Henry lever 22, peep sight suggestions

[ktw]

My father has a lever action Henry in 22lr. A while back he asked for a peep sight. I put a Williams Foolproof for 22 grooved receivers on it for him.

Very functional but very wide for the narrow receiver of the Henry and ugly as sin. Obviously built to accommodate a wider action like the Ruger 10/22.

Does anyone have a suggestion for another peep more suitable (esthetically) for the Henry? Has anyone ever tried putting a Marbles tang peep on one (I don't have the rifle here to look at).

-ktw

[Mk42gunner]

Just an idea, but what about one of the Skinner sights for a Marlin? Though I don't know if the receiver cover is thick enough to drill and tap.


Robert

[rmb721]

A Marble's tang sight would look a lot better.

[twotoescharlie]

marbles on mine.

TTC

[ktw]

Do they need to be drilled/tapped to mount a Marbles tang peep?

-ktw

[Okie2]

No...they don't have to be D&T'd....you can do it easily yourself...go to marbles web site...they have a video on how to do it....Did it with a Puma Lever in .357 that wasn't drilled & tapped...pretty easy for any sort of handy guy. Kids have a Henry that sure could use one too...their sights suck...still are really nice guns for the $$$$. Good luck...Scott

[pietro]

This is the Williams peep sight I installed on my Henry H001 Standard.



I wanted a low-profile, minimum peep, which would easily zero usung the issue front sight (which I highlighted with a daub of orange sight paint).



It's a $24 "Williams WM-96 Peep", which is normally a direct replacement for the rear barrel battle sight on military Mauser rifles. It's adjustable for w&e.

To mount it, I simply drilled a vertical hole through the forward end of the sight's forward tongue to pass a normal 6-48 scope mount screw, and D/T'd a single hole for the screw in the middle/top of the receiver cover (the cover pops off with 5 screws).
A second receiver cover drilling (only a dimple, though), under the elevation screw tip keeps the sight from pivoting around the forward mounting scrrew should it receive any rap while handling/etc.

It took about 30mins, start to finish, for installation - including a rear barrel sight slot dovetail filler.

.

[Jon K]

I had a Henry Golden Boy, that I put a Marbles Tang Sight on, worked great and looked like it was meant to be.
I couldn't find pics, must have dumped them when I sold the gun.

Jon

[FergusonTO35]

Took my Henry H001T out this afternoon. It was shooting great in spite of the howling wind. This is the octagon barrel model and wears a little 2.5X20 scope because the issue sights are just too hard to see. I have the Williams FP-GR and it is too wide for the skinny receiver, also it cannot be adjusted down very far. I have an extra 5D-94/36 as used on the Marlin 336 and Winchester 94. I think it would work very well but the receiver needs to be drilled and tapped. Has any one here ever mounted a receiver sight on a Henry? Are there any receiver sights that work well with them?

[fecmech]

After seeing Pietro's job I shamelessly copied it on my Henry. I think it makes a neat clean job on those little rifles.

[FergusonTO35]

Hmm, that sure looks nice. Now that's a WM-96 you say?

[fecmech]

Now that's a WM-96 you say?

That's it! Almost looks like it's made for the Henry doesn't it?

[tacklebury]

Skinner makes some really nice CNC machined sights. I had one on my .45 Colt for a bit. 8)

http://www.skinnersights.com/henry_rifles_18.html

[pietro]

FWIW, Andy has since designed & now manufactures/markets his Skinner clip-on receiver peep sight, the Rimfire Groove Sight, expressly made for the Henry rifles. (and a similar one for the 9422)




.

[FergusonTO35]

Ooh, I might just have to get one of those.

[FergusonTO35]

Ok, I finally decided what I'm going to do. For the rear sight I ordered a Williams WGRS-54 which clamps to the receiver dovetail. For the front sight I am going to use an original Redfield Sourdough with a Williams riser block. I'll post some pics and a range report.

[FergusonTO35]

The WGRS showed up yesterday and I installed it. The grooves on the underside of the sight are very narrow compared to the rail on the Henry, I suppose the sight was designed more with the narrow grooves of most bolt action receivers. Anyway I widened the grooves with a file until I got a good snug fit to the rifle.

The weather was semi-cooperative today so I gave it a try after work. After a few shots I found the rifle needed a taller front sight. Fortunately I had one of about .530 with a very fine bead in my gun junkyard. That installed, I ran a box of Federal Champion through the rifle at 35 yards. Very minimal adjustment was required and I was easily hitting the ten ring at 30 yards in spite of the gusting wind and my frozen fingers. I really like this sight, the only change I would make is for Williams to make this same sight with wider grooves on the bottom for the larger dovetails.

[BCRider]

NICE JOB! ! !

To be fair to Williams they do mention in their writeup on these dovetail sights that they fit a wide range of dovetail rails which, sadly, are not allways the exact same size. Opening up the dovetail a little with a triangle file might be a bit of a PITA but it's better than buying the sight to fit something and finding that it's simply too sloppy and loose to work with that one.

Perhaps if they had a 54S and 54L for small and large dovetail it might help. But was it really that bad to file it out a little?

[hunter12]

I've been looking at the skinners since I found this thread. Their web site leaves much to be desired but aside from that I like what I see.

Now my question for those of you with more experience with thew peep sights. I have the henry .22mag w/oct. barrel, will I be better off with the peep mounted on the barrel or closer to my eye, on the rail?

FWIW, the factory sight is a blur to me now and yes getting older has a few disadvantages ;^)

[FergusonTO35]

Thought I would update this ancient thread. The WGRS-54 has served well on the Henry, but I have decided it's time for something nicer. Ordered me a Williams FP-GR-TK, the Foolproof receiver sight with click adjustments and target knobs for grooved receivers. Anybody ever try one of these on a Henry? I've been using the FP and the Lyman 66 on my centerfires for years with excellent results.