Cabelas Blue Ridge Front Site

[LongRifleVA]

I have 2 Cabelas Blue Ridge Rifles.  One percussion and one flint

I have searched, and searched and while it is almost universally agreed that the front site is WAY too tall, no one ever posts a picture of one they have ground down or replaced

I have shot mine for years compensating for the sight and just eyeballing it throught the buckhorns.  Essentially using the buckhorns as  a peep sight

But that is not consistenly accurate.   I might move my head the wrong way, yada yada

Can anyone show me a picture of a modified or replaced front site?  I just need to make sure my  plan to grind it down will work

[butterchurn]

Do it a little at a time and test fire.

[rollingb]

That's an easy and fun fix,... just set up a target at 50 yrds. with a 1" bullseye,... take a couple of shots from a "rest" then take a couple of "swipes" off the top of the front sight (if she's shooting low),... then try a "couple more shots and file" UNTIL the holes get UP to the bullseye.

Adjusting sights is a fun way to spend an hour, or so, of shooting. :clap

[LongRifleVA]

So if I can ask another question or two

What is the point of the Buckhorns??

Right now I use the buckhorns like a peep site, but I ASSUME that the proper alignment of the sight is to have the top of the post buried down into the notch of the rear site as if the Buckhorns do not exist.   Is that right?

Also, what if the front sight is too thick?  I am afraid it is so thick that it will not fit down into the notch even if I open the notch a bit.   I guess this question is subject to the answer above

[rollingb]

So if I can ask another question or two

What is the point of the Buckhorns??

Right now I use the buckhorns like a peep site, but I ASSUME that the proper alignment of the sight is to have the top of the post buried down into the notch of the rear site as if the Buckhorns do not exist.   Is that right?

Yes,... that is correct, the "top" of your front sight should be level with the top "flat" portion of your rear sight for a proper "sight picture". :rt th

Good luck, the more you work with your rifle, the more familar you'll become with it and the more accurately you'll shoot with it.

[LongRifleVA]

Thanks so much

I will take some pictures of this process so that maybe other Blue Ridge owners can benefit

Since I have 2 of them, it will be interesting to see how they compare.  

Especially since one is a 50 and one is a 54.

[rollingb]

I might also mention, that you have to be careful when fileing the "sides" of your front sight, or you will inadvertantly file it to a "point". Keep your file as flat as you can (with the sides of the sight) when fileing. Just take your time and be careful.

[LongRifleVA]

DONE!!!

I am going to put some keywords in this post so that future searchers can find it.   Because... I am telling you guys, what a pain it is for a novice not to have any real specific kind of guidance as to ball park expectations.   There have to be a ton of people like me.  

BlueRidge  Blue Ridge Rifle Cabelas Pedersoli Frontier Rifle Front Site Front Sight Shoots Low Proper site picture Proper sight picture

OK that is enough key words

So here is what I did

As you guys know, I realized quickly that my gun was shooting more than 10 inches low at 50 yards.   I must be dense because I never thought to measure the height of the front site vs the rear.  

So I did that, and found the front site almost twice as tall as the rear.  

Next, I knew a lot of filing was at hand so I thought what the heck, I will risk doing some before I get to the range.   I started to measure other muzzleloaders I have and tried to find out on average how much SHORTER the front sight is from the rear.  

I have a set of case calipers that I purchased to measure metallic case length, and it says it is graduated in .001".   I found quite a range of deltas between front and rear site.   In some cases it was nearly 100 (I guess that is 100 .001"), and in some cases is was 30.  

This is a long barrel and I assumed that would have bearing on it, so I picked 50 (again 50 increments on the dial which again said it s calibrated in .001").    

I get out the handy dandy dremel tool and put on a sanding hub not a stone.   I proceeded to grind and shape down to my target size.  

I will take pics and show you the change.   I also will cross post this on another muzzleloading website.    

When I got to the rage... BANG.  First shot.   2 to 2.5 inches HIGH at 50 yards.   A few more shots confirmed that.   70 grains of powder and patched 490 RB.  

Then I move to 100 yards.   Bang.... bullseye.  I kid you not.

A few more shots to confirm it is flat to 1" high at 100 yards

I packed up and went home.  

Fabulous.  

After church I will take some picts and see if I can upload them and try to show measurements as best I can.

[Sean McKown]

I always have a small file in my range box.  Dremel is way to dangerous for the amount of metal that needs to be taken off.  not to mention i would need a 3 mile extension cord to get from the nearest farm to the range(we are dead center in the middle of 2 sections)  I dont know that I have ever actually measured with a caliper, we are talking muzzleloaders, not building a space shuttle.  I just fire a 5 shot group, file a couple,3,4 strokes and shoot again,  keep at it till its on.

On another note the pedersoli rifles I have seen are kind of known for a waay to tall front site, and you can see that by looing at it.  Maybe this is an issue for pedersoli to remedy in the future.

[LongRifleVA]

I am with you 100% normally

But yes, that blue ridge is ridiculous, you would be there all day with a file.  

I have not yet taken pics, but I will

I will also provide exact measurements from my rifle.  

Note, that my flint lock is a couple .001"ths taller than the older percussion.

[Ironwood]

This is the front sight on my .32 caliber Pedersoli Frontier Rifle.  It's dead on at 25 yards.  It's also pretty hard to find that front sight sometimes.

 

[R.M.]

It's also pretty hard to find that front sight sometimes.

I dare say that I'd need better glasses to find that baby. Nice looking piece.

[Uncle Russ]

Ironwood, Welcome to TMA forum, glad to have ya..  

I would like to make mention of your signature block....I like it!

Uncle Russ...

[Ironwood]

Thank you for the welcome Russ.  Glad you like the signature.  That's where I future lies.

[LongRifleVA]

Finally took some pictures

I have 2 Blue Ridge Rifles, the one in the front is obviously the one I filed first.

I also included my measurements

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/ ... 1224984394

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/ ... 1224984440

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/ ... 1224984481