Best aperture sight for a Marlin 1894 Cowboy lever action rifle?

Only rifle (besides military) I have now with receiver sight is my Marlin 1971 Article Two 39M.

I want one for my 1873 win 38 wcf, but haven’t found a used one for that one .yet.

I have an XS on my 44 mag Marlin 94 and the Skinner on the 45/70 Marlin 95CB. No complaints with either of them.

I bought a tang-mount peep sight from Marble Arms, for my Henry Big Boy. They are still in business today. You'll need to look on their website for what you might want.

http://www.marblearms.com/

I have a Williams on my Marlin 1984C (357 Mag) and 39A. I forget which model but they are on the receiver similar to the one shown by Catpop.

I have a Skinner on my 32 Fed Mag Henry but I have not shot it since I installed the sight.

Well it is not 1950 anymore, so my 336 has a Redfield 2-7X scope on it. That extends your shooting time by about 15 minutes each evening. I do have a Williams peep in a ziplok somewhere.

I used the Williams FP on previous lever actions. For my Marlin 1894 I researched further and chose the Ranger Point Precision (RPP) sight. Trim and well protected. I did not need to replace the front sight. If I need to get another aperture sight, I'll go with the RPP again.

mshootnit said:

Well it is not 1950 anymore, so my 336 has a Redfield 2-7X scope on it. That extends your shooting time by about 15 minutes each evening. I do have a Williams peep in a ziplok somewhere.

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I went through a period of installing a scope on my lever action rifles. I decided iron sights and lever actions just go together. All of my lever action rifles are pistol cartridge firearms.

But, it is only a personal preference and optical sights do have their advantages. If I had a rifle cartridge lever action firearm, I'd probably opt for a scope.

I feel like going either fully modern or traditional. Something like a Marlin 336 with wood stocks and a longer range tang sight or a Henry X with a flashlight underneath and a red dot sight.

I won't say it's the "best" because it's the only one I have experience with on a Marlin, but I like the Williams peep.
I have the FP336 on my 1894 in 44 Mag.
It does overhang the hammer a bit, but doesn't hurt anything (there's another one that mounts on the side instead of the top and is further forward)
You don't have to replace the front sight with the Williams rear, it works fine with the factory one. I did end up installing a slightly taller sight just to get a better sight picture. I used a factory front sight I took off of a 10/22 carbine with the bead painted white.

What is the adjustment range vertically in those Williams receiver sights?

DMW1116 said:

What is the adjustment range vertically in those Williams receiver sights?

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A lot, Mine above is almost completely bottomed out and is sighted in at 50 yards. There's a few on here with experience shooting several hundred yards with them.

I may have to try one. Are the tick marks 1/32”?

I have a Lyman 57 on my 1894CP and I'd have to say that for me,it's the best out there.Two apertures,one very small for target work and one a little bigger for hunting or with the aperture removed you have a ghost ring which is how I run it when deer hunting.Easy to install and adjust and it has a zero stop screw for the elevation adjustment if you want to use it for long range shooting.

I would conclude that you can't go wrong with any of the good sights on the market. But if some guy in the proverbial dark alley, in the big over-coat tries to sell you one, I'd pass.

I've used William receiver sights since the early sixties and have them mounted on several of my rifles today. Though most of them are the "FoolProof" variant (having micrometer adjustments, coupled with set -screws), it might be useful for some to know that the "5D" model (a moniker reflecting the original price of five bucks) is essentially the same sight as its considerably higher priced cousin (the FoolProof), sans micrometer adjustments. If plan on sighting-in and not changing the setting often, if at all (like many, if not most of us do with our hunting rifles), the 5D is all you'll ever need.

Steve Milbocker said:

They are probably overkill for hunting,

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Overkill is just right.

I got a Skinner several years ago for my 1894, before the newer options were available. I have been pleased with the result.

I went ahead and got another front sight at the time. I think I went with .500" height if I remember correctly. I believe that should be tall enough for most 1894 situations, and then file down as needed. There is extensive front sight info on their website, which I appreciate.


One thing of note - if you get a front sight that tall, there's a decent chance any front sight hood you have will no longer work (if that applies).

If I took my 1894CB out of SASS service I would go with XS sights. I have them on a Winchester 94 and I like them very much. I plan to put them on my Marlin 336.

I have used Williams peep sights and I liked them, but I really like the white stripe front sight of the XS set up.

I have a Marlin 39a and a 1894C I have a Lyman receiver sight on the 39A and a Marbles tang sight with a Merit adjustable disc installed. Here is my 1894 before I installed the Merit disc

Hokkmike said:

I must say that the results of the poll here is NOT conclusive my any means.......

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Probably the fault of the poll. Most people are not going to bother if their choice is not listed. You left out the oldest and most popular options. Namely, the Williams options, Lyman and Marbles.