Marlin 60 Rear Sight

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Strat959

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I have a sweet shooting little Marlin 60 that I took to the range to finally zero in to try to get some 1-hole groups. It's always been a pretty good shooter, but when I tried to adjust the sight, I found that the rear sight did not do a good job of staying where I drifted it for windage. In fact, just a slight touch from a finger would easily move it. Could be why the groups have been just a little loose!

I tried a drop of Loctite on the back of the sight/barrel, but it didn't stick. Maybe the barrel wasn't clean enough, or the Loctite was too old. Should I try it again, or is there a better way to secure the sight once you get it zeroed? I'm not keen on the aftermarket sights I've seen for it, and I don't want to mount a scope on this rifle. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
Thanks, Toivo; maybe the 262 Loctite is all I need to do. I was using Loctite 243, because it's what I had (I am a retired mechanic). I do hope the 262 will anchor the rear sight down tight. Is that the standard procedure for locking down these rifles?
 
When I have had a rear sight loose in its dovetail, I have
_ drifted the rear sight out,
_ lightly peened the tops of the dovetail in the barrel where covered by the sight just enough to snugly hold the sight,
_ reinstalled and centered the rear sight,
_ zeroed the sights,
_ finally put a drop of locktite to wick into the dovetail area.

Most Marlin 60s I encounter have the typical all steel dovetailed rear sight with step elevator.
 
There is also a Williams ramp adjustable peep that fits the tip-off mounts on the receiver... if you happen to be a peep kind of guy. It's a pretty clean setup. This is the one on my Marlin 15, set forward because of the bolt cutout, the model 60 doesn't have that problem.

Marlin sights are pretty decent, as far as that goes, but I can't see the rear leaf anymore...

yP5p0cVm.jpg
 
Charlie98 Post #6

That is something I've been wanting and gave up on finding a few years back.
The Williams Gunsight #WGRS-54 was designed for the Savage 54.
For practical purposes it fits almost any .22 receiver with 3/8" Weaver Tip-Off grooves or 11mm inverted dovetail.

WGRS-SAVAGE 54 $41.95 (28 May 2021) PRODUCT NUMBER : 001481 (EA) VENDOR PRODUCT #WGRS-54
https://shop.williamsgunsight.com/ecommerce/p/wgrssavage-54-001481
 
Have peened the edge of the dovetail to tighten it. If you follow the radius and not just do the very top, you get better results.

I also have peened the rear sight. With it upside down, I roll down the edge a bit with a punch.

Another trick, if you have a little more room to take up, you can use a center punch to dimple the rear sight or barrel, preferably the sight.
 
Because of all the replies to my question, I now have a good understanding of how this rear sight works, and what to do about it. I didn't really get how the dovetail worked before. On mine, it's not really loose side-to-side in the dovetail, so much as it has slop that allows the sight to swivel left and right, back at the notch and ramp. Thanks to the suggestions and procedures provided, I know exactly how to proceed. Thanks again for the help!
 
I have an old model 60 from the early 80s. The rear sight moved with just finger pressure like yours. I got a set of Tech Sights and replaced the old ones. I need to add a dovetail filler to complete the replacement but the sights work very well. The barrel is twisted slightly so the windage is quite far to the left. It wasn’t evident with the lower original front sight. All that said, if you’re willing to move to a peep and have it ride in the scope rail, these work very well.
 
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