Hay guys I am not interested in trying to change any rules.

I just like talking about and shooting all types of schuetzen rifles. However, my primary interest is in the traditional (American Hammer type, both ML and cartridge) used back in the day. And I do believe that between the end of the civil war and around 1880 or so, if we were to show up at a schuetzen match, we would find both ML and cartridge guns on the line happily competing together.

This in no way means that I would show up at a ASSRA match with a muzzle loading schuetzen rifle and expect to complete, unless I had pre-approval from the schuetzen master. It's just common sense.

Goodwill to all,

James

In many of the old group pictures of schuetzen shooters taken cir. 1900, there is a shooter named Louis Maurer, who's often shown holding his percussion schuetzen rifle. 

Bob

What the ISSA has done is to set up separate matches; you can shoot “Open Class,” or there’s also “Traditional Class,” then there’s a “Traditional German Match” for original German schuetzens, there’s a “Zimmerstutzen Match,” and there’s also a “Schuetzen Pistol Match,” if we get enough shooters to bring their muzzle-loading percussion schuetzens we might even have a match for that too.

Charlie,  I think the discussion here has been pretty open,  as it should be.  I doubt that ANY of us involved in it really want to change the existing match structure in ASSRA matches.  At least I don't and I've tried to make that very clear.  My interest has been academic and informational rather than trying to find a way to use my new toy in ASSRA competition. Heaven knows I do badly enough as it is.  I don't need to make an even bigger fool of myself with yet another type of firearm.  I simply sought the knowledge of this broader on-line community to understand this rifle in its original context.

It  appears to me that The ASSRA with it's focus on cartridge single shots is also (along with the other two single shot groups) the heir to most of the active schuetzen tradition in this country.

"Schuetzen" tradition has a long complex history, from crossbows through muzzleloading arms, wheel-locks, snaphaunces, flintlocks and percusion arms, prior to the cartridge single shot rifle era.  Indeed there were early bolt rifles used in schuetzen in europe---perhaps in the USA as well.  I have also seen photos of repeating arms, winchesters (ABIR), fitted out with schuetzen stocks and buttplates.

So we have a historic schuetzen tradition that is broadbased and an ASSRA organization that was founded to preserve/educate/compete etc with single shot cartridge rifles that deliberately chose to preserve a specific segment of the American schuetzen tradition {though including a strong bench rest component that was non-existent as a competitive sport in the schuetzen culture).
 By default they also included many other types of single shot cartridge rifles, long range target--though not itself conducting the long range matches it works cooperatively with them.  I dare say that if the NRA hadn't cashed in on the BPCR genre we'd be working more closely with that group as well.

I belong to the ASSRA and try to support it in any way I can.  I'm not trying to rock boats at all.

Redwing,  Do I understand you correctly? It is to allow one to raise the muzzle to allow for longer shots
Should the "slot" opening in the front sight hood be pointed toward muzzle or the breech?

 I have turned the sight 180 degrees from the pictured position.    There is a small indicator point in the center of the sight just above the barrel flat on the side away form the slot. It WAS pointing to the rear.  Ahead of the sight in the dead center of the top barrel flat is a small index mark driven into the metal. I do not see a similar mark  on the breech side of the dovetail.
After reversing the sight the indicator point and the index mark are now together. 
So now the slot is at the front rather than at the rear.  Now it allows more light in to backlight the sight pinhead itself giving me a sharper front sight image.

With the indicator point and mark, plus the improved sight picture it seems, to me at least, that the slot should be in the front. 
   However as I visualize it, raising the rear sight a bunch and raising the muzzle for longer shots would require removing and reinstalling it so that the slot was on the back.

so many puzzles and questions about this specific rifle.

If the light is good I'll try to get a couple shots of the rear sight tomorrow.

Many old sights, hunting and target sights had cut outs to let light in. Some even had a sliding window to control the amount of light. The Fruends also marketed " More Light Sights" I think thats the correct name. 

I Was messing around with a Picket rifle out in the shop. It has a sight similar to DWs. I had to elevate the muzzle to 35-45 degrees to take advantage of any cut out if it were there. That certainly would make for some long range shooting.  

I"ll take a stab by guessing that the notch in the front sight shade is to index the bullet starter that is missing. Now that the sight is turned the correct direction with the cutout at the muzzle, might it have been to accommodate some kind of blinder attached to the bullet starter ?

Heres a picture of another percussion Schutzen rifle with a cut out in the top of the globe.  The old timers new a lot of tricks when the globe and diopter sight were the only and best equipment available.


                                   Joe.   

Yeah,,,,,,, maybe.   Maybe we're both off by a mile. Maybe its for mounting a gyroscopic muzzle stabilizer,,,,, maybe,  


                                    Joe.