Buckhorn sights...

[sooter76]

So I got my .54 caliber Lyman GPR in yesterday and it's gorgeous. I can't wait to get her out to the range! I can easily see this becoming my go to bang stick for hunting season... the only thing I'm not really thrilled with is the buckhorn sights, mostly because I've never used them. The notch is smaller than on my AK's. I'm thinking about opening it up some if I am indeed supposed to a in with the notch, but if I'm not can someone with more experience than myself explain the use of the buckhorn sight?

Also the cresent buttstock is kind of sharp and digs into my shoulder. Has anyone had a problem with this? Do you use a recoil pad or something else to alleviate the issue?

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Try shooting with the buckhorn sight first before you change it. I found mine to be pretty accurate. As to the stock, I had the same perception as you when I first got into black powder but then I was instructed on the proper positioning of those type of buttstocks. They are meant to be positioned just outside the shoulder on the bicep, which puts the lower portion under your armpit. You need to hold your arm out away from your body in more of a "wing" position. Once I tried that I became much more comfortable shooting and more accurate to boot!

 

[BCRider]

I'm with sooter on this one. The job of a good sight system is to allow the shooter to set the exact same sight picture easily and consistently. But for those of us with "old guy eyes" the vague nature of the little teeny tiny notch at the bottom of the big open side up "C" simply can't be seen with any degree of certainly. Every buckhorn sight I've seen, or not "seen" as the case may be , could use some work on that all but invisible poor little excuse of a "notch".

I'd tell you what I really think but the THR obscenity filter would go all China Syndrome on us.....

 

[72coupe]

Get a Lyman 57 aperture sight. It solves a multitude of problems and improves accuracy greatly.

 

[Patocazador]

You can use a small triangular file to deepen and widen the notch if you desire. I like the buckhorn because you can sight with the notch for closer targets and use the tips of the "horns" as an elevated sight for farther targets.

 

[MEHavey]

...crescent buttstock is kind of sharp and digs into my shoulder....

The GPR butt plate (and I have two of them) has EXTREMELY sharp edges and will literally tear your
shoulder skin up after repeated firings (try 50 rounds of the 54/85gr 2F at silhouettes sometime.)

Go get a standard medium file at Home Depot and don't spare the elbow grease in thoroughly
knocking those edges off to smooth roundness. Don't be gentle. Get everything completely rounded.
(including the shoulder points at top and bottom of the plate.)

Afterwards get some liquid bluing and swab it on the bare metal. When all the dust settles no one
will ever know what you've done -- except for a dramatic change in how your shoulder feels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OBTW: Get a Lyman 57GPR rear sight. The rifle already drilled & tapped for it.

 

[BCRider]

Um... guys, the rifles with the deep crescent plates are intended to be shot using the old tyme stance where the butt plate sits out on the upper arm right by the armpit. If you set them in on your shoulder pocket of course the tips are going to rip you apart.

As a bonus holding the old style flint and cap lock guns feels just odd and way out of balance if I use the shoulder pocket hold. But if I turn side on to the target and wing my trigger arm out like a bird to give the crescent butt plate a place to park the whole thing suddenly fits and makes total sense.

 

[4v50 Gary]

What BCRider says about crescent shaped buttplates is correct. They are rested against the arm, not the shoulder.

As for modifying the buckhorns, if I had to widen it, I'd use a needle file.

 

[MEHavey]

Once the sharp edges/points are rounded, the GPR is comfortable to shoot in either arm/shoulder stance.

Arms are made for the man, not vice versa. *






* This is corollary to Rule 34: "This house is made to serve my needs, dear,... not the other way round."

 

[BCRider]

But the LOP for the crescent stocks simply works better with the side on stance that you get when using the crescent plate on the arm.

Oh sure, you can soften the points so they don't dig in as much. But it's still using the rifle in way that was never envisioned.

 

[MEHavey]

I can shoot my two TC Hawkens' crescents, or Pedersoli's Missouri River Hawken all day long....

Those two GPR's (literally) drew blood until I tamed the knife-edges & points.



.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I don't have a muzzle stuffer with a crescent shaped butt plate, but all of my lever guns (except one) have crescent shaped butt plates.

BCRider is exactly correct. Don't try to shoot a crescent butt plate gun standing facing the target with the butt against the meaty part of your shoulder. Plant the butt a little bit out board and raise your elbow a bit to raise the gun to your face, don't hunch over to see the sights. And stand at more of an angle to the target, I stand close to 90 degrees to the target, with the rifle extending pretty much across my chest. This way the crescent nestles perfectly around the arm, and the gun does not slide up or down, plus the points do not dig into your shoulder. That is how they were meant to be shot.

 

[MEHavey]

All rifles and all shotguns go to my shoulder with a head/cheek aligment the same way each and every time.
I may shift the forearm position to match the situation, but the main body anchor is unchanging.

If there's a problem, the gun is changed to fit me.
Not vice versa.