I have a customer with a Winchester 69A that has a lyman peep sight on the rear. Is there any way to convert this to a different sight because his eyes cannot pick up the peep sight (due to his older age). I know they make a dovetail rear sight, but this just has two holes drilled for the peep sight. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Carla L said
I have a customer with a Winchester 69A that has a lyman peep sight on the rear. Is there any way to convert this to a different sight because his eyes cannot pick up the peep sight (due to his older age).
If he can’t see through a peep sight, how can he possibly see the tiny notch of a rear sight? I’m 78 & shoot only with peeps, & wouldn’t even try to aim with any open sight. But of course, you can’t argue against stupidity.
It sounds like what he may have is the rare 69A Match, which came with a Lyman #57 receiver sight. If so, it would be a shame to remove it. But I reiterate: you can’t argue against stupidity.
Carla L said
I have a customer with a Winchester 69A that has a lyman peep sight on the rear. Is there any way to convert this to a different sight because his eyes cannot pick up the peep sight (due to his older age). I know they make a dovetail rear sight, but this just has two holes drilled for the peep sight. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
If the gun has a dovetail the rear sight is the 96A. JWA can confirm when he sees this thread. If there’s no rear dovetail it prob is a 69 match & as Clarence said a shame to remove it. A different gun for your customer would be recommended. Your customer will have no trouble selling a 69 match!
Rick C
If it is a true Match, it will have sling swivels and be in 22 LR only. Probably have a 6 groove bbl. as well. It will have a straight bolt handle and a 93-A, Shark Fin, front sight. I think the stocks are a little different too. I have one of these hard to find rifles. Big Larry
Hi Carla,
If his 69A rifle only has the 2 holes for the Lyman peep sight then it is likely either the 69A Match rifle or the later 69A Junior Target Shooter Special rifle. Both are more rare and desirable to collectors than the standard 69A variations. If it has 3 holes and a flat side then it is a G6901R and used the Winchester 80A rear peep.
The reason I mention the G6903R Junior Target Shooter Special is that model came with the Lyman 57EW but the receiver was also grooved for the Weaver tip-off scope mounts so the best bet would be to add a scope for your customer which would not alter the rifle. As my eyes age I find that using a scope is much easier than a peep or even open sight.
If his receiver is not grooved on top then your options are more limited without modifying the rifle. Many gunsmiths have had great success in “gluing” scope bases to the receiver using Black Loctite (which can be removed with heat). As long as the receiver is degreased properly before application there have been no recorded failures of that type of mount on a low-recoil .22 rim fire and the rifle is not irrevocably modified.
There was also someone in the past that created a scope mount that utilized the 2 side holes on the Model 75 (possibly Ken Vianni?) that are the same spacing and diameter as the 69A so if you can find one that would be an option also.
A more obscure solution would be to add a Boone Saturn scope, these were low-power fast target acquisition scopes that utilized the 2 Lyman mounting holes and did not require any additional modifications. They show-up on eBay about once per month. A similar setup can be found by R. Noske known as the “Little Imp”.
Here is what a Boone sight looks like mounted on a Winchester –
If he is wanting an open sight then unfortunately you will likely have to resort to adding a dovetail on the barrel. The standard open rear sight on the 69A is the 32B with elevator (the standard open rear sight on the previous 69 was the 32C).
Hope that helps.
Best Regards,
WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire
RickC said
As JWA confirms 32B & 32C rear sight & not 96A. That’s why I usually refer to his book first before posting. Thanks for replying JWA. I’ve got 67’s, 68’s, & 75’s on the brain lately.RickC
Hi Rick,
No worries, I can’t remember it all either, that’s why I wrote it down 😉
I kept a copy of the book for myself because I still have to routinely reference it.
Best Regards,
WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire
JWA said
I kept a copy of the book for myself because I still have to routinely reference it.
Many yrs ago, before I’d learned something about the nature of human limitations, I was often surprised when speaking with someone who’d written a book or article I’d recently read by the author’s faulty recollection of his own subject–almost seemed that I knew more about it than the author himself! Now I know why very well–the day the subject of your previous study & expertise, whatever it is, ceases to be an everyday concern, & is replaced in the forefront of your consciousness by some other interest, your memory of the details begins to fade, though the broad outline may remain clear much longer. I’ve previously been an “expert” on all sorts of subjects I now remember only faintly.
Clarence,
EXACTLY! Now, if you want to ask me about the Model 75, those are the details that are in the forefront of my brain right now……
Best Regards,
WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire
take a drill and apeture drill a larger hole that he can see thru. peep sights clarify the rear and front. i leave the rear sight on to have a three point line up. accurate that way. , drill a much bigger hole. target apetrures have miniscule hole. he’ll see thru it. 1/8th inch hole hunting apeture.
Ralph Fitzwater said
take a drill and apeture drill a larger hole that he can see thru. peep sights clarify the rear and front. i leave the rear sight on to have a three point line up. accurate that way. , drill a much bigger hole. target apetrures have miniscule hole. he’ll see thru it. 1/8th inch hole hunting apeture.
That’s what I always do with the aperture plate of the 82A sight standard on early Model 52s, which doesn’t have a removable aperture disk; target shooter catalogs used to list hand reamers for this purpose, but I use a drill bit in a Dremel motor.
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