1873 Winchester Sight Pusher

[MEHavey]

Notwithstanding my long- calibrated hammer and brass punch, it would sure be
nice to have an actual sight pusher that can accomodate the dimensions of the
combined barrel/magazine tube on a `73. [Most pushers aren't deep enough,
and/or can't handle the relatively small exposed portion of the dovetail base?]

Does anyone have any experience of a pusher that actually works ?

 

[OpticsPlanet]

Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that works better than the old fashioned way. I've given up on finding anything like you described, so I just try to adjust my "tapping" accordingly. Let me now if you find anything!

George P.

 

[MEHavey]

I'm afraid you are correct here -- not a whole lotta options beyond the small hammer, a brass punch, and a pencil-scribed reference point.

Having gone to a Lyman #2 tang aperture, yesterday I finally just punched out the OEM front bead sight and replaced it with this -- at half the blade width.
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/874/1/FS-TC-HB-TH

The brass base makes for a very smooth "tapping" adjustment, and that slim monolithic blade makes for very precise sight alignment.

 

[OpticsPlanet]

1873 Sight Pusher

Great choices! When I was shooting a lot of lever guns, I would almost always add a tang sight when available, or a least a receiver aperture sight like the Lyman 57 or 66 Series. I even sourced an original tang sight (may have been Marble's if I recall) for a beautiful 1886 Winchester on .45-70 that I once owned. It was painful to shoot with the crescent buttplate, but more painful after I sold it!

George P.

 

[rcmodel]

Having gone to a Lyman #2 tang aperture,

Too late now.

But if you would have went with a Marbles tang sight, they have click-adjustable windage built in.

rc

 

[MEHavey]

I have the Marbles on two `92 Winchesters (357 & 44 Mag).

But I'm coming around to appreciate the advantage of
rock solid/no wiggle Lyman #2's ... even if final windage
comes from drifting the front sight.

 

[RainDodger]

I took a small brass punch and filed a flat on one side of it so the end view of the punch was a half-circle. I set that flat on the sight at the dovetail and there's no way to have it whack anything but the sight. Works pretty good.