QUIGLEY SHOOTING ASSOCIATION NEWS
Medium-range versus long- range sights at
1000 yards by Ken Hall
With the first Quigley shoot of 2012 still a week or two away, Ken takes a closer look at sights suitable for shooting at longer ranges with the black-powder cartridge rifle.
When selecting a sight for your nice new black powder cartridge rifle (BPCR) - be it of Winchester, Sharps, or Remington pattern - some thought must be given to the selection of suitable sights.
Let’s assume a calibre of 45/70 as this probably accounts for the majority of BPCR rifles sold in this country and is probably the chambering chosen by most newcomers to the discipline. Testing carried out at the actual distances has given the following results which, whilst not guaranteed to work with every rifle/sight combination out there, should provide a reasonable guide.
The following chart plots the number of minutes, or 1/100th inch of elevation adjustment required for shoots at Diggle Ranges using my Pedersoli Sharps with a load of 68 grains of Swiss No 3 behind a Lyman 530 grain Postell bullet.
RANGE (yards)
ELEVATION 100 400 600
1000
The rear sight must be capable of fine adjustment in order to capitalise on the inherent accuracy of these rifles so, in some ways, the choice is made simpler in that it means the sight should be of the vernier adjusting type. Also, one of the first considerations must be to decide on the distances at which you intend to compete, short range (up to 400 yards), medium range (up to 800 yards) and long range (up to 1200 yards).
SIGHT SETTING (inches)
0.39 0.84 1.21 2.10
00mins +45mins +37mins +89mins
It would be nice if the sight, when fitted and zeroed at 100 yards (the normal zeroing range and usually the shortest range to be encountered) gave a reading of 0.00 in on the scale. However, owing to variations in butt-to-action angles (comb) between the different types of rifle and, to some degree, the style of front sight fitted, this is rarely the case, so once the 100 yard setting is found by actually firing groups, it should be noted in your shooter’s record book.
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