doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com M70 sight project

Rick,
I had a 416 Rigby that my son could shoot off the bench round after round without saying a word. First time he shot the Zim he fired 3 rounds and then one more and then handed it back and he also used the the term SOB. Whenever anyone asks to shoot it I just tell them hang on tight and don't drop it. Then I smile.
There are certainly bigger and more powerful cartridges but the Zim is a sharp sharp crack when it recoils. A 416 although heavier in total recoil, it is a much easier push.

LRF, did I buy a bunch of 35 caliber bullets from you a while back in the Coliseum (MWCA show)? I recall talking with a fellow 35 caliber enthusiast about a chambering of which I had no knowledge but I no no longer recall what it was. Perhaps it was you?

That be me. Hope they worked out for you. I still have a bunch that I saved for the Zim

Ah! Yes indeed. I've still got a pile of them but then there's a bunch of 35's to feed too.

Done for now until I go forward with the project or buy a different rifle for the project or I just up and sell the sight which saves me from yet another project...like a really need that. Ha Ha
Its been fun and I appreciate all the interest.

The screws are the only ones I currently have and will be replaced with proper slotted head screws as soon as I get some

Really a beautiful job!

May I be allowed one more suggestion? Have you considered using opposing screws in conjunction with the dovetail on the sight body to provide more precise windage adjustments, like the ones used with the rear rings of German claw mounts? They provide windage adjustment for the older German scopes which have only internal elevation adjustment.

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It's the same principle used by Redfield, Buehler and Leupold with their swing mount bases.

Thanks, yes I thought about it but did not include in the design for 2 reasons:(In no particular order) To add the screws I would have had to make the sight bracket longer to accommodate them. This is because the interior of the bracket is largely hollowed out to allow the cock piece clearance from the bracket.
And since this sight is meant as a hunting sight and once windage is achieved at sight in off the bench, it is unlikely the sight would need to be moved. To adjust it at sight-in, the sight trunnion, it is easy to loosen the lock screw and tap it over. There are hash marks on the top right side to show where you were and how far you have moved.

It looks cool...I don't think there's any chance of it hitting you when you fire the gun, it could when bolting the gun.

With it mounted on a the back of the bolt I can't see it being as accurate as a Lyman peep mounted on the side of action and from the looks of it not near as adjustable.

Thanks, yes it is cool, and useful. I do believe this type of sight has a usefulness but not for every case. For example we are not talking target shooting for score, because I assure you on a gun as powerful as my 35 Zim you would be hurting after even after a sting of 10 rounds in 10 minutes.
On a hunting gun how much adjustment is needed? I mean that basically unless you are shooting at unethical long distances for which you would really be unethical using open sights, the basic setup of windage is to align the sights to the bore of the barrel and all windage compensation, if any, is of the kentucky type, at the time of shooting the animal. But for the record, on a rifle with a 24" barrel the sight radius would be between 31 and 32 inches. The right-left available movement of the sight trunnion is .080" in either direction. 100 yards * 36" = 3600" / 31.5 = ~114 * .080" = ~9.14" of movement in either direction. At 100 yards, seems to me to be enough. If not then either you are sighting in, in one hell of a crosswind or your front sight could stand a little adjustment to center it up a bit.

LRF,
Are you sure the rifle is a 35 Zimmerman, and not 358 Enterkin Magnum? Is the barrel marked? Your description is spot on for the 358 Enterkin which is a proprietary cartridge made and marketed by my late friend Gene Enterkin. It was demonstrated in 1959(about)at Ft. Benning Ga. It, indeed does get over 3000 fps from a 250 grain bonded core rebated boattail bullet that Gene made before he died. At the time there were no 35 cal bullets available that would stand up to 3000 fps. Gene had his load data tested by HP White lab. With his bullets and 4064 powder. Of course, different lots of components could give different results. I believe his results exceeded the 358 STA, because he always used a longer barrel than the STA. After his death, I bought the pressure barrel and reamers/headspace ga., including for the 375 Enterkin(he hadn't finished the 375 when he died).
Mike