Browning 1885 in 45-70

[oldrodder]

This is a recent acquisition for me. I am looking for information on the tang sight.
I bought the rifle as pictured, with the sight base installed on the rifle but no staff. After removing the buttstock, we could see how the base was secured to the rifle. Has anyone run across a similar set up? Is this a "factory" set up?
Thanks for your help.
https://i.imgur.com/sM71D0Vl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jfR9Joal.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Kkgcs2jl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5dl58ISl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nBvn2whl.jpg

[koger]

It looks to be aftermarket, but well done. It appears to be silver soldered on to the tang, and the stock has been relieved. All the ones with the tang sights, have the longer tang and the polish and blue match the rest of the gun. I have a 28" octagon barreled Browning Hi wall with a tapered barrel. With open sights, it is the best shooting 45/70 I own, and I have 8!! Hope this helps!

[country gent]

I would contact MVA and or Lee Shaver. They may have the staff you need.

[Chill Wills]

Yes, it is a shop built tang base.
Contacting some of the tang sight makers may be fruitful, however, just getting a sight staff will not be enough.

That sight base lacks a provision for indexing, something like a stop with a flat spring. From the one picture I can not see the makers intent to hold the staff up at the correct angle. In other words, these sight staff swing or hinge from that base and I do not see any machined part to make that happen.
Maybe someone else can see a system on it that I don't.

[RedlegEd]

Yes, it is a shop built tang base.
Contacting some of the tang sight makers may be fruitful, however, just getting a sight staff will not be enough.

That sight base lacks a provision for indexing, something like a stop with a flat spring. From the one picture I can not see the makers intent to hold the staff up at the correct angle. In other words, these sight staff swing or hinge from that base and I do not see any machined part to make that happen.
Maybe someone else can see a system on it that I don't.
Hi. If you look very closely at the left hoop of the base in the second from the top photo, you'll see a small indent at the vertical point and what looks to be a turn mark where a ball bearing detent rides. It looks somewhat like the mechanism on a Marbles Improved Tang sight. Ed

[gewehrfreund]

An interesting and elegant solution to putting a tang sight on these "tangless" Brownings. I've seen them screwed into the wood of the grip, which is NOT a good solution.

One drawback of the solution shown above is that it puts the sight farther forward than a traditionally fitted tang sight would go, which may interfere with loading and removal of the case, but I suppose that can be lived with, given the advantages of having the aperture tang sight.

[kokomokid]

When the BPCR game started there was a quick shortage of suitable single shot rifles. A lot of B-78 were adapted to a tang sight with most being futher back on the pistol grip. Nice setup with hanger mounted forend ,hammer coil springs, stock thru bolt and a so-so trigger but Canjar triggers were around. Check screw size and threads may tell you who made the sight. As Chill says the staff will have to be spring loaded to fold forward with recoil.

[indian joe]

Yes, it is a shop built tang base.
Contacting some of the tang sight makers may be fruitful, however, just getting a sight staff will not be enough.

That sight base lacks a provision for indexing, something like a stop with a flat spring. From the one picture I can not see the makers intent to hold the staff up at the correct angle. In other words, these sight staff swing or hinge from that base and I do not see any machined part to make that happen.
Maybe someone else can see a system on it that I don't.

The cheap pedersoli sights index off a little short spring affair with a ridge across it and a corresponding notch cut across the bottom of the rounded end of the staff -- the spring part fits into a short recess milled between the pivot lugs --this one look like one of those, or an adaptation of it --those Pedersoli staffs are ok but you dont have any windage adjustment and the cheap ones with windage built in are pretty terrible.
I made three tang sights with Soule style windage adjustment and re-used the Pedersoli staff and base on two of em - that worked fine.

[marlinman93]

An interesting and elegant solution to putting a tang sight on these "tangless" Brownings. I've seen them screwed into the wood of the grip, which is NOT a good solution.

One drawback of the solution shown above is that it puts the sight farther forward than a traditionally fitted tang sight would go, which may interfere with loading and removal of the case, but I suppose that can be lived with, given the advantages of having the aperture tang sight.

I've seen a base inletted into the wrist, and then held with a single wood screw and the epoxy to the stock wrist. Then D&T to accept a tang sight base on that. This is a much sturdier way of attaching a tang sight, and gets better accuracy.

But the base already on this gun is as good as anything on the stock, and probably better. Just need to find a staff and pivot screw to fit it. I'd try various fine thread screws until I found what fits the threads. Then measure the inside width, along with outside width. Then call up Lee Shaver and give him the thread size, off side hole diameter, plus base inside/outside overall width. He can tell you if his sights fit, and whether he could modify one to fit your base.

[kokomokid]

A local gun builder used Baldwin sights and I think most of the sight makers had a diff size screw and thread. I remember someone showing the diff screws maybe Texas Mac ?