Adding marks to front sight for long-range handgunning?

[MatthewVanitas]

Anyone have any good pointers for adding marks to the FSP of my Ruger MkII, in order to engage 100m targets?

I'm interested in this for my own amusement, and to shoot smallbore, open-sight IHMSA (Silhoutte shooting) without changing my sight settings.

I've done some 100m .22LR in the past, but never really worked out the best techniques. I understand the Elmer Keith and others had gold bars engraved into their front sight for various ranges, so I've tried replicating that with tape on the front sight post.

The trouble I had: it's tough maintaining a double sight-picture. I had to make sure that the tip of my sight was on the target, that the tape-mark was lined up with the rear sight, and then had to focus on my front-sight tip. So it was a somewhat akward process.

Any way around this, any tips?

-MV

 

[P95Carry]

Never tried that but can imagine it is tricky - sure would be too with my old eyes!

My method was always based on ''seeing'' a false POA - which thru practice was assessed as ''x much'' above center. Bit like imagining a mildot scale on the target. If say, the black was 6" - then I'd ''see'' another black on top of the real one and aim probably about 12 o'clock on the imagined one. This blots out the real one but it can be made to work - but then so does a more elevated foresight too!

This hardly gives grouping, certainly not with a handgun but - very acceptable results usually.

The other thing I'd try if going to use sight mod's - would be not so much adding markers on front sight but - making some small add-on to rear sight - based on tests with sight adjustment - if that much available. If not then pure experiment but maybe too based on the needed ''aim off'' by my method - possibly even drawing a false black to aim at. Then making sight add-on agree with those tests. If you can remotely understand what my waffle is saying!!

One other possibility - application of a ''Bright Sights'' paint spot on foresight - and one each side of rear sight notch - might aid the focus problem a bit.

Just musing really!

 

[MCgunner]

I had a gold wire installed in the ramp on my Taurus, since I wanted to dove tail a front sight in it anyway. Works pretty well for shooting a light load I have. Don't really use it for long range shooting on a 2" snubby.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

@MCgunner: Who installed the gold wire for you?

 

[RyanM]

Maybe you could have a custom rear sight blade made, with a second notch type thing? Something like...

Hopefully the cut-out area in the middle would make it easier to line up the bottom set, and not obstruct the sight picture too much. Kind of like putting a line on an extra-tall rear sight with extra-deep notch, except maybe a little easier to use. I have no idea how easy something like that would be to use, though.

 

[MCgunner]

@MCgunner: Who installed the gold wire for you?

Jeez, I couldn't tell ya, sorry. It was a few years ago. I got his name from an ad in a gun rag and he is in Florida is all I can remember. He did a good job.

 

[Majic]

Use a rest that supports the entire pistol to free up your hands. After you have determined the elevation then the rest will continue to hold the pistol while you are free to look down the sights and mark the front sight.

 

[Sam]

Get a 40 LPI checkering file. Thats what I use to matte sight backs.
Works well. You can then pick the line you need and fill it with a white marker.

Sam

 

[Smythe77]

When shooting in Bullseye I use to use a bit of Birch bark with its smoke to smoke up the front blade for then it was a matt black & stood out so well. Still those days are of the past due to age.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

Use a rest that supports the entire pistol to free up your hands. After you have determined the elevation then the rest will continue to hold the pistol while you are free to look down the sights and mark the front sight.

You know, it would have been way smarter of me to bench the pistol for sighting in at 100m, rather than offhanding it... Good call Majic.

Perhaps I'll tape a mark with masking tape, bench-rest the pistol and shoot on a large target, figure out how low I am, and move the tape accordingly, then move to offhand to make sure that I can shoot those settings while standing.

I should probably at least get on paper at 50' and 75' first, and get some rough guesstimate of where I need to be at. Would be easier with a spotter too.

-MV

 

[Old Fuff]

First, be sure the the front sight blade's rear face is square, not slanted. Then if you don't use the wire trick, undercut the blade and you'll get a sharper sight picture. With plain sights, carbon (smoke) both the front and back sights before shooting.

I admit to just holding up the blade rather then making adjustments out to 200 meters, but I had practiced doing this long before silhouette shooting came along.

 

[MatthewVanitas]

@OldFluff: the front sight of my MkII blade is what I believe they call a "partridge" sight. It jags sharply back, then in, then back. Is that going to massively complicate things for adding long-range lines?

What is "undercutting"?

I was advised by other IMHSA folks to make adjustments for each range, but whipping out the screwdriver every two strings just seems kind of gamey. Squirrel hunters and defensive shooters don't whip out the screwdrivers and make adjustments before each shot, so even if it won't get me the best Silhouette scores, I'd rather use hold-over.

-MV

 

[Old Fuff]

An undercut blade is what you have now. In other words when you look at it from the side it has a hook appearence. This wouldn't be good for the wire inlays you have in mind. For that you need a blade that when viewed from the side is straight up and down. I believe the blade is pinned into the base, and would be easy to replace.

If you are going to change your sight settings you need a better rear sight then the stock Ruger one. Millett (www.millettsights.com) and Bo-mar (don't have a web address, but will try to find one) have sights with more precise adjustments. You click them all of the way down, and then record the number of clicks up to zero for each of the four distances. Thereafter you can zero the sights again by running the rear one down all of the way, and then counting the clicks up until you reach the number for whatever range you want. My personal recommendation would be Bo-Mar - first, Millett - second, but both are good. I believe that both have matching front sight blades, but the one you have might work.

A top quality rear sight, adjusted for each distance will probably get you more hits, but yes-it is more gamey. You can use the hold-over method (I have done so, out to 200 meters, but this was before all of the fancy pistols came into the game). Or of course the wire inserts you suggested. The best way to do this is the file little grooves in the back of the blade, and then have someone braze the back of it. Carefully file the braze back until you can see the blade's steel surface again, and then re-blue it. The steel will blue, the braze won't and you have your wire lines.