Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders accuracy with open sights

What kind of accuracy can a person have with open sights at say 100yds with an inline BP rifle? Just wondering what every one else is averaging. I am getting about 3 to 4 inch groups. What are some tips or advise someone can give me to tighten that up. I am shooting off a front rest and a rear bag to sight in.

Thanks in advance

You're doing as good as any and better than most. Go kill something.

I have a helluva hard time drawing a fine bead with most issued factory irons. My hawken has a fine silver blade up front and a good buckhorn sight for a rear. A guy with good eyes can actually draw a very good sight picture with it to 100 yards easy. I'd suggest looking for options if still shooting factory sights.

This is as good as I can do with a flinter, offhand at 50. I hunt with full confidence.

3-4" groups @100 yards with open sight, yep, I'd take that. That's as good, or better, than I could do with any of my guns with open sights.

That is about what I get.Younger days a bit better

I'd say that is great for a muzzleloader. Might help a bit if one described his sight system and slugs used. Iron sight potential is MOA or slightly better if one follows the competition crowd. My muzzleloader won't do that (about softball sized groups with round balls), but I have an iron sighted Sharps 45-90 that has repeatedly done 3-shot moa groups at 100. Need to load some different slugs though before I stretch it out. One aspect that really helps is to find or create a target that precisely fits ones sight system such that the images can be precisely centered and replicated from shot to shot. One will need different dimensioned targets if he wants to reach a variety of extreme ranges.

With my Sharps and peeps in front and back, a 6-inch white bull's eye within a black background centers beautifully in the front peep with the narrowest of a black ring visible around the edges. It also helps that the rear is a tang sight making the sight plain 37 inches from front to rear. Minor deviations in alignment are quite noticeable across a span that long. If I was using a barrel mounted buck horn, I'd loose over a foot of that sight plain. Those peeps are great for targets, but I have to go with a rear peep and front post for hunting. The front peep just does not work for me in low light and with animals that come close to matching their background.

Briefly put, irons can be extremely accurate if they mesh well with ones target.

Considerable difference between open sights and what is typically meant by iron sights. With my MVA sight set up on my Shiloh #1 sporter in 40-70 SS and its best load it is consistently sub-MOA. I have a couple German single shot rifles with which I have fired the fluke sub-MOA group with open sights. I think that just proves the rifle is capable but the shooter isn't with the sights on the rifle. Generally those rifles will group around 2 inches at 100 yards with me shooting. With conventional open sights, in my instance a U notch rear and bead front, I consider anything between 3 and 4 inches pretty good and that includes my Gary White, Jaeger flinter, my Gun Works Hawken and the custom 45 Lancaster flinter hanging above the fireplace. An in-line should be just as capable though I've never owned or fired one.

A peep would perhaps tighten the group.

But peeps restrict dim light shooting unless it is a big ghost ring.

How is the trigger?

Another thing that may improve your groups is to remember to hold the MZ. It takes a while for the slug to leave the tube.

But 3 to 4 inches at 100 yards is pretty good in my book!

I have a Williams fp peep on my knight mk85 and firesight front. I shoot 460 no excuse bullets and it will shoot 1" easy at 100. Love the setup. I can shoot it better than with a scope honestly.

looks like I am doing ok. I have added a eabco peep sight to my cva. I am also looking for a new front sight globe with a cross hair insert. I will see if that helps any better.


Thanks for all the replys

"I am also looking for a new front sight globe with a cross hair insert. I will see if that helps any better."

That's gonna be about as useful as a side-saddle on a piss ant!!

If using a peep...concentrate on the front sight and target.

If using your vision correctly you will not see the front sight and target clearly at the same time! The eye cannot focus on two different locations at the same time therefore at shot break the front sight must be seen clearly and the bull or target will be a slight blur!!

Hopefully gnoah will notice this.

He has all kind of peep sight tips!

Like one has a choice to use one's vision correctly??????????????? Maybe now I will use my vision incorrectly??????

I said "concentrate" NOT focus.

Too many shooters try to center the peep.

The eye does that automatically.

Yes...you damn certain do HAVE a choice to USE your vision correctly...or incorrectly (which many people do) whether shooting barrel sights, aperture, or scope!

And as for shooters trying to center the 'peep'....that won't always happen unless the shooter is consistent with cheek/head placement (spot weld) on the comb of the stock!!

Id always shot irons wrong. Got a good lesson from a member on here concerning shooting my sharps and really concentrating on that front sight. The rear, whether peep or leaf is just to line up your sight to be able to see the front and it centers it on its own. If you get lazy and blurr out the front sight to see the target better, your accuracy will suffer. If you hone in on that front sight your groups will tighten considerably. I bought one of those spinning metal 22 targets and started shooting at 60 yds with irons. It amazed me that that little orange target was so easy to hit when you beared down and used that front sight.

Yup. Been there done that. Awesome on targets with good light. Can't see it at all in dim light. Don't like a globe for hunting. Restricts peripheral vision, and needs too much light.

Phoneman,

At least YOU have it right!

It is also very important to concentrate on the front sight on your pistolas, especially in fast happening situations. I hesitated to enter the pistola info on this thread.