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March 1, 2009
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Hello,
does anyone know how you can tell the difference between the Winchester exposed spring tang sight and the one made by axtell a few years ago.
John k.
May 2, 2009
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John,
Some of Axtell’s were marked but other than that you have to look at workmanship and bluing color.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
May 2, 2022
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I hate to believe that Axtell, the only company that could make accurate reproductions of the originals, is no longer in business.
I’m not up to speed on all of the other shops, so it’s possible that they’re all doing the same thing. I recall visiting the old Axtell store, which I believe was in Washington. It was a small establishment where everyone smoked, and when the door was opened, the smoke simply rolled out.
June 4, 2017
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I don’t know about the exposed spring tang sights, but the thick base graduated and vernier had a lot of differences from original. Knurling on disc and screw, machine cuts in lower base, the placement of the number on the spring, and the size off the elevation numbers on the staff were very different. You can see these differences at a glance. Axtell did have a blue that was close and with a little aging would pass. T/R
July 31, 2005
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I happen to have both an Axtell and original thick base graduated peep sight in my collection. Here are a few comparison photos. See TR’s comments above.
First few photos original on left, Axtell on right.
I call myself a collector as it sounds better than hoarder
