Front sight insert diameter

[oldracer]

I am planning to order a complete set of the Lee Shaver front sight inserts as they seem to be the best available. My question is are all the inserts the same outside diameter where they slide into the front sight? The rolling block I bought was custom made years ago and the front sight is not marked in any way. Thanks for the help.

[montana_charlie]

I'm not certain that I know what you are asking, but see if this helps...

Although all globe sights seem to be basically identical, they are not.

Inserts intended for 'Sharps style' globe sights have a certain shape in the outer rim which is thick at the top and thin at the bottom.

Many globe sights use inserts that have a pair of rectangular tabs at the sides of the outer rim. The Lyman 17 is one of those.

Lee Shaver's globe sights can use Lyman inserts, and Lyman brand inserts will fit in Shaver-built sights.
But other globe sights, with similarly shaped inserts, are not compatible with Shaver or Lyman parts.

Did I cover it?

CM

[oldracer]

Well you sorta of did answer it. I checked and the insert that is in there now has the same thickness top and bottom. It has the small tabs that fit into slots on either side as you mentioned so I guess either Shaver or Lyman will fit okay. I went to the gun show at Delmar CA today hoping there might be someone with sets there but no luck so I'll call Buffalo Arms on Monday. Thanks for the info.

[montana_charlie]

Well you sorta of did answer it. I checked and the insert that is in there now has the same thickness top and bottom. It has the small tabs that fit into slots on either side as you mentioned so I guess either Shaver or Lyman will fit okay.
Now that I have you accepting that styles differ, let's talk about variations within a single style.

Here is a pageful of hits from an eBay search for 'sight inserts'.
http://sporting-goods.shop.ebay.com/Sporting-Goods-/382/i.html?_nkw=sight+inserts&_armrs=1&_from=R8&_ipg=&_sop=1

Notice that the Lyman inserts have rectangular tabs, and they are centered on the outer rim. A brand of insert that had 'non-centered' tabs would not be compatible with Lyman.

Now look at inserts for Redfield. The side tabs are above center, and they vary in size between left and right.

Then, the Beeman has centered tabs, of different sizes, and one has a hole in it.

The point is...
Make a scale drawing of the insert that fits your globe sight, or take a picture and label it with accurate dimensions, and let Lee Shaver tell you if his inserts will fit...before you place the order.

And...in case you didn't notice...the Shaver sight is on that same eBay page, and is the eleventh item from the top.

CM

[oldracer]

Thanks for the help so far. I try to stay off E-Bay but as I am finding out there are a lot of good gun contacts on there. In looking at the various pictures it seems that it might be an insert from a Lyman 17A set but here is a picture I took this morning with some dimensions written in. I noted the tabs are equal and also directly across from each other. The thickness of the metal, which is black although the picture does not show that, is 0.029 inches thick top and bottom so no taper there. At 100 yards the other day, the black target center exactly filled the small hole in the center and I would like to be able to see how other inserts affect my aiming.

[montana_charlie]

At 100 yards the other day, the black target center exactly filled the small hole in the center and I would like to be able to see how other inserts affect my aiming.

Your insert cetainly does look like one for a Lyman sight, to me. But, I don't have anything around to provide dimensions to compare to yours.

If the black bull exactly fills the aperture opening at a given range, you need a larger opening for that target at that range.
There should be a definite ring of white showing, which allows your eye to do it's 'centering' job. With a thin ring of white, or none at all, the eye can't do it's thing.

That aperture would work on that same target...if the range was increased.

CM

[Tom-ADC]

Thanks for the help so far. I try to stay off E-Bay but as I am finding out there are a lot of good gun contacts on there. In looking at the various pictures it seems that it might be an insert from a Lyman 17A set but here is a picture I took this morning with some dimensions written in. I noted the tabs are equal and also directly across from each other. The thickness of the metal, which is black although the picture does not show that, is 0.029 inches thick top and bottom so no taper there. At 100 yards the other day, the black target center exactly filled the small hole in the center and I would like to be able to see how other inserts affect my aiming.

I checked one of my Lyman 17A inserts against your numbers and they are the same.

[EDG]

OR
The post with a heavy ring on top is typical of Lyman. I find they are about the only ones I can use.
A lot of the other inserts have a narrower ring attached by two or four tabs. I usually cannot see the narrower rings.

[oldracer]

Thanks for the help everyone. I just ordered a sight card from Buffalo Arms and should have it before I try the rifle again next weekend. I would like to try some different inserts as my eye sight is not real great any more and I was just happy to be able to hit the target at 100 yds let along get shots within a 2 inch group with a light (48gr of ffg, 300gr cast bullets) so this time I have loaded some full case loads and will get some 500gr bullets cast this week for later use. The reason the loads were so light was because I was not real sure how the gun would shoot or even if it would since it had been in a safe for nearly 10 years!