Holy Smokes!   The rifle is more beautiful than I ever imagined!  The bluing and color case hardening is fantastic.  These photo's are just a sample.  I'll be taking more photo's of the whole rifle, and hopefully some good target photo's, and will post them as soon as they are ready.
 I am waiting on a few items, and then I will be able to get to the range to do some preliminary shooting @ 100 yds., getting the MVA sights regulated, and starting the eternal quest for the most accurate load.
  I just mailed off my entry fee for competing at Raton, NM., in July at the Whittington Center for the National BPCR Silhouette Championship.  I will also be set up as a vendor, so I hope everyone will be able to drop by and visit, and examine the new "Raton Special".      Best to All,   Tim Smith-Lyon  

I'm jealous.  That's a beautiful rifle.

Steve, are you on paper at all?  How about if you stack a couple of targets vertically, and aim at the lower one?  If so, you can compute exactly what you'll need to change the front sight to be at the right elevation.  Move the rear sight up about 1/8" from dead bottom and shoot a group (five shots) holding on the bottom target.  Measure from the center of the bottom target to the group center vertically.  Measure your sight radius (distance from the rear sight to the front).  Multiply the amount of correction needed by the sight radius, and then divide by the distance to the target...all measurements in inches.  Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you are 24" off from your desired point of impact, and you have 34" of sight radius.  24x34=816, divide that by 3600 (inches in 100 yards if that's where you're shooting) for a correction of .227" that you would add to your existing front sight to get your group centered on the bottom target.  This formula also works for windage adjustments.  The reason you need to be off of dead bottom when doing this exercise is so that you can fine tune down if needed...it's really rare when front sights or sight bases will be at exactly the height needed!  

HTH,
David

"Interesting related point;  my friend Clarence Dykstra, claims that his  POI is 2-1/2 MOA higher at Raton NM. than it is in southern Mississippi because of the higher elevation, thinner air, etc."

To help understand:

The density of air, ρ (Greek: rho) (air density), is the mass per unit volume of Earth's atmosphere, and is a useful value in aeronautics and other sciences. Air density decreases with increasing altitude, as does air pressure. It also changes with variances in temperature or humidity. At sea level and 20 °C, air has a density of approximately 1.2 kg/m3.

The density of dry air can be calculated using the ideal gas law, expressed as a function of temperature and pressure:

   \rho = \frac{p}{R \cdot T} \,

where ρ is the air density, p is absolute pressure, R is the specific gas constant for dry air, and T is absolute temperature.

The specific gas constant for dry air is 287.05 J/(kg·K) in SI units, and 53.35 (ft·lbf)/(lbm·R) in United States customary and Imperial units.

Therefore:

   * At IUPAC standard temperature and pressure (0 °C and 100 kPa), dry air has a density of 1.2754 kg/m3.
   * At 20 °C and 101.325 kPa, dry air has a density of 1.2041 kg/m3.
   * At 70 °F and 14.696 psia, dry air has a density of 0.074887 lbm/ft3.
The addition of water vapor to air (making the air humid) reduces the density of the air, which may at first appear contrary to logic.

This occurs because the molecular mass of water (18) is less than the molecular mass of air (around 29). For any gas, at a given temperature and pressure, the number of molecules present is constant for a particular volume (see Avogadro's Law). So when water molecules (vapor) are introduced to the air, the number of air molecules must reduce by the same number in a given volume, without the pressure or temperature increasing. Hence the mass per unit volume of the gas (its density) decreases.

David, I doubt if you will remember me, but I'm pretty sure we talked many times back in the day, while you were employed by the big "B".
I used to own a place called Gunsmith's Inc. in Jackson, MS. starting back in the early 70's.  "Where have all the years gone"?  
 I played with a calculator and your math formula, and also referenced the ballistic tables in my Hornady reloading manual.  I think I am going to try to get the POI @ 100 yds. about 6 to 8 in. high, with the rear sights lowest level.  Possibly more if the POI @ 200 yds. proves true, being 24-28 inches low if dead on @ 100yds.  Since this rifle will be used in BPCR silhouette, my focus needs to be at 200 yds., with the 100 yd. POI only for my working up an accuracy load.  Being 6-8, even 12 in. high @ 100 will not hurt a thing.   Hmmm.  Plenty to plan for.  
                                       Tim Smith-Lyon    

Hi David,
I haven't shot the Ruger yet, I'm just trying to get a feel for how high a front sight I will need and compare that with what's available.
The way I came up with the 3/4" sight height was by taking one of my Shiloh Sharps rifles with the same length barrel and setting the rear tang sight at a known 100yd setting, then taking a piece of heavy thread and running it through the rear sight aperture and then the front aperture insert to form a straight line over the barrel. I then figured the distance from the thread to the center line of the bore at the breech end of the barrel and at the center of the front sight. This gave me the angle between the line of sight and the bore for a 100yd setting.
I then did the same thing with the Ruger with the rear sight at it's lowest setting and the thread suspended over the muzzle end using a magnet on the muzzle. By raising the thread to a point that gave me the same angle to the bore as the Shiloh, I came up with the 3/4" measurement for the front sight height.
This sounds like a lot of work but really only took a few minutes to do.
Like Tim, I'll only be testing loads at 100yd. Most shooting will be done at 200yd+. So if it's a little high at 100yd, no big deal.

Steve  

Frank, it's a fact of life that you can't keep this crowd strictly on subject for any length of time.    Just the way it is here, especially when a thread goes on for several months and six pages!  

David