Peep ( receiver ) sight on a pre 64 model 94 Winchester

[ipopum]

I put an inquiry on the classified section and found out that there is much that I don't know about peep sights.

I would appreciate input from members here.

Mine is I believe about a 1945 vintage. ( 1,296xxx ) serial #

Were they factory drilled ? Hole spacing is 0,420 .

Is this a standard drill pattern ?

The good and bad about receiver sights to watch for when buying new or used.

[Tatume]

A photo would to a long way here.

[Drm50]

Standard pattern on 94 Win. ---Lyman # 66 and Williams makes it to but I don't recall the number.
Redfield and several lesser known outfits also made them. Not hard to find but older sights made
out of steel are bring $100 in top shape.

[ipopum]

Tatume---Posting pictures is way above my pay grade. It would show the flat side of the action with 2 holes toward the rear and on the left side.

I have a very nice steel Redfield but it is for a bolt action which have a different screw pattern and are not for a flat receiver.

[northmn]

Williams has the receiver sight for the 94 in the 5 D and the more spendy ones. 5 D works if you sight in a particular load and leave it, otherwise the more adjustable ones are better. I bought a 336 waffle top with an old Redfield Receiver sight on it that did not have the aperture installed. Very common for the old timers that used 30-30's to have a receiver sight and throw away the aperture to have a ghost ring effect. Receiver sights are both more accurate and quicker than the old open sights. Longer sighting radius and less to focus.

Sight systems are a pair. I also use a green fiber optic front sight. They are not so great on paper bulls eyes but great in the woods on game. Also may give a slightly longer shooting time in the early morning and late evening.

DEP

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The first thing is that there is next to no concrete superiority in steel, but I would still rather haunt eBay looking for an old one if specific maker has gone over to aluminium alloy. I suppose it is a psychological thing. "True love must be without alloy."

The wider open the pupil of the eye is, the worse we get at focussing on two objects, different distances away, at the same time. So for dawn or dusk the aperture sight offers a bigger advantage than it does in full dayllght - and I think it always offers some. The bigger the aperture the better in poor light, or even the threaded hole with the disc removed, for the eye is very good at judging whether something is in the middle of a hole.

Only for the finest precision shooting in good light, a much smaller aperture is good. It isn't so much for more precise alignment, but because small aperture improves the depth of focus, and it's easy to have both front sight and target sharp. The practical limit is when it gets so small you see a dark spot in the middle.

My only Winchesters predate most after-market side drilling, so we need someone to measure holes in one of the right period. If something needs to be drilled, I would a lot rather make it the sight. You can invisibly mend the unwanted hole with a piece of steel rod or screw, peened and filed flush.

Despite my aversion to all this confounded modernity that's around nowadays, I do like tritium sights. I found 1.5mm. tubes on eBay UK, and you could put one in a clip-on tube to clip onto the daytime sight, for you can raise the graduated micrometer sight in a few seconds. All I know about the American whitetail is that I saw Errol Flynn carrying one into Nottingham Castle. But if they are anything like other deer, those first and last minutes of light are worth more than hours of broad daylight.

[pietro]

Tatume---Posting pictures is way above my pay grade.

It would show the flat side of the action with 2 holes toward the rear and on the left side.

I have a very nice steel Redfield but it is for a bolt action which have a different screw pattern and are not for a flat receiver.

Any flat-base receiver peepsight specified by the maker as fitting a top-ejecting Winchester Model 94 will fit on the receiver of your rifle.

Google: "Williams Gun Sight Co" and "Lyman Gun Sights".

If you want an older peepsight that has a material & finish that matches the age of your rifle, google: "Winchester 94 peep sight for sale".



NOTE:

* A replacement front sight blade that's up to .10" taller then the issue front sight blade may be needed to zero the rifle - an ideal opportunity to install a front sight blade that may better fit your druthers (i.e., Ivory Bead, Gold Bead, Fiber-Optic bead, square Patridge, etc, etc)

All bead front sight blades have the same two bead sizes, 1/16" (fine) & 3/32" (coarse), and with either a WIDE base for a barrel-mounted front sight or a regular width base for a ramp-mounted front sight.

* For a clean/clear sight picture, the Best Practice is to remove the rear barrel open/iron sight, replacing it with a dovetail slot filler blank, either bought commercially ($6) or filed out of the male dovetail portion of just about any old/vintage longleaf rear sight.

[northmn]

I've sawed off a rear sight for a slot filler more than once. I have a few laying around and have made or bought fillers but considering I don't use nor like iron sights I could just as well do that like Pietro shows. I had to raise the front sight for my Marlin waffle top as the old Redfield shot very high. Even then it was a bit high, but I switched to a Williams 5-D and put the Redfield on another rifle that had the 5 D and things worked out better.

Some of those older sights really don't offer much over the 5D for adjustment. But once set they stayed put. While my tractor/4 wheeler rifles can take something of a beating at times (learning curve and rifle carrier modification has kind of remedied that) I have never had an issue with the aluminum sights. Some claim in extreme weather variations they can change POI due to expansion and contraction, but I neither hunt African game nor polar bear.

DEP

[ipopum]

Thanks for the input everyone. I must first determine the hole spacing and have not got any help from the mfg. yet. they don't have any tech. data

on the product. I have found out here and one other forum that all are not micro-adjustable. The economy williams seems to be a manual adjust

type of deal , fine when locked down but hard to fine tune. So the search goes on.

[WALLNUTT]

I've had no issues with the better of the 2 Williams sights but the "manual" one can be hard to fine tune.

[pietro]

I must first determine the hole spacing and have not got any help from the mfg. yet.

IMO, you're over thinking this.....................

Any make receiver sight, designated as suitable for the Winchester 94, will have mounting screws/hole spacing that's the same (about) 1/2" spaced 6-48 holes in your rifle's upper/rear receiver sidewall.


.

[ipopum]

That is good to know . I have been considering that it could have been done by some country blacksmith to a non standard pattern .

[smkummer]

It wasn’t until about 1953 that model 94’s came factory drilled on the side for a receiver sight.

[FergusonTO35]

I have a Williams FP on my 94 and it works great. .420 sounds correct to my ears, I would bet it is drilled for a Williams or Lyman.

[Edward]

The all steel Lyman on my TC Renegade came from evibay $129.00 and the all steel Lyman came from swap+ sell here for $65.00 (I like vintage steel)
Attachment 220215Attachment 220216

[Finster101]

"All I know about the American whitetail is that I saw Errol Flynn carrying one into Nottingham Castle."

BIS you can be amusing at times.

[OverMax]

I've had Lyman's & Williams. Since my rifles were outfitted to hunt in the bush. (aperture's removed) Over time I found no exposed knobs and or screws Peep sights were less troublesome. {Williams Fool Proof peeps.} Simply the best built peeps for those difficult areas we all find when out and about on the scout. i.e Easy to adjust stable and nothing (screw like) sticking up/out to snag.

[ipopum]

I have posted on Swap & Sell but no response yet. I will make my search broader.

On another forum a member measured a vintage Lyman and I now feel that the screw pattern in correct.

Thanks for the input,