Prototype Peep sight

[Darkhorse]

Over the last year I've been dealing with the dreaded aging eyesight. It has gotten to the point where the rear sight is so blurry any kind of accurate shooting is out of the question.
I tried a couple of times to fit an aftermarket peep sight to this rifle with no luck. My rifles all have a swamped, or tapered and flared, barrel. This means it's thick at the breech then tapers down at the waist, then flares at the muzzle becoming thick again. Swamped barrels give incredible feel and balance when shooting but aren't good for fitting peep sights. It is difficult to get both the front and rear sight level and on the same plane and to get the rear low enough to allow a lower front sight.
But I came up with a rear peep that is elevation adjustable. I shot it today and determined the hole must be a bit lower and the front post needs to be a little thicker. I will fix both those issues.
One of these targets is the first one I shot. It was almost dead on first shot and I only needed about .010 windage adjustment with the front sight.
The other target is a 5 shot group. I can tighten this up a bit with a thicker front post. I made the front sight from a quarter and it is hard to see it well with my old eyes. You can double click these images to see it larger.
I'm just proud I can finally shoot fairly decent again.

 

[SJB358]

That looks like some great shooting from your muzzleloader!

Do you have a picture of the peep?

 

[DrMike]

I'm with Scotty in wanting to see a picture of the peep. You're definitely onto something now. My aging eyes demand more attention if I am to continue shooting accurately. Guess it catches up to all of us eventually.

 

[Darkhorse]

My first proto was made with a 8-32 tang bolt and a S&W 40 empty hull joined by J&B weld. I used this to work out the process. The bottom of the tang had to be filed flat so the nut and lock washer would sit flat. Then a mortice had to be inlet in the stock to allow clearance for the nut and length of the screw. None of this was allowed to touch wood.
The second proto shows up good because it is spray painted flat brown. The final product will be browned to match the barrel.
The final peep will not have the screw head this one does and the extra material will be much reduced. The hole will also be lower so I can lower the front sight a bit more.
The front post is made from a quarter and is too hard to see way down that barrel. It was real tough to judge where the top and sides were in relation to the target. I will be making a new sight with a thicker post.
This is still very much in the development stage.

 

[SJB358]

Very cool. I dig the ingenuity of it DH. Anything to put accurate shots on target.

 

[Tobey284]

I like it, been thinking something along those lines for my hawken, thanks for including pics

 

[JD338]

Sweet. Nice shooting!

JD338

 

[cloverleaf]

Very cool. I dig the ingenuity of it DH. Anything to put accurate shots on target.

+1. Like the engineering. And the shooting! CL

 

[Darkhorse]

Very cool. I dig the ingenuity of it DH. Anything to put accurate shots on target.

+1. Like the engineering. And the shooting! CL

I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible and still do the intended job.
The majority of my working career was with the Air Force and I was a Master Toolmaker before sitting at a desk in engineering. If only I had access to some machine tools. It would be so much easier if I had a mill at home. But I don't. It's all done with hand tools like files, drills, taps and assorted others. Including 3 Dremel tools and a drill press.
I will finish the final product tomorrow I hope and it will be smaller and work better. Then I'll start a new front sight with a thicker blade.
If this thing works as planned I'll do it all over again on my .54 flintlock.