Pennsylvania Game News - October 2009 - 63

it is not as necessary for hunting conditions. The lethal area of a whitetail is about a 12-inch diameter zone, roughly the size of a paper plate. Any sighting system that allows accuracy at that 12-inch zone out to 100 yards will be sufficient for the late season — the muzzleloadingonly deer season. If your rifle needs to take whitetails beyond the football field distance, then the only practical answer is the scope. It would be wise to bear in mind that RAY GROFF, Nazareth, took this buck with a rifle a roundball sighted in at 25 yards he put together himself. Confidence in making would drop about 50 inches at 200 the shot happens when the sights are seen clearly. yards. Even if you know the trajectory table, have a rangefinder for exact dis- the sights’ bevels, to make them tight and tancing to the target, would this make the unmovable. deer an ethical target at this distance even Adjustable iron and fiber optic sights if you had a scope? are the norm on most assembly line manufactured rifles, both flintlock and percusAdjusting Fixed Sights sion. Because they can easily change the Because fixed sights don’t have screws bullet’s point of impact by turning them or ratcheting wheels to turn, many new left or right (for windage) and up or down muzzleloader hunters are scared to deal (for elevation), it also means that they can with them. Fixed sights, however, offer one go out of adjustment. A spring, either coil huge advantage: once they are sighted in, or leaf, will control the elevation screw, and they are always sighted in, unless they take sometimes the plane of the sight “sticks” a hard blow. To adjust the windage (left or inside the sight, throwing accuracy right right on the target), you will need to “drift” out of the window. Make sure you do a vi(tap) the beveled base of the rear sight in sual inspection, followed by a one-shot the direction that you want the bullet im- sight-in session each year before the hunt pact to move. The front sight can also be starts. Any time we increase the mechanidrifted, but remember to drift it in the op- cal advantage to a procedure (sighting in), posite direction that you want the bullet we also increase the opportunities for the impact to move. To adjust the elevation, mechanical parts to malfunction. Be dilithe front sight is normally filed down to gent for the sake of accuracy and ethical bring up the point of impact. If the rifle hunting. shoots high, you will need to file the notch Before any sight-in session, you want to deeper in the rear sight. Once the sights do a check of the rifle, and particularly the are exactly the way you want them to shoot, sights, so that you can verify its accuracy. tap down on the barrel with a punch, above Little gremlins such as loose sight bases (yes, screws do come loose on rifles as well as shooters), wiggly rear adjustable sights, Fun Game answers: and untightened scope mounts all contribsafe direction, trigger, target, zone of ute to misses. fire, loaded, mechanics, home, you; Try some of these improvements to your fluorescent orange muzzleloader and then shoot straight. OCTOBER 2009 63

Pennsylvania Game News - October 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - October 2009