Marlin 1895 sights...need some help!

[tinhorn97062]

I went out yesterday and dialed in my new Williams receiver sight. I was quickly stacking holes on top of each other at 50yds, but the groups were consistently to the left. I adjusted the rear sight all the way over to the right side, and I still need to get the groups to move about 2 more inches. I tried drifting my front sight the opposite way, but it didn't seem to help much. Am I doing something wrong?

On a slightly different note- I was shooting at a 6" stick on target, and at 50yds my factory front bead almost obscures that 6" sticky. At 100yds, I can't even see the thing. So I've been looking for a nice thin "blade style" front sight. Skinner sells some, but I was wondering if there were other manufacturers out there? Not that there's anything wrong with Skinner, but I just like to have options.

[Doc Highwall]

Don't go with too fine of a front sight on a hunting gun, as they are used for hunting during both low light and full daylight. If you are using the rifle for hunting deer, they are much larger than a 6"sticky target, and you will need to see the front sight under all hunting conditions.

[runfiverun]

I sight in so the boolit hole goes on top of the front dot [sight]
you need to find that front sight quickly and focus on it.

[NSB]

It doesn't take much movement on the front sight to move the group 2" at 50 yards. If it moved at all you'd see the difference. Are you sure the front sight moved?

[tinhorn97062]

Found a blade front sight. After install, I believe I'm gonna go back to the drawing board on this one and use the tips from you guys.

[tinhorn97062]

It doesn't take much movement on the front sight to move the group 2" at 50 yards. If it moved at all you'd see the difference. Are you sure the front sight moved?

Yes. It is visibly hanging out of the dovetail groove. My groups needed to come right, so I drifted the front bead left. From what I understand, that should've caused the groups to move opposite...but they didn't. I think I'm going to take it all back to a nominal "zero" and try this again. It seems like the process shouldn't be as difficult as I'm making it.

[bosterr]

I sighted in tang sites on two rifles at 100 yards in this way. I put a 6" bull straight below another 6" bull, touching each other (figure "8"). When shooting I put the entire top bull on the front bead sight. My goal was to center my group on the bottom bull, even though the bead covered the bottom bull completely. It great worked for me.

[Hick]

OK-- I'm a Winchester guy not a Marlin guy-- but are you sure you have the correct Williams sight? If you cannot move the rear sight far enough to zero, it sounds to me like you may have a Williams sight designed for a narrower receiver. Does the Marlin mount to the side of the receiver like my Winchester? If it mounts on the left side, like my Winchester, and you can't move far enough to the right, that suggests it was built to zero on something narrower.

[tinhorn97062]

OK-- I'm a Winchester guy not a Marlin guy-- but are you sure you have the correct Williams sight? If you cannot move the rear sight far enough to zero, it sounds to me like you may have a Williams sight designed for a narrower receiver. Does the Marlin mount to the side of the receiver like my Winchester? If it mounts on the left side, like my Winchester, and you can't move far enough to the right, that suggests it was built to zero on something narrower.

Yes- it does mount to the left side of the receiver. I believe it's for the 336, which should also fit an 1895 just fine. Your explanation makes sense though, and when I get home, I'll take it off and look for a model number of some sort.

[waco]

500gr loads Charlie?

[tinhorn97062]

500gr loads Charlie?

I did throw a few of those down range. I learned pretty quickly that there is just no good reason to push them as fast as I was. Lol...

[Scharfschuetze]

Sounds like you may have a mechanical problem with your rifle. In reality, if your barrel is screwed in straight and your bore is straight, your Williams' aperture should be over the center line of your receiver and your front sight should be fairly well centered up in the dovetail on the barrel. That isn't always the case and a thousand and one rifles out there will prove the point.

Suggestions?

1. Check your crown to see if it is square to the bore. I've seen 'em off enough to contribute to your problem.

2. Barrel shank is square to the receiver. Believe it or not, they sometimes aren't due to the threads in the receiver not cut properly. I recently read of this situation with a Marlin. They had to replace the rifle to fix the problem.

3. check if your bore is centered in your barrel. I once had to send an 1895 45/70 back to Marlin about 25 years ago for a new barrel as the original barrel was off center at the muzzle by something like a .10" of an inch. With that barrel, I was in the same situation as you currently are in. Lyman 66 sight all the way left and the front sight all the way right to zero the rifle. Sound familiar.:smile:

As far as a front sight, I use a fairly thick blade front sight on all my peep sighted rifles so that I have the same sight picture as the old M14 and M16 rifles I used in the military. I've never been able to shoot a bead front, other than with a barrel mounted sight made for one, with the same accuracy that I can achieve with the blade and an aperture rear sight. Just don't use too thin a blade, such as those often found on older military rifles before the M1 Garand. It's front sight (also M14, M16 and M4) is just right in its width and they are useful as far as you can see a target.

[tinhorn97062]

Sounds like you may have a mechanical problem with your rifle. In reality, if your barrel is screwed in straight and your bore is straight, your Williams' aperture should be over the center line of your receiver and your front sight should be fairly well centered up in the dovetail on the barrel. That isn't always the case and a thousand and one rifles out there will prove the point.

Suggestions?

1. Check your crown to see if it is square to the bore. I've seen 'em off enough to contribute to your problem.

2. Barrel shank is square to the receiver. Believe it or not, they sometimes aren't due to the threads in the receiver not cut properly. I recently read of this situation with a Marlin. They had to replace the rifle to fix the problem.

3. check if your bore is centered in your barrel. I once had to send an 1895 45/70 back to Marlin for a new barrel as the original barrel was off center at the muzzle by something like a .10" of an inch. With that barrel, I was in the same situation as you currently are in. Lyman 66 sight all the way left and the front sight all the way right to zero the rifle. Sound familiar.:smile:

As far as a front sight, I use a fairly thick blade front sight on all my peep sighted rifles so that I have the same sight picture as the old M14 and M16 rifles I used in the military. I've never been able to shoot a bead front, other than with a barrel mounted sight made for one, with the same accuracy that I can achieve with the blade and an aperture rear sight. Just don't use too thin a blade, such as those often found on older military rifles before the M1 Garand. It's front sight (also M14 and M16) is just right in its width.

Well, I hope it's not a mechanical issue with the gun. I bought it used, and am not sure how that would work if it was a warranty type issue. 'Sides, I really like it and don't want to part with it. That said- it is a "Remlin" and I've heard some horror stories and was hoping that I missed out on all of that. The rest of the form, fit, and function seem to be just fine. I'll look closer at the barrel and try to see if I can tell if it's out of kilter at all.

[Scharfschuetze]

I can't speak for Remington, but Marlin returned my off bored 1895 quickly with a good barrel. Oddly though, the off center bore was about 1/2 MOA more accurate than the properly bored barrel. Go figure.

I hope that your rifle wasn't on the used gun rack because of this issue. "Caveat emptor" I guess.

[tinhorn97062]

Well, I think I figured out the fix. The peep wasn't centered over the centerline of the rifle, which I failed to boric in my excitement to shoot it. When I looked close tonight, I saw the issue. On the windage adjustment, there are two sets of screw holes on each side. What I did was simply put the screws in the other holes, and then centered the peep over the centerline of the rifle. Next time I go out, I expect that this will enable me to move my groups over to where they should be.

A forum member is helping me out with a new front sight blade, so when I get that on I'll take it back out and dial everything in.

I really appreciate all the tips and help. [emoji51]

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http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/18/c238f5bddd1f6b30bf380578e017c085.jpg

[hpdrifter]

somebody sure boogered that fp

[Scharfschuetze]

Looks like the problem is solved. Let us know the results.