How late 15th to mid 16th century guns were aimed, in historic illustrations

Matchlock · 3rd December 2008, 05:02 PM

Richard,

Actually, the earliest sights of the 1460's were V sights though they were really U shaped.

V-shaped sights show up in the early 16th century and from ca. 1520-1550, sometimes as late as 1600, tubes are shoved over them! So there is hardly any tubuluar "back-sight" without an actual V sight hidden beneath. Sometimes, on barels from the 1520's, you will even find two V sights one after the other and of different sizes, meant for a long focussing tube. These tubes got lost quite often, as is the case in my Nürnberg harquebus; as you will see, the one at the GNM retains its staged brass tube whereas in mine just the dove tailed V sight base is present. I really should replace the tube some time.

My Straubing harquebus never had a tube, you can tell because the external sides of its V sight are not cut to receive a tube. Tubes had mostly become oldfashioned by the 1540's.

Thank you so much for explaining the basal physics of sighting, I was not aware of that. I am a philologist.

Michael

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3rd December 2008, 05:02 PM	#11
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Richard, Actually, the earliest sights of the 1460's were V sights though they were really U shaped. V-shaped sights show up in the early 16th century and from ca. 1520-1550, sometimes as late as 1600, tubes are shoved over them! So there is hardly any tubuluar "back-sight" without an actual V sight hidden beneath. Sometimes, on barels from the 1520's, you will even find two V sights one after the other and of different sizes, meant for a long focussing tube. These tubes got lost quite often, as is the case in my Nürnberg harquebus; as you will see, the one at the GNM retains its staged brass tube whereas in mine just the dove tailed V sight base is present. I really should replace the tube some time. My Straubing harquebus never had a tube, you can tell because the external sides of its V sight are not cut to receive a tube. Tubes had mostly become oldfashioned by the 1540's. Thank you so much for explaining the basal physics of sighting, I was not aware of that. I am a philologist. Michael