Thread: Why are they called foresight & back/rear sight?

Greetings,
The tapered tang on early iron tools (think of a metal file or rasp) was simply driven into a piece of wood for a handle. We would likely not recognise the language the smith used at the time and it was certainly not English or any of its ancestors. It is possible that the word is based on the sound that was made as the tang was shaped on the anvil. Rear sights on some target rifles were attached to the wooden butt stock just ahead of the butt plate for use in the now obsolete back position where the rifleman lay on their back with the butt in their armpit and the fore stock resting on their leg. The rear sight could also be moved to the tang position for prone shooting. These rifles had long barrels so do not try this with your bush pig.
Regards Grandpamac.