Lorenz Front Sight

[Jack C., 69th NY]

I must admit to complete ignorance regarding Lorenz firearms. I recently acquired a Lorenz Jagerstutzen. The front sight base is unique in that it is mounted at an angle, acting as a bayonet lug allowing the bayonet to be fixed with a twisting action. The blade is brass, either placed into a slot or simply soldered onto the steel or iron base. Has anyone affixed a higher front sight for skirmishing purposes? I do not know if the entire front sight is dovetailed onto the barrel or was it soldered? I DO NOT WANT TO DESTROY THE FRONT SIGHT. Hoping that someone has some ideas. Thank you!

[MPatton]

Jack,
Get in touch with Eddie Schneeman from the 8th Va. He?s a wealth of information on the Jagerstutzen. He was a tremendous help to me when I was building one a couple years ago. Good luck with it they are a very interesting gun to build and shoot.
Matt 2nd NJ Cav.

[bobanderson]

My Jaeger had a fully adjustable rear sight that handled elevation adjustments. It's base was in a dovetail so windage was handled there as well.

Is yours a replica that someone may have fiddled with?

[Jack C., 69th NY]

The Jagerstutzen is an original. It is 99.5% complete except for the rear sight "slide". Thumb screw, sight lock, etc. all there. S&S has the part on order from their machinist and it should be in in a few weeks. They will have a half dozen in stock.

Can you tell from yours, is the front sight dovetailed or soldered/brazed? The front sight is quite unique and I don't want to damage it. My thought is to add a piece to it and to file for elevation. My plan is to shoot it first, before doing anything.

Thanks for your response

[Don Dixon]

The front sight on an original Muster 1854 System Lorenz Jaegerstutzen is a single piece of steel which is affixed to the barrel. It is not dove tailed. If yours has brass anything associated with it, the sight was modified by a prior owner. Before you make any further modifications to the rifle shoot it with the new rear sight slider from S&S. You may be right on target. Also, before you shoot it measure the bore with a set of machinist's plug gauges and run an advanced search on the website and look at the old posts regarding System Lorenz (AKA: "Wilkinson") bullets.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

[Jack C., 69th NY]

Thanks Don for that info about the front sight already being modified. In a way, that makes it easier for me to modify it again, if needed. I have never looked closely at a Lorenz front sight. Whoever. put the tiny brass blade on top of the sight base did an excellent job that was done a long time ago.

[Donald Hempel]

Thanks Don for that info about the front sight already being modified. In a way, that makes it easier for me to modify it again, if needed. I have never looked closely at a Lorenz front sight. Whoever. put the tiny brass blade on top of the sight base did an excellent job that was done a long time ago.
As a point of information I have 5 Lorenz molds .547 3 are Minnie?s and two are Wilkinson in case you are looking for one.

[Jack C., 69th NY]

The front sight on an original Muster 1854 System Lorenz Jaegerstutzen is a single piece of steel which is affixed to the barrel. It is not dove tailed. If yours has brass anything associated with it, the sight was modified by a prior owner. Before you make any further modifications to the rifle shoot it with the new rear sight slider from S&S. You may be right on target. Also, before you shoot it measure the bore with a set of machinist's plug gauges and run an advanced search on the website and look at the old posts regarding System Lorenz (AKA: "Wilkinson") bullets.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

Don, Thank you for your reply. As it turns out, the sight is original, all steel. When I acquired the Jagerstutzen it was uniformly black/brown, both wood and metal. I washed everything with hot soapy water to cut through years of crud from hanging over a fireplace. I then submerged the barrel in a PVC pipe filled with Kroil for 2 weeks. I was able to remove the light rust covering the entire barrel. I mistakenly took the front sight blade to be brass, it is not. The .54+ cal. bore is rough but with very visible rifling. I'll try it out as it is with a couple of .54 cal. molds that I have. I am reading that the bore sizes can vary but .547 is the norm. If my .54 molds do not work, I'll get a Lorenz .547 mold. If that fails due to the less than perfect bore, I will look into having it rifled out .58 cal. Doing that will also take some of the weight off of the barrel. Your input is much appreciated.

[Don Dixon]

Don, Thank you for your reply. As it turns out, the sight is original, all steel. When I acquired the Jagerstutzen it was uniformly black/brown, both wood and metal. I washed everything with hot soapy water to cut through years of crud from hanging over a fireplace. I then submerged the barrel in a PVC pipe filled with Kroil for 2 weeks. I was able to remove the light rust covering the entire barrel. I mistakenly took the front sight blade to be brass, it is not. The .54+ cal. bore is rough but with very visible rifling. I'll try it out as it is with a couple of .54 cal. molds that I have. I am reading that the bore sizes can vary but .547 is the norm. If my .54 molds do not work, I'll get a Lorenz .547 mold. If that fails due to the less than perfect bore, I will look into having it rifled out .58 cal. Doing that will also take some of the weight off of the barrel. Your input is much appreciated.

Jack,

The ordnance standard bore diameter for System Lorenz weapons was .547 inches, but a variation of up to .01 inches was considered acceptable. Most Jaegerstutzen were tighter than that. Then we have wear while in use. Bullets from .54 caliber moulds will not work effectively in original guns because they are too small for good accuracy unless they are paper patched, which the N-SSA will not allow. That is the primary reason why System Lorenz weapons were criticized for inaccuracy during the Civil War. The Federal and Confederate ordnance establishments purchased about 400,000 of them and then very stupidly and incompetently provided ammunition which was too small. Measure your bore with machinist's plug gauges and find out your actual bore diameter. Ideally the diameter of your bullet should be .001 to .002 inches under that. Rather than waste your time with .54 caliber moulds and bullets get one of Pedersoli's .547 Minie moulds or a .547 System Lorenz [AKA: "Wilkinson"] compression bullet mould. That will start you off closer to the proper size. If your rifle is at the upper end of what the Austrian Army considered to be acceptable bore diameter, the Minie mould will work best. Compression bullets are very sensitive to bore diameter.

It is unlikely that your rifle will be on target at 50 and 100 yards with the original sights and any selection of bullets that you might use. The original battle sight was calibrated for 300 Schritt [a military pace of 29.5 inches] and the Austrian soldier was taught to use hold offs for shorter distances. The Army was interested in minute of man, not minute of N-SSA target. So, you will probably have to modify the front sight, which will seriously reduce the value of an original Jaegerstutzen.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

[Jack C., 69th NY]

As a point of information I have 5 Lorenz molds .547 3 are Minnie?s and two are Wilkinson in case you are looking for one.



Don Hempel
I sent you a private message.