Shiloh Rifle Forums

Side view of same sight:

My front sight is .093" wide so that I can see it if the light is right. It is steel and I have an issue front shade on the barrel. It is also extra tall so that I have to set the Buffington sight 100 yds higher than whatever range I'm shooting. The last time I shot it in a match was at Friendship and the front sight was just a fuzzy blur. I had to guess how much fuzz to allow on the target. I still beat Woody by one point. At 74 years old I might have to retire from serious trapdoor shooting.

Not yet John. We need to get a couple of new Trapdoor shooters before we bow out.

Woody

If you look back in this thread, there is a website to Al Frasca. He has different height original front sight blades.

Al Frasca is the expert and is very willing to talk about Trapdoors. I bought a Buffington sight for my 1884 from him. The original was badly damaged. His book on Trapdoors is excellent as well.I had the great pleasure to meet him at his residence in Springfield, Ohio about twenty years ago. I grew up about twenty miles away from Springfield.

I wished my barrel looked as good as the one in the picture. Right in that area, mine has some putting. The bore is nice, though.

Well the inside is where it counts ! That's not an original barrel. I ruined the original in my barrel vice and had to turn the one in the picture from a new Douglas blank. It not doubt is a better barrel but I would have liked to rung out the original, pits and all before replacing it . I was going to lap it out and was the reason I was removing it.
I knew I was going to eventually re-barrel but the rosin block, barrel vice, moved up the time table on me. The only barrel I have ever collapsed while tightening in the powdered rosin block vice in 40 years of gun work. As was pointed out to me earlier by some one on the forum, that incident may have been a blessing in disguise, perhaps keeping it from coming apart on me while testing it. It was definitely soft.

I'm still load testing it and will eventually rust blue when I'm confident the barrel band tension is correct on the barrel. So far so good as I was able to connect on 6 of 10 Turkeys off hand at the 150 yard line. These usually are the toughest targets in the match.

Silhouette is something I never shot. One day, after practice on the KD range, I went to the other side of the club where I knew s friend was shooting. He shoots 22 silhouette. He had them set to different ranges out to 100, I think. He pestered me into trying it. I don't remember what was at 75, but that is what he told me to try. It was standing. I figured I was going to embarrass myself, but I got into a good standing position a squeezed. I knocked the animal over. Relieved, I tried to hand him the rifle. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. Keep going" I banged 4 more before i missed. He let me quit then. Lol. He said I surprised him, but he was trying to get me hooked on it. I had plenty on my plate with High Power, and never shot any again. Good luck with the Trapdoor.

Silhouette is something I never shot. One day, after practice on the KD range, I went to the other side of the club where I knew s friend was shooting. He shoots 22 silhouette. He had them set to different angles out to 100, I think. He pestered me into trying it. I don't remember what was at 75, but that is what he told me to try. It was standing. I figured I was going to embarrass myself, but I got into a good standing position a squeezed. I knocked the animal over. Relieved, I tried to hand him the rifle. "Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. Keep going" I banged 4 more before i missed. He let me quit then. Lol. He said I surprised him, but he was trying to get me hooked on it. I had plenty on my plate with High Power, and never shot any again. Good luck with the Trapdoor.

Odd how I never got into TD's sooner after hearing how much Woody and John love competing with them. I've worked on a few but never got to excited about them till the last year or so and suddenly got the urge to try one and then the light came on.
I can tell when a gun has wormed it's way into my heart as I find it in my lap when watching TV or on some gun forum somewhere.
When I like to look and feel them regularly I know I have a keeper. Trouble is the walls and gun safe are chock full of keepers!

John, you may want to try a brass blade up front with that rake angle in the picture. It stands out like a sore thumb even in flat light. I got the idea from a back up sight I have on my scoped .280-.338 Mauser 98 game rifle.
Oh, I forgot it may not be legal for a military rifle match.