Last Muzzle Loader Sight Info

[joeb33050]

Can someone out there tell me about the sights on the last US muzzle loading military rifle? Looking for the settings, ranges or however they came.
Thanks;
joe brennan

[Rattus58]

Ladder sights I believe with ostensibly a battle sight setting..... and 200 and 300 while flat on the barrel and on two of mine they go to what seems to be 600 yards.

Aloha... :cool:

[Underclocked]

http://armscollectors.com/mgs/images/lindsay/riflesight1.jpg

??

http://armscollectors.com/mgs/images/lindsay/riflesightmark.jpg

seems there were actually several variations from the different manufacturers.

[Freightman]

I have a "Zouav" it is a chalenge to sight in, at two hundred it is high on the shortest sight. I think the solution is some J-B Weld on the front sight, that way there is no permanent alteration.
I have found that 60g RS Pyrodex with a 300g .458 lyman boolit sized to .454 and a sabot gives me good results at 100 yds, just have to shoot at the bottom of the target to hit the center. Nothing new here most of my milsurps are the same. The saboted boolit seems to group better than the .575 boolits do, think that they fit much tighter in my rifle. You can re-use the sabots at least four times and with the 60 g more as the pressure doesn't destroy them.

[joeb33050]

http://armscollectors.com/mgs/images/lindsay/riflesight1.jpg

??

http://armscollectors.com/mgs/images/lindsay/riflesightmark.jpg

seems there were actually several variations from the different manufacturers.
Can you tell me what guns these are on, and the elevations, ex 100, 200, 300 yards??
Thanks;
joe b.

[shooter575]

First sight is the 1858 3 leaf.Settings were for 100,300 and 500 yd.This sight was used on the later models of the 1841 Mississippis, all Zouaves,most of the 1855s and all of the 1861s
The 2 pic is a two leaf that was made for the last M/L US musket.The 1863. type 2. The srttings were 100 and 500 yd. The 63 model was just a 61 that had some changes made to speed up production.There was a mix and match of sights to some extent and many of the contract makers never did tool up for the 63 model
Remember firing 3 rounds a minute was practiced.Marksmanship was not.But they can shoot real well with practice

[Underclocked]

Thanks shooter575, I had forgotten to check back on this one. I could have told him no more and probably less.

[Underclocked]

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/content/community/gun_inventory/inventory/owatonna/antique/642434_sprgmusk_owa.jsp

click the smaller pics for bigger ones of both rear and front

[joeb33050]

I'm confused on the 1863 sight. The Cabelas picture shows a 3 setting sight, lowest -with notch-appears fixed; then a higher leaf with a notch; then a highest leaf with a hole or peep.
I can't see the leaves on the other set of two pictures, second picture.
Did shooter 575 mean that the 1863 had two leaves-fixed at 100, 1st leaf at 300, peep at 500?
Was the peep original?
Thanks to all;
joe brennan

[shooter575]

The 1858 sight on that 1863 rifled musket has two leaves,the short one and the middle one is one piece L shaped.The 100 yd is the short leg of the L.The 300 is the long leg and flips up.Flip up both pieces and the 500 yd leaf is in battery.Everyone just calls it a three leaf sight.As issued the sight has the same sighting noches in all three settings.That cabelas pic the 500 yd leaf has been modfied.My guess it was done by a shooter [N-SSA or CWSA skirmisher] Allthough some say that some were done during the war by a few sharpshooters.That is impossable to prove though.
The revised 1863 type 2 sight [commonly called a two leaf] is realy just one L shaped with 100 and 500 yd settings.The base of that sight is a bit shorter but the dovetail and screw hole is the same.
If you are realy interested I can take a couple pics from my colection