Sights and Sighting (reprint)

 This is a reprint from a post that was published on April 5, 2023

Lyman Great Plains Rifle: Fixed Rear Sight Installed, Front Sight. Note the rough casting of the rear sight.

I haven’t gone into much detail about shooting. So let me take this opportunity to share some of what I know about sights, the physiology of shooting, and a little about the guns we compete with.

Open Sights: Traditional muzzle loading rifles will usually come with rear sights that are adjustable for elevation. Most will be attached via a dovetail milled into the barrel, although some, like the Thompson Center and the Investarms Hawken*, are held in place with screws. In addition, the front sights usually resemble a "bead" front sight when viewed from the rear. Typical rear sights are often equipped with a "V" notch. These configurations work, but for the 21st century shooter attempting to emulate the 19th century frontier explorer, I recommend a standard, non-tapered post type front sight and a square notched rear sight. If you're lucky enough to own a Lyman Great Plains Rifle, it came with both an adjustable buckhorn rear sight (installed) and a fixed square notch rear sight (replacement). 

Sight Alignment: The most important first step towards shooting accurately is the ability to recognize and maintain proper sight alignment. The square post front the square notch rear will make this much easier to do. In this illustration, can see that the top of the front sight is perfectly level with the top corners of the rear sight. Equal amounts of light can be seen on both sides of the front sight. This arrangement provides a easy to repeat, perfectly symmetrical sight alignment configuration.

Young Eyes, Old Eyes: The more you shoot with open, barrel-mounted iron sight, the more the limitations of human eyesight become. For example. in the above graphic, I illustrated the "ideal" sight alignment for the ideal iron sights as seen by younger eyes. It is, in fact, normally impossible to see both the front and the rear sight in sharp focus. We only think we do because young eyes can rapidly shift focus from the front sight to the rear sight, and back again.  This graphic (right) simulates the moment when the eye has brought the front sight into sharp focus. I exaggerated the blurry rear sight to make a point: If you can only see one of the Holy Trinity (rear sight, front sight, target) choose the front sight.

From Sight Alignment To Sight Picture: Sight alignment is defined as the relationship between the front and rear sights. Sight Picture introduces the third visual element, the target. For this illustration, I am using a round target similar to those used in competitive bullseye pistol shooting. Also, I am not blurring the target, as it would be if you were actually sighting down the barrel of a rifle.

• In the leftmost sample, you can see the "ideal" sight picture for a typical squared off front and rear sight. Using this combination, it is easy to recognize when the sights are not properly aligned.
• In the second sample, can see a red dot has been placed in the location where your bullet would strike if the sight has been adjusted for accurate shot placement on a round target. 
• In the third sample, the shooter has drifted off to the left. If the shooter is careful to maintain proper sight alignment, the shot will land in the exact same spot as before, relative to the position of the front sight.
• In the final sample, the shooter allowed the rifle to fall slightly. Again, the shot would land in exactly the same spot, relative to the front sight. 

In a future posting, I'll cover the nuts and bolts of sight adjustment. In the mean time, take a close look at the sights on your current muzzle loader. You may have to re-define your optimal sight alignment if your sights are not perfectly square, which, unfortunately, is normally the case.

I will also cover the mechanics of shooting, including suggestions for shooting off hand (standing, unsupported), and how to optimize your shooting position and your breathing. 

* Investarms is/was a major manufacturer of Hawken style rifles, and were the manufacturer of the Lyman Great Plains and Trade Rifles, and the trade pistol. All of the samples I have seen have a lightening cut in the breech plug, just below the nipple. Investarms Hawkens were sold through Dixie Gun Works, and through Cabela's. Apparently Dixie still carries the Investarms .50 Hawken. When I checked, the selling price was $550.00. You can see it out by clicking here.

Code: shot01

Shooting Offhand With Dignity Part 2 (reprint)

Click here to download the 2026 SVML flyer.

