Semisane's LOL Aperture Sight
 

My .58 Zouave shows every indication of being a good round ball shooter, but my bifocal eyes don't work well with the original military sights. So I decided to make my own "hardware store" ghost ring / aperture sight. The results were Laugh Out Loud good (well, I like it anyway).

Here are the original military sights that I just can't see.

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Here it is disassembled.

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That disc is the sight base screw. I couldn't get it out with any tools I had, and had to drill it and take it out with an "easy out". It turned out to be a 4mm/.70 pitch screw.

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So I went to the local hardware store and bought three bolts 1/2" X 20 threads per inch, and a nut. Cost a little over two bucks.

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I also bought a 4mm/.70 pitch machine screw, a small rubber "O" Ring, and a nylon washer. Cost about a buck and a quarter.

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I cut the head off of the machine screw and put it in the sight base screw hole.

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:)

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Then I drilled and tapped one side of the nut to 4mm/.70 pitch, and ground the nut flat on both sides, and rounded all the flats except the drilled and tapped one. The picture shows it in three steps.

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Got my buddy with a lathe to modify the three bolts. Drilled them with a 1/8" hole, a 3/16" hole, and a 1/4" hole, shortened the shank to the thickness of the modified nut, and rounded and dished the head. He did a great job. I probably should have asked him to thin the heads a little.

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Then I put the "O" Ring on the machine screw, then the nylon washer, then threaded on the modified nut nice and tight. This alone makes a real good "low light" ghost ring sight.

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Or I can screw in any one of the three size apertures, depending on conditions. The 1/8" one makes a darn good target sight. The 1/4" one is in place in this picture.

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Guys, I know it's a LOL sight :D, but last Sunday morning I put six shots into a three-inch bull at 50 yards from a bench. I still need to modify the front sight and raise it to 1/2" for dead on at 50 yards, or about 5/8" to be dead on at 75 yards. I think I'm going to do something that lets me change the hight of the front site so I can adjust POI.

Go ahead, laugh. I'm ready to hunt!

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:D :D:D[:-] Ok, I really see only one problem, well two then... The amount of mass you have up top there is going to put a pretty good torque on that single screw if the new sight gets bumped - stripped barrel threads seem areal possibilty. I guess that was your thought with the o-ring?And you need to blue or alumi-black those sparkling jewels. ;)

You had me on the edge of my seat... :D

With all that metal shaping, I would have to ask why you didn't build something utilizing that dovetail?

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Hey UC, glad you got a chuckle.

The blueing job is just awaiting purchase of a bottle of Birchwood-Casey cold blue (I know I have some around here somewhere, but can't find it. Maybe I loaned it to my brother-in-law?)

That 4mm screw is pretty beefy - a lot heavier than standard scope base screws. Time will tell. Might be thinning them round bolt heads to reduce mass a little, but I kinda got used to them already.

I thought about using the dovetail but the stud approach seemed practical and easier. I can make new "ghost rings" with the drilled and tapped holes slightly off center to adjust windage if needed, or just different styles and thicknesses if I want. Screw off one and screw on another.

That dovetail is not quite what it seems. The picture doesn't show it well, but it's very shallow andonly the rear of it is undercut. The front is flat. The original sight wedged in under the undercut side then was screwed down. I would have to do a little file work on the barrel to make a true dovetail,and decided to keep it "as is" so the original sight could be restored if so desired.

RE: Semisane's LOL Aperture Signt
 

Your site looks about as good as the $80 ones I was pricing, look better when you blue them;)

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I can appreciate the bifocal part and the sight is definitely a nice piece of work.
Rock Lock

RE: Semisane's LOL Aperture Signt
 

Let them laugh I say. Nothing today is built like it was in the past. If it didn't get built then no one could refine the original Idea.
I like it and know you will do a fine job refining it even more as time goes.

:)Al

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That looks so nice, I am going to duct tape (silver of course)a roll of dimes on one of mine so they look alike.. :D:D:D:D just kidding of course.

