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February 13, 2026
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Were bolt peep sights available from factory on short tang Model 71’s.
Am I correct to assume that the bolt peep sights were prone to breakage due to how high they sit above the receiver 9compared to side mounted receiver sights)?I have assumed this to be the case given the large number of bolt peep 71s I’ve come across which are missing part or all of the sight.
January 27, 1992
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My guess would be, the missing parts were the result of the owner’s personal preferance to remove the bolt peep parts. Not so much from damage done to the sight. That sighting combination was probably new to most regular hunters of that period and they were use to using the barrel sights as opposed to a peep sight. My first experiance with a peep sight didn’t occur until I went in the army. I had never seen a hunting rifle equipped with a peep sight. After going through rifle training I too learned the advatage of a peep sight over the standard barrel mounted rifle sights. Just my view. RDB
January 20, 2023
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I will hazard a guess along with some information. I don’t know the exact date the 98A ceased to be standard issue and the Lyman 56W replaced it but it was well after the short tang was adopted. The late Fortiies.
I believe a number of Model 71 rifles were assembled with bolts drilled and tapped for the 98A, after the 98A inventory was depleted. Winchester didnt waste useable parts.
I also believe bolt peeps were.stripped from.some existing rifles becaus demand for the sights is strong and the sights can be worth as much as the rest of a heavily used rifle.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
April 15, 2005
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The “short” tang Model 71 was introduced in late June 1939 and replaced the ‘long” tang by mid July 1939. The No. 98A bolt peep sight was used through 1947 when it was replaced by the Lyman 56W receiver mounted peep sight (January 1948 catalog). I discussed this in my last Model 71 article in the Summer 2021 edition of the Winchester Collector magazine – Summer 2021 (winchestercollector.org)
The No. 98A bolt peep sight was actually quite robust, not prone to breaking.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
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