Shiloh Rifle Forums

mdeland wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 7:46 pm One thing I should mention, I learned today from a bud I shoot with, is to remove the cleaning rod before extended periods of fire or it will split out the stock at the rod keep. Jon said that this was in the original trapdoor service manual. He said he learned of it from another trapdoor enthusiast after splitting out his stock and having to repair it.

Mike it will also break the cleaning rod latch and if you don;t catch it it will throw accuracy all to hell, The Buffington sight is used for 100 to about 500? yards laying down it is zero at 260 yards down. I suggest you get Spence Wolfe's book from BACO on the trapdoor there is a whole chapter on the Buffington sight. Somebody makes a micrometer sight adjuster for it in the vertical position.

Does the swivel screw ( that has a cap) on the Buffington meant to lock the sight down after making a windage adjustment or is it supposed to be left loose enough so the windage can be adjusted at all times ?

mdeland wrote: ↑Wed May 12, 2021 5:38 pm Does the swivel screw ( that has a cap) on the Buffington meant to lock the sight down after making a windage adjustment or is it supposed to be left loose enough so the windage can be adjusted at all times ?

The swivel screw must not lock down the swivel the screw is so the swivel base can rotate with the windage screw and it is adjustable at all times. The windage markings on the base are MOA adjustments. With the sight up it can be set and adjusted using the arrow aperture for a 200 yard zero using the 175 to 200 markings.

Jim O

I made this screw and fit it to lock down but I may be able to take some of the under side of the cap off and get the needed slack. If not I'll make a new one.
I got to thinking today while dry firing the TD in practice for the match Sunday, that I sure would have been screwed with the integral front sight had the bore been crooked because the only windage adjustment would have been at the rear. Fortunately it only took a bit of windage to get the calm air center zero on the Buffington.

Woody, how does that music wire turn in the lathe ? I have used it for repairing the tips of firing pins but have never turned whole pin bodies from it in the lathe like I do with the fatigue proof steel. I'm wondering if the Brownell's stuff is not the same thing? The fatigue proof stuff is tough but turns readily with regular tool bits.

Mike,

The music wire I buy is usually the same diameter as the tip. I just cut to length and profile. I've not had to machine it.

Woody

Oh , I see, I was thinking you were buying it in 1/4, 5/16 and 3/8s diameters, like the fatigue proof steel comes, and turning the whole pin body. I do the same thing with the .078 wire for tip replacements. I've also used the de-capping pins from sizing dies that work really well.
I like to keep quite a few music wire diameters on hand for making coil springs I can't readily replace commercially.
That's one of the most handy things I learned how to do on a lathe. Bob Engelbach was the one that showed me how to make them, I miss my old shooting pard !
.

I milled out another brass blade sight last night. The first was to narrow and to short even know it was the same width as the original and taller. The first was .050 wide by .155 tall. I wanted a thicker and taller sight and was guessing one at about .075 wide and .100 taller would be about right.
i finally decided to correct the bit of left windage I need in the rear sight to get calm air zero could be taken up front by widening the sight to the right. I made the new one .100 wide and the .050 added was on the right side to correct for what the set over was at the rear. I made the new one .125 higher than the old , installed it last night and shot it today. It worked out great as I had elevation and width enough to be able to move the rear sight back to zero.
I don't think I like this Buffington sight very much and am looking for a good tang sight idea for the trapdoor with the big hammer sort of in the way.
It shot pretty well at 100 with the new sight and the 10grain Unique load.











buffington sight

Mike, when the Springfield Armory adopted the Buffington rear sight they built in an offset for windage to compensate for the right had twist using the 500gr Gov.bullet. You might want to converse with Tom Trevor as he has one of the original long range marksman rifles with the Sharps tang sight and globe front.

I got digging around in my spare parts bin and came up with this sight I made some 25 years ago and forgot about. I made it for a muzzle loader and then never blued or installed it. It may be just the ticket for this trapdoor after installing a tang extension like John Bly has on his gun.
The turret screw 28 tpi and the turret is double sided so I only have to make a half turn elevation graduation. Lets see each half turn would elevate, "get my calculator out" roughly .018. The turret slide is in a dove tail for windage and both have lock screws. It just may work out, I'll have to do some more calculating and probably have to make a taller turret.

Alfajim, My long range rifle has the barrel mounted Bull sight. Richard Hosmer had the long range with the Tang sight. He has since sold it.

Tom Trevor wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 10:46 am Alfajim, My long range rifle has the barrel mounted Bull sight. Richard Hosmer had the long range with the Tang sight. He has since sold it.

Thanks Tom didn't know that. How is that sight to use compared to the tang sight used on them? Would it be worth while to put a tang sight on one for long distance over the Buffington one?

Jim O

Yeah, that big ole "thumpen" hammer is hard to fit a tang sight with windage adjustment around from what I can see and is the reason I'm looking at the little home made sight pictured for a remedy. I will have to make a new,taller turret for it and am currently trying to figure out if an extended tang is the right way to mount it. I could just epoxy a steel mount plate under it. I'm not wanting to run any more wood screws through the thinned down wrist on these cadet rifles to weaken the stock if it can be avoided.

Mike, Please don't take this wrong, but you already don't have a rifle that qualifies as a BPTR Military rifle. So whatever you think is good for you is what it will be.

Woody

Mike, Please don't take this wrong, but you already don't have a rifle that qualifies as a BPTR Military rifle. So whatever you think is good for you is what it will be.

Woody