Gentlemen, I'm 58 years old and with open iron sights I have seldom been able to shoot five-shot groups at 100 yards smaller than 2" for the past few years. It has been a reminder that the 'old grey mare just ain't what she used to be' or, in my case, the old stallion ain't what he used to be. I finally decided to get me some original tang sights to fit my original Winchester Model 1886 45-70 and my original Winchester Model 1873 44 WCF (44-40). A friend of mine put me in touch with an expert in old Winchester tang sights over in Main. I told him the Model of Winchesters and serial numbers so he could figure out which tang sights were originally used on these old classics. I wanted originals because both rifles are in original condition.
Well, this past week they finally arrived. What neat pieces of 1800's craftsmanship! The first one here is the earliest version of the Lyman #1 with fine knurling, the open bottom and a patent date of May 6/84. My '73 was received in the warehouse in 1889, so this sight would have been used on '73s at that time. Here is a photo of the little beauty mounted on my '73 and precisely centered for windage ....
Here is a photo of the other original tang sight on my '86. It is a Lyman #1a with locking stem and flip down aperture. When the bolt is levered back, the sight fits perfectly in the rear notch of the bolt.
Well, I got both tang sights mounted and precisely aligned in windage. The wife told me I had an hour till supper so I took off with my '86 to the range just before supper to get a quick few shots in to try 'er out. Wow! These tang sights make everything razor sharp .... rear sight notch, front blade and target. Even a half-blind, falling-down drunk with a serious case of the shakes could get tight groups at 100 yards with these things. I have to say that I am thrilled. Anyway, all I had loaded up were some 45-70 cartridges with 405 plain base bullets. I have other loads that are significantly more accurate, but I had no cartridges loaded up at the moment with those more accurate loads. Anyway, I got a five shot group of 2 & 3/4" at 100 yards without hardly even trying. I still had the rear sight on and I found it to be a bit of a distraction in centring the front bead, but I'll remove and archive that rear sight and load up some of my accurate loads and try it out later this week. Anyway, here's a shot of the target with my poor accuracy load. This tang sight should allow me to shoot one ragged hole if I have an accurate load. I'll be experimenting.
Boys, if you got a fine old lever gun and those open sights are starting to look like a bad blur to your old eyes, I would highly recommend a tang sight. It is almost cheating, they sharpen things up so nicely! You can take your scope and give it a heave. With these tang sights, I figure I'm good for a lot further than 200 yards once I get my loads fine tuned for accuracy. The originals are dadgummed expensive. I'll be eating dried crusts and water for the next while. You can get modern reproductions of these from Lyman and Marbles for a fraction the price. I just wanted originals on my two old guns.
Well, this past week they finally arrived. What neat pieces of 1800's craftsmanship! The first one here is the earliest version of the Lyman #1 with fine knurling, the open bottom and a patent date of May 6/84. My '73 was received in the warehouse in 1889, so this sight would have been used on '73s at that time. Here is a photo of the little beauty mounted on my '73 and precisely centered for windage ....
Here is a photo of the other original tang sight on my '86. It is a Lyman #1a with locking stem and flip down aperture. When the bolt is levered back, the sight fits perfectly in the rear notch of the bolt.
Well, I got both tang sights mounted and precisely aligned in windage. The wife told me I had an hour till supper so I took off with my '86 to the range just before supper to get a quick few shots in to try 'er out. Wow! These tang sights make everything razor sharp .... rear sight notch, front blade and target. Even a half-blind, falling-down drunk with a serious case of the shakes could get tight groups at 100 yards with these things. I have to say that I am thrilled. Anyway, all I had loaded up were some 45-70 cartridges with 405 plain base bullets. I have other loads that are significantly more accurate, but I had no cartridges loaded up at the moment with those more accurate loads. Anyway, I got a five shot group of 2 & 3/4" at 100 yards without hardly even trying. I still had the rear sight on and I found it to be a bit of a distraction in centring the front bead, but I'll remove and archive that rear sight and load up some of my accurate loads and try it out later this week. Anyway, here's a shot of the target with my poor accuracy load. This tang sight should allow me to shoot one ragged hole if I have an accurate load. I'll be experimenting.
Boys, if you got a fine old lever gun and those open sights are starting to look like a bad blur to your old eyes, I would highly recommend a tang sight. It is almost cheating, they sharpen things up so nicely! You can take your scope and give it a heave. With these tang sights, I figure I'm good for a lot further than 200 yards once I get my loads fine tuned for accuracy. The originals are dadgummed expensive. I'll be eating dried crusts and water for the next while. You can get modern reproductions of these from Lyman and Marbles for a fraction the price. I just wanted originals on my two old guns.