 This is a reprint from a post that was published on April 12, 2023

Taking The Position: I should mention that my comments on shooting are based on my years of shooting competitively in the standing position. Some will disagree with the seemingly meticulous pre-shot preparation, but as they say in the military, "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".  Efficiency will come with time, but be careful to keep the fundamentals of shooting offhand clearly in mind.

Shooting a muzzle loader is a little different from shooting a modern firearm. The buttplate is positioned so that the shooter's head can be held erect. The comb, the part of the buttstock that touches the shooter's cheek, is also lower to allow a clear view of the sights, which are typically very close to the bore line.

There are typically four contact points between the shooter and the rifle. Keep this in mind, as all contribute to a stable shooting position. For simplicity's sake, I will identify these points for a right handed shooter. They are:

• Shoulder to buttplate
• Cheek to buttstock
• Right hand to wrist of stock
• Left hand to forearm.

Shoulder to buttplate. Locate the "pocket" in your shoulder and position the arc of the buttplate in it.  This pocket in your shoulder is fairly stable and doesn't shift if you rotate your arm.

Cheek to buttstock. Simply drop hour head until it contacts the comb of the stock. Because of the shape of the stock, your cheek should fall naturally on the comb and you shooting eye in line with the sights. You may need to make some slight head adjustments to attain that perfect Sight Alignment.

Right hand on wrist of stock: The strength of the grip should be firm, but lighter than a handshake. The important part is to adjust you position so that the trigger contacts your finger between the tip and the first joint. This close up shows me in the firing position, assuming that the rear trigger has already been "set".

Left hand to forearm: Here's where I behave more like a target shooter than a 18th century rifleman. I don't think the "snap shooting" mentality should be adopted until you've mastered the basic skill of target shooting. Keep in mind that you're not engaging a moving target, so there is no need to react in haste. Remember, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

As a target shooter, I use one of two target shooter's support styles. Both have their roots in competitive smallbore shooting where recovery time after the shot isn't an issue. Although not mentioned, your support elbow should be resting on your rib cage and not your hip.

Palm Closed (left): Here, the rifle rests on top of the shooter's closed fists. It provides a more stable platform and little or no stress on the fingers. However, it tends to point the muzzle downward, but I haven't found that to be a problem when shooting the Trail Walk. The long gongs require a bit of adjustment. It is probably the most stable platform you can adopt.

Palm Open (right): This works well when shooting a light-weight rifle, although some might find the pressure on the fingertips uncomfortable. If you find that your rifle is consistently pointing low, you may have to adopt this alternate method of support.

Once you have built your shooting position from these suggestions, locate a blank wall. With your shoulders aligned on a perpendicular to the wall. shoulder up, and look down the barrel at the sights. Remember to concentrate on the front sight, neatly positioned in the notch of the rear sight.

Having attained the perfect Sight Alignment, let's do something to make the rifle "fire". Make sure that the washer is in place, the hammer is cocked, and the trigger is set, if applicable. 

Breathing: Take two deep breaths. Then take a third breath, but let it out slowly. You're not blowing out candles on a cake, you're just sighing. This assures that you body is fully oxygenated, as you will have only ten seconds to get off your shot before your body notices that it's depleted its existing oxygen supply and needs to take a breath. 

Trigger Press: While your sights are precisely aligned, slowly add firm pressure on the trigger until the hammer falls. Your sights should still be locked in position. For the moment, don't worry about where the rifle is pointed. Concentrate on maintaining your focus on that perfect sight alignment, and pressing the trigger without disturbing it..

Follow Through: I like to think that the shot is fired two seconds after the hammer falls. This is called follow through, and it's critical when shooting a muzzle loader, which are known to occasionally present the shooter with a hang fire, a delay between the moment the hammer falls and when the main powder charge pushes the ball out of the barrel.

Next, we'll talk about sighting in, wobble area, and grace under (hang) fire.

Code: shot01