I used to have an Extra Lightweight with a Williams Foolproof sight, and I liked it a lot. I hadn't read about problems with rebounding hammers, so I wasn't worried about them and the gun never gave me reason to. It sure did kill things well. I sold it because I wanted something else, and I've wished I hadn't ever since. Might get another some day. Like everyone says, Miroku makes really nice guns.
The 1886 I have now is the same full-length, take-down, octagon-barrel, tang-safety, pistol-grip-stock model described by AthelstanAegen. Mine is a Deluxe Limited version with gorgeous wood, etc. I like it and it's a wonderful shooter, but it's too heavy to lug around the woods, so for me it's purely a range toy...and there we have a problem, because that very pretty crescent buttplate is fine if you shoot standing or sitting up straight, but from a bench with the forearm rested, it's just nasty. I get around that by wearing a PAST shoulder pad on myself and putting a slip-on recoil pad from a MAS 49/56 onto the rifle, which spoils its looks something terrible but makes the pain go bye-bye completely. So I dunno if it's really a keeper. I'm toying with the idea of replacing its butt and forearm with a shotgun-style set from an outfit called Macon Gunstocks, or maybe I'll just go find myself the saddle ring carbine version of the gun, or...
Re sight options, be aware that unlike the Extra Lightweight model, neither the full-length 1886 nor the saddle ring carbine comes with the receiver pre-drilled for a Williams or Lyman sight, so your options are a) live with the open sights; b) have the receiver drilled, or c) mount a sight on the tang, as I've done -- a Marble peep sight designed specifically for Miroku 1886s with tang safeties, in my opinion a great little unit. So there ya go.
