Burnside Sighting Question

[Monkeypaws]

I took my Burnside out shooting for the first time today and had a great time. My rifle works like a charm and is quickly becoming one of my ACW favorites. Question..... What is the correct sight picture for this rifle? With my Hawkin you put the point of the front sight at the bottom of the rear sight and just the opposite for my Sharp's. At what distance was the Burnside sighted in at? At 50 yards I shoot high. Help for the new guy.

 

[Seduzal]

Thank you for you question but it's still early but just wait for a little while and someone will be along to help you. Paging @Package4 @ucvrelics

 

[Lanyard Puller]

Very simple solution. AIM LOWER on the target.

 

[Old Soldier]

Answer - see where it is shooting first. Best on a 100yd range at a black 6" dot on a large (4') white square. Most rifles are not zeroed for 50m. Many rifles using black powder at this time had sights set for 100yd, so that if you shot at a target, they would hit around the aiming point. Given the rather rapid bullet drop using black powder, that means the barrel would be pointing UP and the bullet would travel in an arc to drop on target at 100yd. This means at 50yd, it would be shooting HIGH. As Lanyard Puller has already said you should aim low!

Your aim picture (depending on your sight type - I am quoting 'barleycorn') is usually with the forsight point in line with the top of the V and central in the V and just under the desired impact point.

That is just the basic system, there are variations on that with the various sights used. Whatever sight picture is used, you use exactly the same one every time for zeroing and exactly the same hold and/or support. A minimum of 10 rounds is best to establish where your rifle is firing. Many older rifles have no zero adjustment, so you may have to compensate by aiming off.



BTW - the AR-15/M16 bullet has a far higher velocity and a negligable drop out to 300m.

 

[ConfederateCanuck]

Funny you should ask. I was out shooting my Burnside just yesterday. On mine, I aim with the front sight tip set into the deepest notch of the rear site in order to hit point of aim. That works from 25 to about 75 yards, but I haven't done a proper bench test to be able to determine whether the ball is hitting slightly higher and lower at the 2550 and 75 yard increments. At 115 yards (this just happens to be the distance from a convenient platform that I use to shoot) I'm shooting about 6 inches low. But it all depends on how much your powder load is and the weight of your ball. I am using a .562 round ball moud which makes a 276 grain bullet. I am also using 45 grains of 2F powder. The original Burnside bullets used 45 grains of 2F but the bullet weight was in the order of 350 to 385 grains or thereabouts (sorry, i don't have the exact number handy). So, if I theoretically was using the heavier bullet I likely would have to set the front sight tip at the top rear sight like the picture that was shown in the prior post. Therefore, the combination of powder load and ball weight will have a big effect on where your bullet hits.

Another factor affecting point of aim on these older guns is whether or not you are front sight has been worn from use, which would change the point of aim relative to what it was originally the gun left the factory. A worn front sight would cause your point of aim to rise relative to its original point of aim.

What powder load and bullet weight are you using? Feel free to ask questions as I have a fair bit of experience with shooting these original black powder guns.

 

[Old Soldier]

Well said, I didn't mention that, did I? For zeroing, consistency is THE word. Too used to metallic cartridge and all the paraphernalia for moving foresights! I forgot about hand-loaded ammo! Glad you mentioned wear too. I have have resored many a longarm with a 'funny' foresight - display only in my case. The latest is my Canadian Lancaster carbine. Got it all finished and I just HAD to try out the trigger pressure for real so aimed it out of the window and dry-fired it. I noticed then that the foresight was not what I expected. It still looked the original Enfield blade foresight from the side - but someone had got the file out and made it into a BEAD foresight! Good job it was very cheap (for a Lancaster). It was said to be 'smoothbore 20-bore' VERY strange for any ex military weapon. On checking, to '20-bore' was just the first few inches.. The rest was nice and shiney and, pushing a well-stuffed jag down the barrel, the cleaning rod was felt to turn. Oh the joys of an oval bore!

 

[UCVRelics]

I just collect them and don't shot them but I'm like LP aim lower and after a few rounds you will figure out where center mass is.