The sights do make a lot of sense on a big bore like this, especially at these ranges - as paul suggests. I know punt guns were used to shoot birds on the water so maybe this gun too would have been used to take a more carefully aimed shot from the shore and the sights would have helped. I don't know how effective they would be wingshooting - I guess we could ask members here with paradoxes, exploras, or bouldersmith's magnum if they have tried the sights wingshooting