Shiloh Rifle Forums

Setting a Buffington sight .... Note that the sight graduations are in 25 yd increments. Each increment, then, amounts to around 4 MOA. It's easy to guesstimate quarters of the increments, about 1 MOA. This was taught me by the late Dennis Bruns, the acknowledged master of the Trapdoors. I had started out with a dial indicator, but soon abandoned it. Dennis's method is simpler, quicker, and adequate.

CHRIS

Setting a Buffington sight .... Note that the sight graduations are in 25 yd increments. Each increment, then, amounts to around 4 MOA. It's easy to guesstimate quarters of the increments, about 1 MOA. This was taught me by the late Dennis Bruns, the acknowledged master of the Trapdoors. I had started out with a dial indicator, but soon abandoned it. Dennis's method is simpler, quicker, and adequate.

CHRIS

My Buffington is so hard to read having such faint lettering that the caliper will be far easier to use once I get the measurements for the various yardages.

MIke, try rubbing a white grease pencil into the markings on that Buffington.
you rub the white into the grooves and numbers and then wipe off the excess with a dry paper towel
Should make it easier to read.
beltfed/arnie

Good idea,thanks for the suggestion! One needs eyes like an owl to see those little bitty hash marks and #'s. Once I get the caliper measurements for each distance it will be supper easy to set the sights without the scale, as shown in the pictures.
Lay the sight down, loosen the lock knob and push the sight slide from the base with the caliper bottom set at the proper measurement for that yardage. Lock the sight slide and lift the staff to vertical. Won't even need my reading glass for the job which will be handy.

Have any of you found the need to bush the large diameter firing pin in these TD's ?

No.

I'm with Woody, NO

I do apologize for being so verbose.

Woody

I do apologize for being so verbose.

Woody

So since wasting good breath when a simple NO will say it all !

Yep. Woops, there I go being verbose again.

Woody

Were going to have to start calling you Gabby! Yup, nope........... maybe !

Something must be wrong with a fella that enjoys handling a gun or having it on his lap while watching a move or posting on a gun forum............... I confess to both! This TD just keeps crawling up on my lap like a new puppy for some reason. Must be lonely.

I got the 10 grain load of Unique and the Schmitzer bullet I like so well to shoot in the TD but was having trouble using the Buffington sight as the integrations are so tiny it is hard to set the scale on the slide . I began to carry a caliper and on the way home from the range last night I figured out a simple gauge that may be useful for some.
This was designed to quickly set my sight using this load combo for our clang and bang matches.
Each of the four sides has a section cut milled of the end of the square stock the prescribed amount to set the slide from the rear of the staff. The gauge simply lays on top the sight channel against the extractor leg at the rear and in the slide channel on the sight at the front which perfectly sets it up the same each time. The slide lock is loosened and the slide pushed back against the gauge then tightened down. Quick , easy and pretty much fool proof.