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Last update: 9/5/14
General Information
There are several suppliers of quality front and rear sights for single-shot black
powder cartridge rifles. Since I’m often asked for a list of suppliers, my initial
intent here is to identify them for the reader. But since this web site is focused
on Miroku manufactured Browning or Winchester M1885 BPCRs, I will also
provide specific details you may need to know when selecting sights for these
rifles. When reading the following information, please keep in mind that I’ve
only had direct experience with one supplier (AMT) therefore I’m not prepared
to provide details on the overall quality, benefits and features of one supplier
versus another. To make a final selection will require further research on your
part. I suggest you run an Internet search and/or ask for references and
recommendations on several of the Internet BPCR discussion forums.
Note, regardless of the supplier you choose, I strongly suggest selecting a
vernier soule-type rear sight design, and a front sight with a spirit level which
helps in reducing rifle cant when shooting at long range targets. A “soule” or
“soule-type” sight is named after the inventor, John W. Soule, who was issued
Patent No. 410,039 on August 27, 1889. It has the windage adjustment in the
base of the sight rather than on the eyecup or peephole assembly. Adjusting
the sight for windage on a “soule” sight moves the entire sight staff and eyecup.
Another excellent accessory is a selectable-aperture eyecup. Key to a clear
and crisp sight image is using the correct aperture diameter to match the
ambient light. Traditional eyecups with fixed aperture diameters work well, but
a selectable-aperture eyecup is a real convenience when frequent adjustments
are necessary for varying light conditions. Hadley-style selectable-aperture
eyecups are available from Lee Shaver Gunsmithing, Davide Pedersoli, Montana
Vintage Arms (MVA) and Kelley Sights. Lyman-style selectable eyecups are
available from Kelley Sights and Baldwin Sights. For additional details refer
to the article titled Selectable-Aperture Eyecups.
Merit Corp. offers several models of iris-type adjustable aperture eye discs,
but as of this writing, due to the nontraditional design, they are not approved
for NRA sanctioned BPCR silhouette matches. I do understand the Merit discs
are permitted in BPCR long range target matches. The Merit #3 Adjustable
Master Aperture eye disc is available directly from Merit or from Midway
USA. Regardless of the brand or style of eyecup, just be sure that the threads
on the mounting shaft match up with the threads in your rear sight elevator.
When purchasing a rear sight keep in mind that the sight base mounting holes
must be of the proper size and spacing to match up with the holes in your
receiver tang. The sight staff vertical detent angle should also match up with
the tang angle of your rifle to ensure that the staff is close to perpendicular to
the rifle bore line of sight. Several sight suppliers offer bases with adjustable
detent angles. And don’t forget that the mounting screws must have the same
threads as the drilled and tapped holes in the tang. Therefore, be sure the sight
supplier fully understands the brand and style of rifle the sights will be
mounted on.
Browning & Winchester BPCRs
The following comments discuss specific details to keep in mind when
purchasing sights. The tang angle is approximately 18 degrees and the two
tang sight base mounting holes have a center-to-center spacing of 2.185”. The
tang sight base screws should be 10-32x1/4”. Although all the sight suppliers
are well aware of the original Browning BPCR tang and front sight
requirements, some may not know that the more recent Winchester BPCRs are
identical to the Browning’s. Therefore, if you’re purchasing a rear sight for a
recent Miroku manufactured Winchester BPCR you may have to ask for one
that fits a Browning BPCR.
Another area of concern is the front sight dovetail dimensions, especially when
purchasing one of the Miroku manufactured limited series Winchester BPCR
that comes without sights, but has a front sight dovetail. Sight suppliers may
indicate that the correct dovetail width is 3/8” (0.375”) or 0.3925”, but I have
accurately measured many of the original Browning’s and more current
Winchester BPCRs and found the actual width is between 0.380” & 0.384”.
Therefore, a 0.3925” wide dovetail can be made to fit relatively easily with
some filing or by removing material from the base with emery cloth. The
dovetails have standard 60-degree shoulders. By the way, the front sight should
only be installed from right to left with the rifle pointing forward.
Finally, if you plan on purchasing an adjustable aperture disc, Hadley-style or
Lyman-style selectable aperture eyecup for the AMT sights, the thread size and
pitch must be 10-32.
