Jefferry404
AH fanatic
For my Iron Sighted Friends
I was talking with the founders of the Drake & Hudson Co (coming this year) about express sights and folding leaves.
This got me thinking about them from a practical standpoint (being a retired engineer) and being winter and all, thought to put into pictures their effectiveness.
Now, I must confess, I am guilty as charged. Checked my stash of rifles and have 2 of them with 3 leaves (375H&H and 7x57 Mauser) and interesting, both on octagon barrels. Hmm...
These are busy charts with all the pertinent info on them. I programmed this up in Excel and is automated, so can apply to any ballistics.
I made 4 charts assuming 1 fixed, 3 folding, for 100yds, 200yds, 300yds and 400yds zeros and I think they show that even my 3 folding are a bit much, but boy, they are cool.
The green is the window that the bullet is inside the game Vital Zone Area (we can quibble about the size, but it is just a reference). I think most of us, certainly me, do not think about the height of the rise vs the trajectory drop. But when this is taken into account and for the longer ranges, the exact range must be known.
For example, the 400yd zero. Obviously, the first green band to 45yds is a do not care as most of us can assess that the game is at least beyond this since I decided to use the 400yd leaf!
But then it leaves (no pun intended) the vital zone and does not come back in until 395yds and then only has a green band to 405yds! So, in this scenario I would have to know the target range to within 20yds at 400yds.
300yd zero extends the green zone by 35yds, still requires precise ranging.
Now, the 200yd and 100yd zeros show the value and beauty of the leaves. The 200yd has a full green band from 0 to 235yds! and the 100 to 175yds. So, I do not need to know the exact range, just that it is less than 235 or 175, which is doable.
Now, during the heydays of African hunting, no scope, 3 or 4 leaves, would at least give some chance of success and given those times, probably worth the risk.
But today, with scopes and irons as backup or the pleasure of using them, I think that the 1 fixed, 1 folding, setup for 100yds and 200yds, seems practical (and saves wear and tear on the gunsmith). All you need to do is to assess is the game less than 175yd, use the fixed, or if less than 235yds, flip up the leaf. In any case, always within the green zone.
Now, I will probably end up designing multiple leaf express sights, hopefully no more than 3, as there is a market as evidence by Rigby, Wesley Richards, Jeffery that show 3 folding leaves on their magazine rifles!
I was talking with the founders of the Drake & Hudson Co (coming this year) about express sights and folding leaves.
This got me thinking about them from a practical standpoint (being a retired engineer) and being winter and all, thought to put into pictures their effectiveness.
Now, I must confess, I am guilty as charged. Checked my stash of rifles and have 2 of them with 3 leaves (375H&H and 7x57 Mauser) and interesting, both on octagon barrels. Hmm...
These are busy charts with all the pertinent info on them. I programmed this up in Excel and is automated, so can apply to any ballistics.
I made 4 charts assuming 1 fixed, 3 folding, for 100yds, 200yds, 300yds and 400yds zeros and I think they show that even my 3 folding are a bit much
, but boy, they are cool.The green is the window that the bullet is inside the game Vital Zone Area (we can quibble about the size, but it is just a reference). I think most of us, certainly me, do not think about the height of the rise vs the trajectory drop. But when this is taken into account and for the longer ranges, the exact range must be known.
For example, the 400yd zero. Obviously, the first green band to 45yds is a do not care as most of us can assess that the game is at least beyond this since I decided to use the 400yd leaf!
But then it leaves (no pun intended) the vital zone and does not come back in until 395yds and then only has a green band to 405yds! So, in this scenario I would have to know the target range to within 20yds at 400yds.
300yd zero extends the green zone by 35yds, still requires precise ranging.
Now, the 200yd and 100yd zeros show the value and beauty of the leaves. The 200yd has a full green band from 0 to 235yds! and the 100 to 175yds. So, I do not need to know the exact range, just that it is less than 235 or 175, which is doable.
Now, during the heydays of African hunting, no scope, 3 or 4 leaves, would at least give some chance of success and given those times, probably worth the risk.
But today, with scopes and irons as backup or the pleasure of using them, I think that the 1 fixed, 1 folding, setup for 100yds and 200yds, seems practical (and saves wear and tear on the gunsmith). All you need to do is to assess is the game less than 175yd, use the fixed, or if less than 235yds, flip up the leaf. In any case, always within the green zone.
Now, I will probably end up designing multiple leaf express sights, hopefully no more than 3, as there is a market as evidence by Rigby, Wesley Richards, Jeffery that show 3 folding leaves on their magazine rifles!