The main thing is, if it works. Which from your range report that sounds apparent that it does. So I see no problem with the sight. My friend welded a silver dime as his front site and then shaped it to fit with a dremel tool and a file. I have peep sights and while they shoot real well for me, they are not practical in the shadows where I hunt in the afternoons. On the range though, on a sunny day, it is hard to beat them. Good luck with your project. I'd really like to shoot that rifle some day.

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It's bulky looking but it will probably work. I was thinking of maybe taking an adjustable Rem 870 rear sight and replacing the blade rear notch with a threaded peep to fit the Lyman peepsights currently available?Then you can easily adjust for both windage and elevation? Necessity is the mother of invention! See if the deer are laughing this fall..................Harold

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Seriously, :D(yeah sure, he says), no really... I think that was some creative thinking and the sight will obiously work. You might need to drill another hole or two to get windage and elevation right.

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That is a great peice of creative engineering there. One thing you might want to consider is changing the modified nut out for one with the same thread pitch as the Lyman peep, then you could buy off the shelf peep inserts like the adjustable aperature rear peep for instant versatility. Of course that would increase the cost. You could still make your own as you did but with the Lyman size bolts instead of 1/2". Just a thought.

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Good job.

One suggestion, you might want to drillamatriix of holes. That way, you can adjust for distance and wind at the same time, just by using a different hole. It would lighten things up a bit also! :D Shuddup UC!

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Could also use nylon screws/nuts/whutever... at least for the inserts.

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Remember - raising the front sight will lower the point of impact. ;)

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Yeah Wabi, I got that backwards and realized it when I reread my post. I was waiting for someone to comment. You win the Cupie Doll.

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Hey Cayugad, I went outside with the empty gun about twenty minutes after sunset and took a sight on my neighbor's dog about forty yards away (she would have had a heart attack if she'd been home). I could see OK with the 1/4" insert in place - but with the inserts out I could see real well through that 1/2" hole. No matter how dark or shadowey, if you can see it with your naked eye you can see it through that big hole. With a good bright front sight (ivory bead?) you could probably shoot in moonlight.

Try taking a strip if cardboard 3/4" wide and 2" long, put a 1/2" hole in one end, bend it into an "L" shape, and tape it to one of your barrels. You'll be amazed.

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Sounds like another use for empty toilet paper rolls - I mean aside from being scope protectors. :D

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Jim Corbett used to fasten a peeled willow stick to his barrel for point shooting man eating tigers in India at close range from machans [treestands]in the early 1900's.PS I'm surprised UC didn't suggest feminine hygene applicators?Harold [Sorry man but this was too good to pass up]

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Solved my front sight elevation problem. Got a couple of 4 X 40 socket head screws and a brass nut. Rounded the nut, filed the factory front sight flat, and soldered the nut to the flat.Now I can screw in different lengths of screw shanks(or screws with the head on) and change front sight height at will. The threaded post is real sharp when looking through the LOL aperture. Works great with my bi-focals on.

Now I'mthinking about drilling a hole through one of the socket heads and inserting about 1/4" of fiber optic filament.

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I think your wife is correct! :D:D:D

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UC

I never thought of that... it is an excellent cheap idea empty TP rolls for a sunshade on the end of the scope...

Way-to-go UC

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Yeah! She usually is.

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Being as full of it as I've been all these years, I've hada lot of time to study on those things. Truth is that a chunk of 1" hose makes a better scope protector.Any pliant tubing big enough to wrap about2/3 around the scope - cut tofit the space betweenyour scope bases. Some bike tubes are even better. :)

Semi - you're in GOOD shape, don't let 'em kid ya. :D

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You certainly got an industrial strenght sight, not "pretty" but I am sure it will work for you. Chap

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You could make a front and rear appiture sight the way you are going

Dang Shaprshooter, it's about time you pulled that one out of the closet. Have you shot it at all? If not, I think you will be pleased the first time out. I wish I could restore the pictures to this thread. But I no longer have them on my PC and didn't think to save them from Photobucket when they went commercial and I dropped my account.