Sight Manufacturers & Suppliers:
Advance Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
Also know as Advance Engineering Technology (AET)
3329 West 2555 South, West Valley City, UT 84119
Phone: (800)-691-1233, (801) 973-9462
AMT manufactured the front and rear sight assemblies for the original
Browning Black Powder Cartridge Rifles (BPCRs) and some of the more
current Winchester BPCRs. In August 2011, AMT announced they were no
longer selling sights, but will continue to supply parts for existing sights until
their parts inventory is depleted. By the way, some of AMT’s sight parts are
available from Brownells at the following link: http://www.brownells.com/.
aspx/pid=0/sid=377/schematicsdetail/1885-High-Wall#
Baldwin Soule-Type Sights (Steve Baldwin)
P.O. Box 971, Jones, OK 73049
Phone: (405)-399-2875
www.baldwin-sights.com
A well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights
Buffalo Arms Co. (BACO)
600 Vermeer Court, Ponderay, ID 83852
Phone: (208) 263-6953
www.buffaloarms.com
Buffalo Arms is the leading supplier of products for the BPCR reloader and
shooter. BACo sells the following brand of sights: Baldwin, Kelley, Lee Shaver
and Red River. Also available are Lee Shaver and Pedersoli brands of
selectable-aperture eyecups commonly referred to as “Hadley”-style eyecups.
Distant Thunder Shooting Products
O’Hare Tool, Inc., W8515 County Road N, PO Box 138, Niagara, WI
54151
Phone: (715) 251-3839
http://www.distantthunderbpcr.com/DTPages/DTProduct.htm
High-quality sights for BPCRs. By the way, Distant Thunder also makes
a superb hand primer decapper, which is described as “the handiest little
decapper ever devised”. I’ve used one for several years and agree that it
is the best hand decapper on the market.
Kelley Sights & Accessories
High-quality sights for BPCRs. To check out the Kelley sight offerings
go to www.kelleysights.com/ or Buffalo Arms Co. (www.buffaloarms.
com). Kelley sights are only available for purchase from Buffalo Arms.
Hoke Long Range Rifle Sights
207 West Locust Lane, York, PA 17406
Phone: (717) 848-4276
kshoke@comcast.net
Kermit Hoke is well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights. Unique
to the Hoke sight design is an adjustable gibb that removes any slack in
the windage adjustment. Also, the sight staff is engraved on both sides
for right- and left-hand shooters.
You can view a photo of the Hoke sights at http://www.kermitool.
com/hoke_rifle_sight.html, but the contact information is not valid since
Kermit Hoke no longer owns Kermitool, Inc. He retired several years ago
but is still making sights. Contact him at the phone number or email
address listed above.
Lee Shaver Gunsmithing
P.O. Box 570, 1020 Broadway, Lamar, MO 64759
Phone: (417) 682-3330
leeshaver74@yahoo.com
www.leeshavergunsmithing.com
Lee supplies his own line of sights and works on Browning (AMT) sights. He
also manufactures a Hadley-style selectable-aperture eyecup. Contact Lee
directly or go to Buffalo Arms Co. (www.buffaloarms.com) for his products.
Merit Corporation
P.O. Box 9044, Schenectady, NY 12309
Phone: (518) 346-1420
www.meritcorporation.com/products.html
Merit manufactures adjustable aperture discs for shooting glasses and rifle
sights. The Merit #3 Adjustable Master Aperture eye disc is also available
from Midway USA (www.midwayusa.com). It is currently not approved for
NRA sanctioned BPCR silhouette matches.
Midway USA
Customer Service, 5875 West Van Horn Tavern Rd., Columbia, MO 65203
Phone: (800) 243-3220
www.midwayusa.com
Midway sells the Merit #3 Adjustable Master Aperture eye disc.
Montana Vintage Arms (MVA)
61 Andrea Drive, Belgrade, MT 59714
Daytime phone: (406) 388-4027, Evening phone: (406) 388-3405
www.montanavintagearms.com
MVA is a well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights. MVA also
manufactures vintage-style rifle scopes and selectable-aperture eyecups for
BPCR sights
Red River Sights
Dept. B, 206 Oxford Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3M 3J6
Phone: (866) 239-9451 (best to call after 6 pm CST)
Email: red.river.a.a.p@mts.net, Note, a web site address is not available
Red River supplies Ukrainian made sights previously offered by Parts
Unknown Inc. Red River sights are also sold by Buffalo Arms (www.
buffaloarms.com).
VTI Gun Parts (Pedersoli)
P.O. Box 509, Lakeville, CT 06039
Phone: (860) 435-8068
http://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopcontent.asp?type=home
mail@vtigunparts.com
USA based supplier of Davide Pedersoli sights, parts and accessories.
