Bech sight in.

[ian45662]

Would my point of impact be different while standing if the musket I am shooting was sighted in off of a bench? The rifle has a 33" barrel and has peep sights if that makes a difference.

[mikea]

For me, there has been no appreciable difference between a zero from a bench rest and the offhand(standing) position with both 2 & 3 band muskets and several types of carbines. That is not the case with everyone, however.
It probably depends of your exact eye position, hold, etc., etc.
The safest thing to do, especially if you are cutting / filing metal to adjust the sights, is to get near zero from the bench and then fire a group from standing to see if it shoots to the same place or what the difference in point of impact is.
Remember that it is a lot easier to remove metal than to put it back on !!!

[hp gregory, 9128]

sit at the bench and hold the rifle the way you would hold it offhand. once you get comfortable and find your position stack sand bags up to the rifle. its important that you sight the rifle in as close to the offhand positon as you can. hp

[Tim Lyne]

H.P. is spot on. What you don't want to do is "hunch over" if you're shooting at the bench. Shooting hunched will put you closer to the rear sight, make you grip the rifle differently and take the recoil differently than when stading.
Lots of folks shoot hunched at the bench, file their sights accordingly, then find that they're shooting higher (usually) when they go to the off-hand position becasue they're taking the recoil differently than at the bench.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your back is vertical. it's important to take the recoil the same whether you're at the bench or standing.

Sit at the bench, shoulder your rifle like you would if standing, then "shim" under your rifle with blocks, sand bags, your mother-in-law, etc. whatever is handy...

Tim Lyne
Knap's Batt.
#2952V

[Lou Lou Lou]

Years ago, i saw plans for standing bench rest that solves the problem. I will try and find it again

[kowdok]

I found quite a difference shooting from a sitting bench opposed to standing, at least 2 to 4 ins. , of course it's fine to establish a pattern. I simply found an old hand made table about waist high, set a block bow target on top, and then a sand bag on top of that, and I can sight in from a solid rest in my normal standing position. My whole team uses this and adjusts the height for different members. Works fantastic.
Kowdok

[Gary B]

Typically, most shooters I have seen have different groups from bench to off hand (me included). You can get the sights close on the bench. I made a simple standing rest out of an old tripod, adding a cradle rest in place of the scope mount. You can adjust the height to fit most any shooter's natural off hand stance. This also works great for training new shooters and getting their muskets sighted in when they may not yet be able to hold a tight group.
It is a great tool.
Hope this helps,
Gary B.