ChapK,
I think this might explain why you were shooting high, assuming that you were shooting at 25, 50, 75, or 100 yards using the stock sights on your rifle musket:
The following is a post I made on the N-SSA web site about the sights on Civil War firearms, and posted previously on this forum in January 2015.. The discussion was related to the N-SSA's decision to open a new match for muzzle loading Civil War military long arms with completely unmodified sights and paper cartridges:
"So if you went with actual historical arms, were these things just not sighted in at the ranges we now shoot (50/100 yards)?"
No, they weren't. Armies of the time were concerned about "minute of man," not target accuracy at the ranges the N-SSA shoots. Some examples:
There was an expectation that revolvers would be effective to 75 yards. Using the original sight heights, at 25 yards you aimed at your target's crotch, at 50 yards at his center of mass, and at 75 yards at his head. All three aiming points would produce a hit at roughly center of mass. None of them will necessarily produce even 8 ring accuracy on the pistol target used by the N-SSA.
The shortest marked range on the Sharps carbine sight ladder is for 200 yards. The point blank sight would have been used for shorter ranges using hold offs.
On the System Lorenz Austro-Hungarian rifles, both the Type I block sight and the short range portion of the Type II sight were calibrated for 300 Schritt (a military pace 29.5 inches long). At distances to 150 paces, Austro-Hungarian Army soldiers were taught to locate the top of the front sight at the lowest point of the sighting notch in the rear sight and aim for their target's crotch. From 150 to 250 paces, the top of the front sight was placed even with the sighting notch of the rear sight and you aimed for the target's center of mass. From 250 to 300 paces, the base of the front sight post was placed even with the top of the rear sight aiming notch and you aimed for the target's center of mass. Similar adjustments were made for longer distances on the sighting ladder of the Type II sight.
Through consideration of the very curved trajectory of black power arms, all of the above gave you "minute of man," not fine target accuracy. So, if you want to use original unmodified sights at N-SSA distances you will have to use some very deep hold offs unless you bend the barrels, which defeats the purpose of originality. By the way, bending barrels is prohibited by the international sanctioning body -- MLAIC -- for international competition with these types of arms. So, there are people who have done it.
American Civil War soldiers were not generally provided enough marksmanship instruction to understand how their sights worked, which is why at about 125 yards your enemy was generally shooting over your head. [This is because the soldiers were alining the top of the front sight with the top of the rear sight like they did when hunting small game at short range. The skill set required to use military firearms at militarily useful distances is much different than the skill set required for hunting at short range and requires training.] Hence the contemporary reports of soldiers fighting in forested areas being showered with leaves and branches.
Regards,
Don Dixon