Sights on Lever Rifles ?

[serrano]

I inherited a 336 with a cheap 4x scope on it, I quickly purchased and mounted a Williams FP receiver sight (I was trying to keep it traditional... it's a clean 70's model, gold trigger, nice wood, etc...), but I think (horror of horrors) I'm going to throw on some XS ghost ring sights.

 

[Bowwave]

Hello,
My first large bore rifle was a 336. Got it in 79. Did not like the rear leaf sight - seemed a bit flimsy and moved around the top of the barrel. Put a Williams received sight on instead. Sturdy, functional and maintained the gun's gorgeous lines. Haven't looked back. Does what I want out to 100 yards or so.
Best/Bowwave

 

[Brian Dale]

My 336 still has the original leaf sight. It had a scope on it when I got it, but I took that off. The "see-through" mounts made it awkward to use. I agreed with Kim du Toit that a scope on a lever rifle looks like a backpack on a ballerina.

Now I'm 48. Jack,

YUK! If you can't shoot with iron sights, learn how, or shoot your bolt and semi-auto's with scopes.

Already learned how. I see, though, that you're just behind me on the path; I got my prescription for bifocals last week. The more light that reaches my eye, the better.

I've been looking at the Williams ghost ring / Firesight combo, but a red dot is sounding better all the time. I'm delighted to hear that the point of balance is still good with a red dot mounted.

Now, if I had, say, an original 1873 Winchester, I'd never do such a thing, but the 336 is a modern rifle. Mine is old enough that it has no crossbolt pseudosafety, but noble heritage and a bit of wear don't make it a precious fossil. Oh, and Jack:

Every hair on your body should be plucked one at a time by PRINCE!

Now, there's an image that I suppose none of us wanted in our heads.

 

[Heywood Case]

Right again, Shawnee... We had a great time yesterday afternoon at the indoor range. After getting the scope zeroed, very nice results at 25 yards. I wasn't going over my targets with a ruler or anything, but was able to hit a 1 inch shoot-n-c target pretty reliably at 20 yards (too dark to see them at 25).

I should have added earlier that I was originally going to get a scope but decided to get the red dot because the hammer offset spur did not want to stay on tightly and I didn't like the idea of depending on it. I picked the basic 25mm Ultradot because it has a reputation for durability, is light, has a low profile, and no dot size adjustment to worry about breaking. The 4 min dot seems to be about right for all my needs. Only time will tell, but at this point I am very pleased with this combination of rifle and sight.

 

[Shawnee]

High-5 to Ya, John !! Sure looks like a Very Major Deer Rifle to me !

 

[Mac45]

Just personal choice, but I'll never put a scope on a lever.
Have a Williams receiver sight on my Win 94 and like it a lot.
Buddy has a Lyman tang on one of his 92's. It's very accurate, but can bite your thumb if you aren't careful. He's got a "One Ragged Hole" ghost ring on a 94, I don't like that as well.
Again, all personal preferences. Do what works for you

 

[bobsmith]

I've always liked side mounted receiver sights on my lever guns. I have an early 1972 Marlin 1895 with an old steel Lyman 66 on it(they used to drill and tap these guns for receiver sights at the factory. Now they don't, figuring they'd save a couple bucks not doing it.) and I can get 2" three shot groups from a sitting position at 100 yards using a 400 grain Speer and 53 grains of 3031 (ouch). I recently bought a Winchester/Miroku 1886 ELW .45-70. It is conveniently drilled and tapped for side mount receiver sights from the factory. I bought a new Lyman 66 for it and come to find out, the new ones are made of aluminum. If thats not bad enough, the windage knob was so bloody tight that I couldn't turn it. So I sent the cheap thing back to Lyman and they returned it in a couple weeks with the windage knob fixed. But would you believe that upon receiving it I found that the elevation knob lost it's click adjustments? There is a statement on the instructions that the sight is "Proudly made in the USA". And there was also a slip saying that it was inspected by so and so. Go figure.

Didn't mean to go off on a tangent but yes, I prefer a receiver sight on a lever action. To me a lever action means 150 yards and under.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

I hear ya Brian Dale....