Wishing you great shooting,
Wayne
General Information
There are several suppliers of quality front and rear sights for single-shot black
powder cartridge rifles. Since I’m often asked for a list of suppliers, my initial
intent here is to identify them for the reader. But since this web site is focused
on Miroku manufactured Browning or Winchester M1885 BPCRs, I will also
provide specific details you may need to know when selecting sights for these
rifles. When reading the following information, please keep in mind that I’ve
only had direct experience with one supplier (AMT) therefore I’m not prepared
to provide details on the overall quality, benefits and features of one supplier
versus another. To make a final selection will require further research on your
part. I suggest you run an Internet search and/or ask for references and
recommendations on several of the Internet BPCR discussion forums.
Note, regardless of the supplier you choose, I strongly suggest selecting a
vernier soule-type rear sight design, and a front sight with a spirit level which
helps in reducing rifle cant when shooting at long range targets. A “soule” or
“soule-type” sight is named after the inventor, John W. Soule, who was issued
Patent No. 410,039 on August 27, 1889. It has the windage adjustment in the
base of the sight rather than on the eyecup or peephole assembly. Adjusting
the sight for windage on a “soule” sight moves the entire sight staff and eyecup.
Another excellent accessory is a selectable-aperture eyecup. Key to a clear
and crisp sight image is using the correct aperture diameter to match the
ambient light. Traditional eyecups with fixed aperture diameters work well, but
a selectable-aperture eyecup is a real convenience when frequent adjustments
are necessary for varying light conditions. Hadley-style selectable-aperture
eyecups are available from Lee Shaver Gunsmithing, Davide Pedersoli, Montana
Vintage Arms (MVA) and Kelley Sights. Lyman-style selectable eyecups are
available from Kelley Sights and Baldwin Sights. For additional details refer
to the article titled Selectable-Aperture Eyecups.
Merit Corp. offers several models of iris-type adjustable aperture eye discs,
but as of this writing, due to the nontraditional design, they are not approved
for NRA sanctioned BPCR silhouette matches. I do understand the Merit discs
are permitted in BPCR long range target matches. The Merit #3 Adjustable
Master Aperture eye disc is available directly from Merit or from Midway
USA. Regardless of the brand or style of eyecup, just be sure that the threads
on the mounting shaft match up with the threads in your rear sight elevator.
When purchasing a rear sight keep in mind that the sight base mounting holes
must be of the proper size and spacing to match up with the holes in your
receiver tang. The sight staff vertical detent angle should also match up with
the tang angle of your rifle to ensure that the staff is close to perpendicular to
the rifle bore line of sight. Several sight suppliers offer bases with adjustable
detent angles. And don’t forget that the mounting screws must have the same
threads as the drilled and tapped holes in the tang. Therefore, be sure the sight
supplier fully understands the brand and style of rifle the sights will be
mounted on.
Browning & Winchester BPCRs
The following comments discuss specific details to keep in mind when
purchasing sights. The tang angle is approximately 18 degrees and the two
tang sight base mounting holes have a center-to-center spacing of 2.185”. The
tang sight base screws should be 10-32x1/4”. Although all the sight suppliers
are well aware of the original Browning BPCR tang and front sight
requirements, some may not know that the more recent Winchester BPCRs are
identical to the Browning’s. Therefore, if you’re purchasing a rear sight for a
recent Miroku manufactured Winchester BPCR you may have to ask for one
that fits a Browning BPCR.
Another area of concern is the front sight dovetail dimensions, especially when
purchasing one of the Miroku manufactured limited series Winchester BPCR
that comes without sights, but has a front sight dovetail. Sight suppliers may
indicate that the correct dovetail width is 3/8” (0.375”) or 0.3925”, but I have
accurately measured many of the original Browning’s and more current
Winchester BPCRs and found the actual width is between 0.380” & 0.384”.
Therefore, a 0.3925” wide dovetail can be made to fit relatively easily with
some filing or by removing material from the base with emery cloth. The
dovetails have standard 60-degree shoulders. By the way, the front sight should
only be installed from right to left with the rifle pointing forward.
Finally, if you plan on purchasing an adjustable aperture disc, Hadley-style or
Lyman-style selectable aperture eyecup for the AMT sights, the thread size and
pitch must be 10-32.
