Free Pistol Sights

[funtoz]

I am getting back into shooting, so I've been re-reading my copy of 'Competitive Shooting'. Yur' Yev recommends a 50m front sight between 3.2 and 3.6mm. On the next page (192) he gives some sight combinations of some record setting performances. The free pistol combinations are stated as 4,3 3,0 3,5 ... My 2 remaining brain cells get confused easily. Does anyone know what those numbers mean? I can't grok the 3,0

Larry

[shaky hands]

As them Russians say you can't make sense of this without half a liter of vodka.

1) Russians use comma in place of a period to separate decimals, so that 4,3 actually stands for 4.3
2) Now look at the picture below. The number to the left is the width of the front sight in Russian notations. The width of the rear sight notch is NOT stated in numbers, the pictures are for you to get a rough idea of that.

[funtoz]

Thanks Dennis. I knew about the comma thing, but for some reason I got fixated on the idea that those numbers had something to do with rear sight width. My replacement Toz didn't come with any of the sight package. I am going to have to machine a set. It would be interesting to know if there was any consensus on what the most useful front and rear sight is. Maybe I don't have to make all of them to hit the right combination.

I see you have a copy of 'The Book'. I almost sold mine when I sold my original Toz. I'm glad I didn't. Do you know if anyone has written an updated, comprehensive book like 'Competitive Shooting'?

And didn't you used to have an air gun web site?

Larry

[shaky hands]

No, you confuse me with someone (I am not Dennis, btw). I don't have a paper copy, but the Russian text is available online. I am quite sure the book has not been updated. In the Soviet times you could make a pretty good living shooting pistols at a top level, and also by doing things related to sports (writing teaching materials, conducting research, developing equipment, etc.); that's how SCATT came to be. But this is no longer so.

[Bob-Riegl]

Not just the Russians use the comma to signify a decimal point---most of Europeans use the comma as well to represent a decimal point......"Doc"

[funtoz]

No, you confuse me with someone (I am not Dennis, btw). I don't have a paper copy, but the Russian text is available online. I am quite sure the book has not been updated. In the Soviet times you could make a pretty good living shooting pistols at a top level, and also by doing things related to sports (writing teaching materials, conducting research, developing equipment, etc.); that's how SCATT came to be. But this is no longer so.

Sorry, I got an email from Denis at izh 46 that there was a reply. I think there used to be an izh web site. Lots of names on the board now that I don't recognize.

Larry

[shaky hands]

For some reason all notifications come from that address denis@izh46.com. Apparently, there was Denis L who had izh46.com registered to his name, a beginning air pistol shooter, but he has since disappeared. I have no idea how targettalk got entangled with that site/person.

[David Levene]

I have no idea how targettalk got entangled with that site/person.

He's the webmaster for TT.

[Rover]

Note that the Russians VERY successfully used the half-circle rear notch.

I've been installing those for many years using a 3/16" chain saw file (they are round and not tapered). On my own pistols, if there is an extra sight blade I use the one with the smallest notch since it is usually useless.

This is a one beer job.

[madmax]

I find the round rear sight gives me a more consistent sight picture with my Toz36, resulting in tighter grouping. The round rear sight makes it easier to focus on the top of the front sight without the distraction of trying to judge the white on either side of the rear sight. Also, the circular shape tend to make the eye naturally "centre". I also temporarily stuck one of the spare Toz sight blades on my Pardini. Worked well for precision, but not so well in Rapid Fire or Standard Pistol 20 and 10 seconds timed fire.

[funtoz]

I only have the front post and rear blade that came with the pistol. I removed the front post today to take measurements of the lower portion for the shop drawing. There are suspicious marks on both sides that look like someone clamped a pair of vice-grip pliers onto it in the past. I wanted a slightly wider front sight, so I measured the one from the gun. It is 3.96mm. There is no 4mm front post listed in the manual, so someone probably took a file to mine. Used pistols are so much fun, eh.

Madmax is using a 3/16"/4.77mm notch. That seems terribly wide. What would you be using for a front sight width?

Larry

[David M]

Look at the sight 3,5 picture, the ratio of rear sight to foresight width
is about 1 2/3 to 1 .
For Free pistol the ratio should be 1 1/2 to 1 , up to 2 to 1 depending
on light levels in bay and on target.
Ideal foresight width is the apparent width of the black when sighting
at 50m.
The finer the sights, the less error of angle but the harder on the eyes.
Each shooter will have to find the best balance for their own eyes and
hold.

[Rover]

Whatever the front sight width on my TOZ is, the U-notch I cut is NOT too wide. A common mistake with many shooters is thinking that a narrow notch is more accurate. It's not.

[shaky hands]

This is what Antal/Skanaker wrote in their book.

"To achieve accurate results the relationship between sights and aiming mark must generally be kept closer than in other forms of precision shooting. The size and configuration of the sights are important, too. A fairly thick foresight aids sight definition: its apparent width as seen in the aiming position should be roughly the same as that of the aiming mark. The width of the notch in the rear sight should allow the gap on either side of the foresight to occupy about a quarter of the notch, though in strong light a narrower gap is desirable, and in dull light a wider gap is essential."

[madmax]

My front sight and rear sight notch are the same width: 4.3mm.

I am an older person, but this combination works well for me.

[conradin]

Does the data specifically refer to the Toz, or does it also include the MTs, the Haemmerli and the Isch?