I'm just behind you in age, yet the 'Vision Specialist' -yet another part of that 'Medical Practice' fraternity, (they still can't get things right so they practice on you and me), did prescribe the double vision lens's to me already a year ago. I know, I'm just putting off the inevitable.

My lever guns, God willing, will never get scope/optic mounts. I would really like to put a tang style flip up Williams on my post Viet Nam era Marlin. (cross bolt safety) Since it's quite capable of taking pop cans at 150yds and an 8" steel plate at 200m off hand. I think I can do a little better with some more practice.

But when the time comes, I think one of the Ghost Ring sights will be just the ticket.

Vision, or lack of it, (dare I correct myself and say eye-sight), seems to be the operative word here. Even though some of you have installed scopes and new Red Dot's, from what I read here, most of you would not have as long as your eye-sight would allow you to shoot ten's or to the kill zone every time with open sights.

As a side note, the buddies and I skipped the gun range yesterday. We went to the hills to a gravel pit with the snow flying. I regretted leaving the lever guns home once we were there shooting pistola's and some other rimfires. Still, that Prestone jug wasn't too hard to hit with the 5" RedHawk at 125yds. Wouldn't even have been a challenge with the open sights on the lever guns.

-Steve

 

[RobertFBurnett]

First rifle post.

Hi, I am still a little new around here, and this is my first rifle post (been hanging around handguns mostly).

I was beginning to think about picking up a levergun this year, havn't really looked into them much, I only know Marlin makes some in handgun and rifle calibers.

But as for sights I was wondering if instead of optics (which I agree just plain don't look right on a levergun imho). Is there such a thing as putting iron "ladder" type sights on a levergun to get improved accuracy without a scope?

Thanks for your help,
RFB

 

[Brian Dale]

Welcome to Rifles, RobertFBurnett. Sure; Uncle Chan mentioned his ladder sight up at Post #31 of this thread. The Smith Enterprises flip-up buckhorn sight is sold by Brownell's here.

Is that what you had in mind?

 

[3006mv]

arctictom, which firesight / sight hood combo did you use? I have a WWG rear but just have a brass bead on narrow blade front, I think I would like to try that fiber optic combo you have. I used to live in Palmer and got the WWG while visiting Anchorage one day it is on my .44 mag Winchester 94.

 

[jsimmons]

I have a Henry H001T with a 3-inch Perdersoli creedmore tang sight and a Lyman 17A-AMI globe sight on the front. I use the gun for target shooting (no hunting), so the tang/globe set is perfect for me.

 

[Junior1942]

red dots

Before you put a red dot optic on any rifle, check it in dim light. You might discover, as I did, that it's almost useless in late evening, early morning, and when the sun goes behind a cloud and you're in deep woods.

 

[mainmech48]

With the exception of my old Savage 99F .308 Win., which wears a Leupold Rifleman 3x9 scope, my "working" LAs have been fitted with a receiver sight. In most cases the ones which haven't are either collector pieces which are not factory D&Ted and would lose value if they were or simply things I bought for the grins and don't really have a 'serious' use for.

My Marlins, an old 336 in .35 rem., a M-39M and an 1895G all wear Williams receiver sights and Firesight FO front beads. The FO fronts made a huge difference since I acquired bifocals. Not only faster to pick up and focus on, but their smaller diameter seems to help shrink my groups a tad.

My Rossi M92 in .357 has a Lyman 66A installed. I stuck a brass bead on the stock blade front as it's integral with the bbl band and its base is too small for a 3/8" dovetail to be cut to install a FO.

 

[Sulaco]

I have XS ghost ring sights on my 39A and my 336C. I've used a nice low-power scope on the 336C to take deer and like the setup very much. I wish I had two 336's that way I could put a scope on one and leave the ghost rings on the other. As it is right now, I can't afford the scope so I use the ghost rings (with much success). I can't tell you how many squirrel and raccoons I've killed with the ghost rings on the 39A.

 

[Seafarer12]

I use open sites on my levers. I think it ruins them mounting scopes on them.

 

[jsimmons]

Here ya go - this is my Henry H001T Frontier with paint stripped off the receiver cover and barrel band, and wearing a Pedersoli USA-433 Creedmore and a Lyman 17a-AMI globe sight: