Two peep sight questions for the experts here

[FarmerLawyer]

I posted last week about my "new" M1917 Enfield with the Fajer stock, and having been in stunned admiration ever since about the collected wisdom here, I have two more batches of questions:

1. The M1917 has a Williams 5D rear sight, and there were suggestions that a Williams FP would be a step up. Will an FP sight fit into the currently mounted 5D base, and if not, will the drilled and tapped holes match up with a new FP base? And either way, which model of the FP would be best for this rifle (which obviously isn't listed on the Williams site)? If age of the existing sight makes a difference, I have no idea how old it is.

2. Second rifle: I have a Remington 521T which my dad bought to teach basic marksmanship to me and my brother in 1966. I remember shooting a peep sight, which I know from research here and elsewhere was a Lyman 57RS. The rifle was scoped within a couple of years, and by the time I got it when my dad was getting rid of his arsenal (and as a retired Marine officer, it was a big one), the Lyman sight had disappeared, but the base is still on the rifle. Will a modern Lyman sight fit into that base? And are bases fairly standardized, so that a Williams FP. might work? And, as above, is the hole spacing consistent with other modern peep sights?

 

[DocRock]

I am not an expert.

While the Williams Foolproof bridge should fit the 5D base, I am not aware that the bridges are sold separately. An email to Williams will get you a definitive answer.

On the Lyman site, you may find a Lyman 57 bridge on ebay, but my guess is that they will be priced not far off a full unit.

 

[Charlie98]

Williams sights are matched to the base, not the sight itself... i.e. any style sight with a 336 base, for example, will fit a 336, etc.

 

[mustanger98]

I posted last week about my "new" M1917 Enfield with the Fajer stock, and having been in stunned admiration ever since about the collected wisdom here, I have two more batches of questions:

1. The M1917 has a Williams 5D rear sight, and there were suggestions that a Williams FP would be a step up. Will an FP sight fit into the currently mounted 5D base, and if not, will the drilled and tapped holes match up with a new FP base? And either way, which model of the FP would be best for this rifle (which obviously isn't listed on the Williams site)? If age of the existing sight makes a difference, I have no idea how old it is.

2. Second rifle: I have a Remington 521T which my dad bought to teach basic marksmanship to me and my brother in 1966. I remember shooting a peep sight, which I know from research here and elsewhere was a Lyman 57RS. The rifle was scoped within a couple of years, and by the time I got it when my dad was getting rid of his arsenal (and as a retired Marine officer, it was a big one), the Lyman sight had disappeared, but the base is still on the rifle. Will a modern Lyman sight fit into that base? And are bases fairly standardized, so that a Williams FP. might work? And, as above, is the hole spacing consistent with other modern peep sights?

1- You'll have to change bases to go to a Williams FP-TK. They're sold as a unit. No, the FP will not fit in the 5-D base. The dimensions of the bases are different because the FP's base has to accommodate the elevation screw.

As I recall mentioning in the other thread, if you were to get a nice old all-steel Lyman #57SME, it'll mount (using your M1917's existing drill/tap) in place of the Williams.

2- If you get on eBay, you can run a search for "Lyman 57RS" and it'll show you the correct top end. Pre-1957, the bottom the elevation staff is round/beveled. Post-1957, it's square. I would NOT bet on a modern aluminum Lyman 57 fitting in your rifles base.

The spacing of the mounting holes is standard, but I wouldn't suggest mounting a Williams on a 521-T unless I couldn't find a Lyman 57RS. And the components of the two sights are NOT compatible.