TC New Englander rear sight

[megasupermagnum]

I probably should have asked beforehand, but was pretty sure it will work. I have a 54 caliber TC New Englander, and have tried both Lee REAL and PRB, both shoot well. The problem is both shoot high, even with the rear sight all the way down. Running a PRB ahead of 110 grains FF blackpowder, I seem it remember it still shooting 3" high at 50 yards. I thought about a taller front sight, but decided to get a rear peep sight instead. I found one made by Williams that says it is tang mounted for a TC Hawken or Renegade. Looking at the pictures, I couldn't see any difference with my New Englander tang. Is there any reason this sight will not work on my gun? I would be just fine if I have to contour it a little to make it fit, and I already expect to have to drill and tap the holes. I was also wondering how well these hold their zero. It seems like my barrel fits pretty snug, so maybe its a non-issue.

[arcticap]

I couldn't find it.
Which sight is it, a hunter peep sight or a micrometer type sight?
Why not ask Williams for more detailed information?
There's always a chance that it won't be compatible with your current front sight.
I bought a used Dixie US made model at a gun show that came with a Lyman micrometer type rear sight, (the kind that looks like a bridge).
It shoots fine when it's sighted in for a specific distance.
But when the target is moved to a different distance, the gun needs to be re-sighted in.
Or I guess that the settings would need to be recorded and the sights moved back and forth all of the time.
But that requires a screwdriver and tedious adjustments.
I thought maybe it was because the front sight is original to the gun, while the rear sight isn't, so they're mismatched.
But I'm not sure.

If the New Englander has a square notch rear and a simple flat blade in the front, I think that I would recommend just changing your front sight for a taller one.
Unless you really need a peep sight to see better.
After all, it's only 3 inches. I usually sight in an inch or 2 high at 50 yards anyway.

[megasupermagnum]

Here is the sight. https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/sights/rear-sights/tc-hawken-adj-foolproof-receiver-rear-sight-w-swk-black-sku962200815-106001-36431.aspx

I asked Williams, they say it's for the hawken or renegade, did not know about the new englander. They do have a separate set for the new englander, a fiber optic barrel mounted set. If the peep sight works on the new englander like on the hawken, I've read that this sight works great with the original front sight, which also shoot high with the original sights. Yes 3" isn't that much at 50 yards, but that turns out to be 4-5" at 75, and that's with a max load. I'd rather be down 70-80 grains of powder, which shoots even higher. I could care less about the adjustment, I plan to set it and leave it. I prefer peep sights myself, no other reason. If I could have easily found a taller front sight, I would have given it a try. I called multiple places, all gave the the same story. If I took careful measurements, they may or may not have something that will work. Are the front sights the same on all the TC side locks?

[OverMax]

Seems to me there would be a few sweet spot/s powder charges that would accommodate the rear sights elevation adjusting's below 110 grs. Trick is: finding em.

[megasupermagnum]

Seems to me there would be a few sweet spot/s powder charges that would accommodate the rear sights elevation adjusting's below 110 grs. Trick is: finding em.

The lower you go, the higher it shoots. I tried Lee REAL's, they shoot even higher. Unless I tried a sabot with a lighter bullet, it ain't happening.

[arcticap]

Here is the sight. https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/sights/rear-sights/tc-hawken-adj-foolproof-receiver-rear-sight-w-swk-black-sku962200815-106001-36431.aspx
Are the front sights the same on all the TC side locks?

No, TC front sights are not all the same. Some are bead like and others are partridge type.
The New Englander has an octagon to round barrel while the Hawken and Renegade are octagon.

That doesn't mean that the Williams sight won't work, but if it were intended for the New Englander Williams would have listed it.
Others may have tried to adapt it just like you want to.

Are you the original owner of the New Englander?
Could someone have previously filed down the front sight?

[hc18flyer]

I have 2 sets of the Williams Fire Sights (fiber optic) on New Englanders. I have the rear sights bottomed out, and they still shoot a little high, but acceptable. They are awesome for the tree stand, low light and old eyes, but not fine enough for target shooting. hc18flyer

[Buzzard II]

Call Lyman Products in Ct. and talk to them. Their web site is not the greatest, but talk to them and they should be able to help you. Personal preference, but I like the Lyman sights over the Williams. Good luck.
Bob

[megasupermagnum]

No, TC front sights are not all the same. Some are bead like and others are partridge type.
The New Englander has an octagon to round barrel while the Hawken and Renegade are octagon.

That doesn't mean that the Williams sight won't work, but if it were intended for the New Englander Williams would have listed it.
Others may have tried to adapt it just like you want to.

Are you the original owner of the New Englander?
Could someone have previously filed down the front sight?

I realize the sights themselves may be different, I'm asking if the dovetail is all the same. The new englander is entirely a round barrel, no octagon at all. At least mine isn't. Just by eye, the stock is a very similar shape to a renegade. I am not the original owner, but it sounds like a lot of these guns had the same problem. I have yet to find a part number to a taller front sight. I can find them for the hawkens or renegade, but nobody seems to know if it will fit on a new englander.

I considered the williams fiber optic sights, but when I saw I could get a peep sight, I wanted that. The williams peep sight is on the way, should be here next week. I'll let everyone know how it works out.

[arcticap]

If the Williams sight doesn't work out or if you need a new front blade, go to the Track of the Wolf website and see all of their tall front sight blades.
Some may have oversized bases, but they can be filed down to fit the dovetail.
Good luck.

[Rich/WIS]

I have a OEM take off bead type front sight from a Hawken that mikes .475 high. The dovetails on the TC are standard 3/8 so another front sight should not be hard to come by. If you can use this one PM me and I'll send it to you.

[Good Cheer]

Don't know if you can see in the picture but the sight on the right is for the New Englander.
It's curved on the bottom. The flat one on the left is for the Renegades and Hawkens.

229341

[megasupermagnum]

That's not good. That might be more contouring than I should do. If it doesn't work out, I'll take a trip to track of the wolf, and see if they can set me up with a taller front sight. Other than ebay for a NOS TC sight, does anyone know of a peep sight currently made for a New Englander?

[koger]

Uhh, an easier fix is to measure the height of your front sight, and order one taller from brownells, get one closest to the size of your bead, and tap it on, might take some fitting, but a 5minute job and a whole lot cheaper!!

[megasupermagnum]

I called Brownells, they made it sound like they did not have something that would work. I only live 30 minutes from track of the wolf. I've been meaning to get out there anyway, I need a better ram rod and some more black powder as well.

[tomme boy]

NewEnglander barrels are all round. NOT Flat to round. And the rear tang is rounded and not flat as the above picture shows.

They also have 3 different rear sights and 2 different front sights that I have run across.

Which ones do you have? I may have what you need for the rear. I think I have 1 front blade sight too. The only way you are going to be able to fix this is to get a junk front sight and have someone weld a bead on top of it and you are going to have to file it down to get it to impact where you want it to hit.

[megasupermagnum]

I hadn't even thought of welding on the front sight. I'm a pretty good tig welder, I could do that no problem.

The peep sight says it will be here friday, but from what I hear from you guys, it won't work without extensive modification. I'm going to take my front sight out, and build it up with weld. I can do that in 10 minutes. Thanks.

[arcticap]

NewEnglander barrels are all round. NOT Flat to round. And the rear tang is rounded and not flat as the above picture shows.

They also have 3 different rear sights and 2 different front sights that I have run across.

Which ones do you have? I may have what you need for the rear. I think I have 1 front blade sight too. The only way you are going to be able to fix this is to get a junk front sight and have someone weld a bead on top of it and you are going to have to file it down to get it to impact where you want it to hit.

Sorry, I must have been thinking about the TC White Mountain Carbine--->>> https://www.gunsamerica.com/977177494/Thompson-Center-Arms-White-Mountain-Carbine-50-cal-Flintlock-Rifle.htm

[cas]

WMC and the Pennsylvania Hunter were half and half.

[wgr]

if I were that close to track of the wolf I would just let them take care of it

[tomme boy]

Not me. 10 min. and welding it up and it would be better than anything you could buy.

[megasupermagnum]

I wish I had thought of welding the front sight first. About 5 minutes of welding, 10 minutes of grinding and filing, and now I have a sight .075"-.080" taller than before. Once the paint is dry, it's done. I'd still like to get a peep sight at some point, but it looks like Thompson Center NOS is the only source right now. I'll worry about that next year.

[megasupermagnum]

I just wanted to follow up with the results. The new front sight is perfect, I can now shoot 70 grains with a round ball, and it's well in adjustment.

I received the peep sight, and besides the flat base on a concave tang, it never would have worked anyway. The hammer interferes with the sight no matter where you put it. This might explain why nobody makes a peep sight for the new englander other than a barrel mounted one. Another thing is that as a left handed shooter, it would have made it much harder to cock the hammer.