advance,

KP

For a HUNTING sight, a vernier is not what you want. Way too slow and too fragile. The very best hunting sight comes on your Shiloh. It is the barrel buck horn sight and blade front. If you have trouble seeing the blade, get glasses that allow you to see it. Correlate the sight ladder with a laser rangefinder. TRULY learn to use the ladder barrel sight, and you can reach from the end of your barrel to as far as you can see. Remember this: buffalo were killed by the millions with Sharps rifles and BARREL SIGHTS by men who knew how to use them. I'm not blowing smoke, I've hunted with a Sharps for years with barrel sights and traditional ammunition. Don't handicap yourself with a vernier for hunting.

sharpsguy told it like it is.

My eyes don't mesh well with barrel sights any more. A large aperture peep works much better for me. On my C. Sharps '85 and '74 that are for hunting, I have what they called their New Ideal sporting tang sight. MVA sells a similar tang sight model for the Shiloh.

You have no idea how much you are handicapping yourself with that dinky peep sight. It is as simple as getting a pair of cheap reading glasses that let you see the front sight, then LEARNING HOW to run and use the ladder barrel sight.

Hell, I'm 72 years old and have to wear glasses to tie my shoes, but I use the barrel sights on my Shilohs and will kill elk and deer all day long at 3 and 4 hundred yards if I need to.

I'm with tmitch. There are considerable accuracy gains going with a tang sight. Much longer sight plain. Congrats on the Sharps. Probably the finest craftsmanship to be had on a US production firearm.

Hey Tmitch and 1minute, have you men shot any animals much over 50 yards with these sights on your BPCR's?

If so, you posses a far greater talent than I'll ever dream of having, must be pure speed to be able to range and animal then correlate/adjust a sight like this a fire a clean killing hit on a game animal.

Is there a way you mark/file the danged threads on the thing so you can spin it up or down to a predetermined range mark?

Thanks for the information,
Gunner

On your scoped rifles without a yardage marked elevation turret or reticle, how in the world do you shoot an animal past your sight-in distance?

LOL, I see, Kentucky windage rotated 90 degrees, I was wondering because I remember the precise movements and slight marks on the ladder barrel sight that Sharpsguy was making for me, he had me ringing steel with my 45-70 Shiloh from 100 out to 500 yards in about 30 minutes.

The sight correlation marks running up the ladder allow me to have precise aiming points, I need that fine aiming point.

Who's using a scoped rifle?

Frank Mayer did. Perhaps he couldn't see barrel sights either?
I don't dispute that fine work can be done with ladder sights. However in a hunting situation with low contrast targets, old eyes with a healthy dose of presbyopia then, for me at least, a large aperture and blade front is the answer. What's the use of finely tuned yardage marks when you can't even get a sight picture?

Cheer up guys,....my new improved Braille sights are in final development.

They're not going to be cheap, so we'll be offering a chit hot layaway plan.

GTC

I tape a white cane to my barrel

Frank Mayer did not use a scope with no way to judge distance. His scope was a 20 power German Vollmer with two additional sets of cross hairs that covered a distance of 30 inches at 200 yards. No turrets, but a bdc reticle of sorts. Regardless of what you might think at first glance, a properly set up ladder and blade is a far more effective HUNTING sight than a scope on a BPCR. A set of eyeglasses that lets you see the front blade will allow you to use the barrel ladder sight.

Sharpsguy is right. From my experience hunting with iron sights, the open sight is a better hunting sight. I will go one better and say that the wide V and bead is better than the buckhorn and blade for me, or I also prefer just a flat bar and a bead where my hunting is and the ranges at less than 200 metres.

But a V or buckhorn rear and a front blade will work better for longer range shots if you hunt in open country all the time.

I have come to the conclusion that aperture sights are better for target shooting.

Most folks don't understand that a standard full buckhorn rear barrel sight can be used like a rear aperture sight!! But you won't accomplish the mission by shooting 4-5 shots and hollering "Aw schitt"! Takes time behind the rifle!!

Preach it, Brother, Preach It!

tmitch, I'm another one with less than young eyes, more than a little presbyopia, and a Shiloh 1874 in .45-70.

That said, the Grand Masters here have convinced me by showing and teaching me how to consistently use the buckhorn rear ladder sight and a blade front sight to make GOOD hits out past 500 yards. I didn't believe it could be done until they took the time to teach me. They have figured out how the Old Guys did it and have repeated it time after time.

These guys aren't talking out of their butts, there are videos of these guys doing what they are preaching.

Tang sights are great IF you have the time to fiddle with them to change elevation for varying distances. What Gunner500 said about the ladder sight is absolutely true.

You don't lose the hunting accuracy and you certainly gain speed.

Even if you choose the tang sights, get someone to show you how to properly use the ladder sights. You'll be very glad you did when a quick shot is needed and no time to twirl he knob(s) on a tang sight.

To KP, congratulations on the Shiloh, you won't be disappointed in quality or accuracy.

Ed

Damn right Ed, kinda amazing what you saw under that little shaded shooting bench not far from you, huh?

If one man's magic is another man's science, I saw a lot of magic at that shaded bench.

Just grateful as Hell that he decided to take me under his wing. He's forgotten more about this game than most will ever know.

Crossfireoops is another enabler of this addiction that has seen the elephant.

One of these days I'll get to shake Sharpsman's and Ranch 13's hands, too. If they'll let me in their presence...

Ed

Sharpsguy....ain't no idiot either! He's 100% right in stating that a pair of cheap glasses from Wally World can get you to seeing the sights again if you're careful in the glasses you pick in diopter strength! If you expect to see a target totally in focus at the same time you're seeing the sights you're asking to defy nature because the eye can't focus on two different objects at the same time but it's imperative that you see the sights in your primary vision clearly and your target in the secondary vision which will be slightly out of focus! THAT'S the way it should be!!