sights on pedersoli's confederate 1862

[kevikens]

Does anyone have any hints on getting the sighting on the 1862 Confederate Sharps to be more accurate? Is the front sight removable? What would be a good replacement? Ditto on the rear sight. I find that the sights are so low that I can just barley see over the hump on the breech and I am consistently shooting high. I am not concerned about meeting historical accuracy standards for re-enactors. I just want to be able to shoot more accurately without butchering the barrel. Thanks

[Eggman]

I'll start this - first you put the gun on the bench and test bullets/loads until for all intents and purposes the shots all go to the same spot. It doesn't matter where on the target the shots land as long as they all end up at the same spot. This is called zeroing the gun.
Once you're satisfiend you've established your zero, file off your front sight blade. Yeah just rub off the sucker with a vengence. This includes reopening the slot in the base.
Then take a nickel or dime or old key, whatever looks like the proper thickness, and cut you a new front sight. Cut it nice and high. Now if your gun is shooting left or right you may have a problem. I loath moving the sight base but have done so with my Enfield. In fact I lost the original base at Statesville sometime back and had to rebuild the whole shebang. Hopefully you can adjust your windage by filing on the sight one side or the other, or you can just arc it the direction you need to like I did with my Zouave.
Anyway you are now ready to install your new front sight blade with silver solder and only silver solder. Do not use a softer weaker solder. Then just work that front sight down using test shots until you have the dead on or six o'clock hold or whatever you're after.
By the way, use the plumbers' pastey flux, not the liquid flux, with your silver solder.
Eggman the Brainiac

[Eggman]

One last comment, if your reenactor friends don't like your modification, try using an 1862 nickel.
Eggman the B.

[Eggman]

I'm sorry, I mean a half dime.

[kevikens]

Maybe I could use a five cent first fractional currency piece, heavily starched.

[Blair]

Kevikins,

Does your Richmond Sharps Carbine have a "pinched" type front sight, or does it have a silver blade added to a bayonet like lug type front sight like is found on the U S made Sharps?

[kevikens]

Looks like a pinched sight that is an integral part of the barrel. If the sights on the 1862 Richmond repro are like the original I can understand why the Confederacy lost the war. They are terrible. Both sights are too low and I'll bet southern soldiers did their own modifications. I wonder if any have survived with the sights having been modified and what might the original modifications looked like.

[Eggman]

Yo Kevikens, ignore all I said before. I've installed new blades on Sharps and Spencer and made an ass-sup-tion. You need to build a whole new front sight. The front sight is not integral - it's either dovetailed in (most likely) or soldered onto the barrel. To build a new front sight, tap out or knock off the old one, get a big fat half inch bolt or fatter, invert it in your vice, and shape it like the original sight with your Dremel, only much taller. Once it's shaped, cut the new sight off the bolt and shape your dove tail on the base and install. Keep working it until you can tap it in without large force. Then zero it as above.
Again, if by chance the sight is soldered on, knock it off and solder on the new one with silver solder (see above).

[John Holland]

The problem you are having seeing the sights over top the receiver is due to Pedersoli using their Cartridge Model Sharps Receiver for the percussion model Richmond Sharps. Once again, it is a tooling cost efficiency, one receiver for all Sharps.

JDH