Accuracy with a peep sight and a hooked breech?

Fuzzysoxs · August 2, 2001, 01:33 AM

I am thinking of installing a peep sight on my thompson Hawken. Will a Peep sight on a gun with a hooked breech and pin improve my accuracy? It just seems to me that sight's that were barrel true would be just as accurate if not more accurate. Anybody have any feedback on this? Im just starting to learn too shoot my Muzzleloader and don't know a great deal about them.

jpm63 · August 2, 2001, 09:03 AM

Fuzzy,

You have a couple of good options . . . mostly from Williams.

Firstly, let me say that a peep sight is a great way to improve the sighting ability of the gun you have. It will be far easier for you to hold the same aiming point consistantly . . . hopefully this will translate into accuracy if you have a good load.

I have a peep sight on my Lyman GPR mounted to the tang which is what the breech hooks into. I am sure there is some small variation which occurs every time I dismount the barrel for cleaning and reattach, but I haven't seen it in a measurable way. Knowing that T/C has good machining practices, you should have very little variation at 50 and 100 yards. Make sure you reassemble the barrel to the gun the same way each time, putting the wedge in the same direction each time. You might try placing a small piece of patch material (soaked in oil) under the barrel just ahead of the wedge to keep tension on the wedge.

Williams makes a nice tang screw mounted sight for your gun. There is another option which eliminates this potential variable, that is a peep which is barrel mounted and goes where your rear sight is. I suspect this may work, but have no first hand experience.

Some other advice: I do my target work/play with the apetures installed, then remove the screw in apeture for hunting. This gives a ghost ring effect and works very well in low light conditions as well as being fast to bring on target. Practice with it for hunting, it works well and the point of impact should not change, just a bit more variation in group size.

If you plan to shoot in any competitions or woods walks, check the rules, many do not allow peep sights.

If you get one, let us know your experience . . . mine was very positive.

JPM

Poodleshooter · August 2, 2001, 10:50 AM

Hmmm, I'm interested in your results too. I'd love to put one on my T/C Grey Hawk. The factory sights are great out to 50yds, but beyond that I can't get repeatable good groups.

August 2, 2001, 01:33 AM	#1
Fuzzysoxs Junior Member Join Date: August 2, 2001 Location: Orem, UT Posts: 2	Accuracy with a peep sight and a hooked breech? I am thinking of installing a peep sight on my thompson Hawken. Will a Peep sight on a gun with a hooked breech and pin improve my accuracy? It just seems to me that sight's that were barrel true would be just as accurate if not more accurate. Anybody have any feedback on this? Im just starting to learn too shoot my Muzzleloader and don't know a great deal about them. __________________ Burke Nielsen

August 2, 2001, 09:03 AM	#2
jpm63 Member Join Date: March 26, 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 75	Fuzzy, You have a couple of good options . . . mostly from Williams. Firstly, let me say that a peep sight is a great way to improve the sighting ability of the gun you have. It will be far easier for you to hold the same aiming point consistantly . . . hopefully this will translate into accuracy if you have a good load. I have a peep sight on my Lyman GPR mounted to the tang which is what the breech hooks into. I am sure there is some small variation which occurs every time I dismount the barrel for cleaning and reattach, but I haven't seen it in a measurable way. Knowing that T/C has good machining practices, you should have very little variation at 50 and 100 yards. Make sure you reassemble the barrel to the gun the same way each time, putting the wedge in the same direction each time. You might try placing a small piece of patch material (soaked in oil) under the barrel just ahead of the wedge to keep tension on the wedge. Williams makes a nice tang screw mounted sight for your gun. There is another option which eliminates this potential variable, that is a peep which is barrel mounted and goes where your rear sight is. I suspect this may work, but have no first hand experience. Some other advice: I do my target work/play with the apetures installed, then remove the screw in apeture for hunting. This gives a ghost ring effect and works very well in low light conditions as well as being fast to bring on target. Practice with it for hunting, it works well and the point of impact should not change, just a bit more variation in group size. If you plan to shoot in any competitions or woods walks, check the rules, many do not allow peep sights. If you get one, let us know your experience . . . mine was very positive. JPM

August 2, 2001, 10:50 AM	#3
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	Hmmm, I'm interested in your results too. I'd love to put one on my T/C Grey Hawk. The factory sights are great out to 50yds, but beyond that I can't get repeatable good groups.