Sight Manufacturers & Suppliers:
Advance Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
Also know as Advance Engineering Technology (AET)
3329 West 2555 South, West Valley City, UT 84119
Phone: (800)-691-1233, (801) 973-9462
AMT manufactured the front and rear sight assemblies for the original
Browning Black Powder Cartridge Rifles (BPCRs) and some of the more
current Winchester BPCRs. In August 2011, AMT announced they were no
longer selling sights, but will continue to supply parts for existing sights until
their parts inventory is depleted. By the way, some of AMT’s sight parts are
available from Brownells at the following link: http://www.brownells.com/.
aspx/pid=0/sid=377/schematicsdetail/1885-High-Wall#
Baldwin Soule-Type Sights (Steve Baldwin)
P.O. Box 971, Jones, OK 73049
Phone: (405)-399-2875
www.baldwin-sights.com
A well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights
Buffalo Arms Co. (BACO)
600 Vermeer Court, Ponderay, ID 83852
Phone: (208) 263-6953
www.buffaloarms.com
Buffalo Arms is the leading supplier of products for the BPCR reloader and
shooter. BACo sells the following brand of sights: Baldwin, Kelley, Lee Shaver
and Red River. Also available are Lee Shaver and Pedersoli brands of
selectable-aperture eyecups commonly referred to as “Hadley”-style eyecups.
Distant Thunder Shooting Products
O’Hare Tool, Inc., W8515 County Road N, PO Box 138, Niagara, WI
54151
Phone: (715) 251-3839
http://www.distantthunderbpcr.com/DTPages/DTProduct.htm
High-quality sights for BPCRs. By the way, Distant Thunder also makes
a superb hand primer decapper, which is described as “the handiest little
decapper ever devised”. I’ve used one for several years and agree that it
is the best hand decapper on the market.
Kelley Sights & Accessories
High-quality sights for BPCRs. To check out the Kelley sight offerings
go to www.kelleysights.com/ or Buffalo Arms Co. (www.buffaloarms.
com). Kelley sights are only available for purchase from Buffalo Arms.
Hoke Long Range Rifle Sights
207 West Locust Lane, York, PA 17406
Phone: (717) 848-4276
kshoke@comcast.net
Kermit Hoke is well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights. Unique
to the Hoke sight design is an adjustable gibb that removes any slack in
the windage adjustment. Also, the sight staff is engraved on both sides
for right- and left-hand shooters.
You can view a photo of the Hoke sights at http://www.kermitool.
com/hoke_rifle_sight.html, but the contact information is not valid since
Kermit Hoke no longer owns Kermitool, Inc. He retired several years ago
but is still making sights. Contact him at the phone number or email
address listed above.
Lee Shaver Gunsmithing
P.O. Box 570, 1020 Broadway, Lamar, MO 64759
Phone: (417) 682-3330
leeshaver74@yahoo.com
www.leeshavergunsmithing.com
Lee supplies his own line of sights and works on Browning (AMT) sights. He
also manufactures a Hadley-style selectable-aperture eyecup. Contact Lee
directly or go to Buffalo Arms Co. (www.buffaloarms.com) for his products.
Merit Corporation
P.O. Box 9044, Schenectady, NY 12309
Phone: (518) 346-1420
www.meritcorporation.com/products.html
Merit manufactures adjustable aperture discs for shooting glasses and rifle
sights. The Merit #3 Adjustable Master Aperture eye disc is also available
from Midway USA (www.midwayusa.com). It is currently not approved for
NRA sanctioned BPCR silhouette matches.
Midway USA
Customer Service, 5875 West Van Horn Tavern Rd., Columbia, MO 65203
Phone: (800) 243-3220
www.midwayusa.com
Midway sells the Merit #3 Adjustable Master Aperture eye disc.
Montana Vintage Arms (MVA)
61 Andrea Drive, Belgrade, MT 59714
Daytime phone: (406) 388-4027, Evening phone: (406) 388-3405
www.montanavintagearms.com
MVA is a well-known high-quality supplier of BPCR sights. MVA also
manufactures vintage-style rifle scopes and selectable-aperture eyecups for
BPCR sights
Red River Sights
Dept. B, 206 Oxford Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3M 3J6
Phone: (866) 239-9451 (best to call after 6 pm CST)
Email: red.river.a.a.p@mts.net, Note, a web site address is not available
Red River supplies Ukrainian made sights previously offered by Parts
Unknown Inc. Red River sights are also sold by Buffalo Arms (www.
buffaloarms.com).
VTI Gun Parts (Pedersoli)
P.O. Box 509, Lakeville, CT 06039
Phone: (860) 435-8068
http://www.vtigunparts.com/store/shopcontent.asp?type=home
mail@vtigunparts.com
USA based supplier of Davide Pedersoli sights, parts and accessories.
Wishing you great shooting,
Wayne
| SIGHT SUPPLIER FOR BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLES By Wayne McLerran |