Ben said
I bought Mike Richards bolt peep repair parts when he retired.  I have several of the windage blocks and apertures available.  The windage screw & round slotted retaining is in the process of being reproduced along with the elevation wheel screw & nut... they will hopefully be available after the first of the year.  The windage screw is double threaded and my machinist isn't happy with me right now.  You can substitute a #4 thread screw and use a hex nut (peening over the screw) as a fix (it's ugly, but works.) The machinist is also reproducing the bodies of the 98A and 98C... I sent him one of each for patterns... his machine can even reproduce the markings... I'm hoping they turn out nice as there are alot of guys in need.... cheers.  Ben
  

Great idea, Ben. 

Dave M. said
Will any of the modern peep sights, fit the Win. 98A peep sight? I mean the screw in peep that comes with different size holes.
Like Lyman or Marbles?
Thanks
  

The thread pitch for the screw in aperture disc (eye-piece) is the same on the No. 98A and 98C bolt peeps sights as the Luman No. 2/2A tang sights.  However, the OD of the aperture is limited to the smaller discs due to the clearance.  I believe that the correct OD for the discs used on the No. 98A was .375".

Bert

M64lvr said
I certainly like the looks of the boltpeep, seems to appear a rugged advantage! Was the Boltpeep ever an option/standard available on the Mod 64?
  

Yes it was. It was the standard sight for all of the Model 64 rifles chambered for the 219 Zipper (a lower cost 26-H Sporting open rear sight was optional).  The No. 98A bolt peep sight could have been special ordered and installed on any Model 64 rifle manufactured in the 1937 - 1952 time period.  I have thus far documented seven 30 WCF and 32 WS Model 64 rifles with a bolt peep sight.

Bert

Like Lyman or Marbles?

Thanks

I am still leery of the bolt peep regarding robustness.It sits higher above the receiver and looks like it is waiting to be damaged when going into or out of a horse borne scabbard. But it sure is pretty!

Zebulon said
the valuable lesson of what to look for next time. Most of us have been to this school.

I been there, flunked the course, and came back a few times for summer school!

The bolt peep is very compact, sturdy and about as close to the eye as you can safely get. It leaves both receiver walls slick.

Although the 98A is not a finely adjustable micrometer sight -- more of a set it once and leave it alone device -- it was expensive to make, requiring a lot of machining. 

At one point, NECG made a fine replica of the 98A but it was almost five hundred bucks years ago. 

That is why the Lyman 56W and the Redfield 70 replaced it. It is probably my lack of experience but I've actually seen more Model 71 rifles with the Redfield 70 than the Lyman versions. Redfield was a catalogued option at one time, I believe. 

The No. 98A bolt peep sight was actually quite robust, not prone to breaking.

Bert

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.

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.

However, as our knowledgeable members have already confirmed,  the re-blue job is a very good one and many of us happily own and use such Winchesters.

The normal course of ownership and use of an expensive rifle like the Model 71 often includes an eventual "freshening up" for its satisfied owner. The owner who cares enough about the rifle to spend the money to keep it in good condition usually does not abuse or allow the bore and complicated mechanism of his gun to deteriorate. 

Therefore, despite its lack of merit in the eyes of fastidious collectors, as a great rifle perfectly suited to hunting and shooting, an excellent reblued Model 71 is hard to beat. Particularly one displaying prewar quality of construction that also has the hard to get 98A bolt peep. 

If you paid the price of a reblued prewar Model 71, you got a fine bargain.

If you paid the price of an all original prewar Model 71, you still got a fine rifle and the excess cost will serve you as tuition for the valuable lesson of what to look for next time. Most of us have been to this school.

Either way, your Model.71 is one of the best rifles Winchester ever made. Built at a time when Winchester employed the most skilled and meticulous craftsman of any in America. I would treat it accordingly.