Buffalo hunt and sight color

[rdnck]

nohorse--Josh is absolutely dead on the money with this one. He's been there and done that, and so have I. I got the idea for the penny in the early eighties when I was tearing up the woods with my Hawken. I stumbled across a copy of "Tough Trip Through Paradise" by Andrew Garcia, and in it he mentioned that his copper front sight shone like a star in the firelight. I switched from silver to copper in my Hawken as an experiment, and was astounded at how incredibly well the copper blade worked. I have never looked back.

What many people don't understand about hunting sights is that they have to be QUICK and durable, as well as usable in low to virtually no light conditions. The vernier rear and hooded front do not pass this litmus test. The Lawerence ladder sight, on the other hand, does.

These rifles are remarkable instruments, and will, given good ammunition, deliver their bullets to the same spot, shot after shot when used correctly. They are more or less indifferent to how near or far away the target is. They only require that the sights be adjusted correctly, and a consistent sight picture be achieved. The Lawerence sights allow you to achieve these adjustments in an instant, and when you place that little copper glow on the target and break the shot when the glow is in the right spot, the animal is hit. It's that simple.

There is the very real requirement that the distance be accurately known, and the sight be adjusted for the given distance. I use a laser rangefinder for things beyond 200 yards, and my ladder sight is correlated and marked with the laser rangefinder. It is a remarkably effective system.

I will be at Kenny Wasserburger's shoot, and will have my hunting 45-70 and a pair of 45-90's that I hunt with. I told Kenny that I will be happy to demonstrate this, and show anyone that is interested how it works and how to do it. Shoot straight, rdnck.

Chairman
Caddo Lake Chapter
FES

[taw1126]

I've been watching this thread with quite a bit of interest and I can't add anything specific to BPCR hunting since I'm brand new to these rifles. BUT...I can wholeheartedly second what rdnck says about the requirement that hunting sights be quick to use.

Last year I killed a B&C record book black bear using an original Winchester 1895 and standard barrel sights (ivory bead front) that I seriously doubt anyone using either a scoped rifle or a target tang sight could have made. The bear was about 50 yards out, running, and there was only a small area that would allow a clear shot. Taught myself a lesson on that hunt, as I've never considered standard barrel sights to be anything special.

The penny is something I'd like to try on my original Sharps; does anyone know where I can find a base to fit the original's dovetail?

Trey

[Tasmanian Rebel]

I have looked down the barrel at one of rdnck's penny front sights in low light conditions and agree 100% in whats he's saying. He calls it a "1880 fiberoptic sight" and when you see one in low light, you'll understand. The thing seems to GLOW. If it gets tarnished, just rub a pinch of sand on it while in the woods and it brightens up. I think the copper-red color is somewhat unnatural in the woods and this makes it stand out against almost any background. I wish Shiloh would have this option on a front sight. I'm at present only a target/competition shooter but if/when I decide to hunt with these great rifles you can bet I'll have a copper front sight on the end of my barrel.

[Josh A.]

Tas, I think the effectiveness of that copper sight has something to do with the frequency of that reflected light. It just seems that copper reflects a lot of that late evening/early morning red light. After shooting a Sharps with a copper front sight, you kind of feel handicapped with anything else. I'm starting to switch some of my single actions to copper sights. Copper just works a little better.

J

[Tasmanian Rebel]

You're probably right Josh. If anyone should know about hunting with these rifles, it ought to be you-I've heard you kill more game in a year than most hunters harvest in a career with these guns. I have been meaning to tell you I enjoyed shooting with you and the nice folks at Ft. Chadbourne a couple of months ago. Really have a nice setup over there and hope to go back sometime later this year and improve on my score.
T Rebel
Chairman
Terrapin Creek Chapter FES

[Ken Hartlein]

Hey Josh, do you know what years are real copper in the pennys?? I have some copper bus bar from the Telephone Co. that should work too, it's almost pure but a little thick.

[nohorse]

rdnck: Never said I didn't agree with you or Josh. I just didn't understand your previous post. Now I do.

[Josh A.]

Tas, I enjoyed meeting you here, too. I wish I had more time to load for Ft. Chad. I'm averaging about a match every other month. Casting and loading match ammunition for one of these BPCR's is nearly a full time job.

Ken, I just watch my change for old pennys. Anything before 1960 should be pure copper. The last one I cut up was a 1930's penny. I used it on my 40-70ss Shiloh when I decided I wanted the front sight a smidge taller. Oddly, I had changed to a different bullet, a custom Jones mould that has a big ole flat point. It seems to have a little better ballistic coefficient than the 740 style bullet I had been shooting. That is why I put on a slightly taller front sight.

J

[Tasmanian Rebel]

Ken, Josh is correct but our mint made all copper pennies until 1982 when they started adding zinc with copper plating pennies. You will be fine with any penny during the 60's or 70's. Save those wheat-ears for collectors. Interestingly, during WW2 the mint switched to steel as copper was in short supply and pennies with a 1943 date are steel. After the war, cartridge cases were salvaged for coinage of pennies during the dates 1944 through 1946. They will sometimes have a "brassy" appearence. Hope this helps.