Avatar
Search
Forum Scope




Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
Lost password?
sp_Feed sp_PrintTopic sp_TopicIcon
1894 rear sight letter designation
sp_NewTopic Add Topic
Avatar
NY
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 6389
Member Since:
November 1, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
21
December 11, 2021 - 4:27 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

1873man said
I question the address on the ebay site unless he moved or someone is copying his book.

Bob  

Bob,  It isn’t Tyler himself who put up this listing, but someone who got hold of several copies for resale…or made them himself with a copy machine.  What was Tyler originally charging, if you remember?  I’m impressed with the drawings, though that doesn’t necessarily mean Tyler’s attributions are correct.

Avatar
Wisconsin
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4323
Member Since:
May 2, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
22
December 11, 2021 - 4:37 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

Clarence

I think I paid around $15. He didn’t make the drawings. They are copies from Winchester drawings

Bob

WACA Life Member---
NRA Life Member----
Cody Firearms member since 1991
Researching the Winchester 1873's

73_86cutaway.jpg

Email: [email protected]

Avatar
Location: 32000' +
Moderator
Moderator
Forum Posts: 2119
Member Since:
July 17, 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
23
December 11, 2021 - 3:36 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

Tim Tyler’s reference is based on the 1917 spreadsheet that have had copies floating around for the last 40 years.  Pauline Muerrle recently published a reprint of that same document and it is available here – https://paulinemuerrle.com/winchester-standard-sight-equipment/

 

Also, I have the blueprints for all of the sights pre-1935 in the original sight book that was maintained in the Winchester Assembly Room.

The blueprints are followed by a page (or for some sights multiple pages) which describe all of the change details and dates of implementation for that blueprint which was routinely updated.  The information in the assembly room book not only contains the full sized blueprints for the sights but extends the sight changes past the 1917 spreadsheet and up to early 1935.  

For this discussion I have taken a photo of the 22B blueprint and the change record page if that helps.  There is also a penned note on the drawing that states the 22B was discontinued and refer to the 22A.

I believe Madis based some of the information in his sight book on this original factory document.  This factory Winchester sight book contains over 400 blueprints.

I am NOT a knowledgeable centerfire sight person and only use this resource for my rimfire interest but I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

 

IMG_1036-2.JPGImage EnlargerIMG_1037-1.JPGImage EnlargerIMG_1038-1.JPGImage EnlargerIMG_1039-3.JPGImage EnlargerIMG_1040-3.JPGImage Enlarger

sp_PlupAttachments Attachments

WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire

http://rimfirepublications.com/  

Avatar
Location: 32000' +
Moderator
Moderator
Forum Posts: 2119
Member Since:
July 17, 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
24
December 11, 2021 - 3:39 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

FWIW, It appears as if the side checking was discontinued on the 22A on 2/18/08 per change of product notice 40.

IMG_1041.JPGImage Enlarger

sp_PlupAttachments Attachments

WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire

http://rimfirepublications.com/  

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 1725
Member Since:
June 4, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
25
December 11, 2021 - 7:07 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

  JWA,

 Thanks for letting us see the document that I’m sure lead to the publishing of current books. Thank you for sharing. T/R

Avatar
NY
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 6389
Member Since:
November 1, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
26
December 11, 2021 - 9:38 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

I’m amazed by the time & effort expended in making & recording all these nit-picking modifications that few customers would ever notice.  Different sights for black vs smokeless powder & for calibers with very similar trajectories, which assumes a degree of precision in aiming attainable only if the target was standing in the open beside a yardage marker.  That isn’t possible when most shots are going to be based on range estimations subject to the variability of the light & the shooter’s skill.

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4601
Member Since:
March 31, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
27
December 11, 2021 - 11:46 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

JWA said
FWIW, It appears as if the side checking was discontinued on the 22A on 2/18/08 per change of product notice 40.

IMG_1041.JPGImage Enlarger  

I can see what the document says but wasn’t the 22 A replaced with the 22 B in 1887?  If so, why would this document say 22 A and 1908 not 22 B?

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 1725
Member Since:
June 4, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
28
December 11, 2021 - 11:46 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

Clarence,

It doesn’t surprise me. Look at a Trapdoor Springfield, different sights for a carbine verses a rifle, as time went on the sight improved. If the gun is accurate and the sight is not calibrated how do you hit the target. Winchester put a brushed soft blue in areas of the sight that might reflect light and ruin the sighting image. Winchester made a quality gun right down to the sight! If you bought a new Winchester and the proper Winchester ammo you were ready to go as you walked out of the store.

 I load most of my antique Winchester’s with factory weight bullets at original velocity, each click of the elevator equals 50 yards, that’s not a coincidence. I use the rear sight elevator to range set the tang sight, then drop the rear sight down to shoot. Having the proper rear sight and elevator for caliber, bullet weight, and velocity was imperative then. Quality made Winchester the desired manufacturer then and the collectible gun now. T/R

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4601
Member Since:
March 31, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
29
December 11, 2021 - 11:53 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

TR said

 Rick,

 Nick Strebel’s book just lists the numbers not the letters.  T/R  

Stroebel does list the sights with the letters too.  It is just hard to find sometimes. The only ones that I can’t find are the earliest sight for the 73’s and the 22 A and B.

Avatar
NY
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 6389
Member Since:
November 1, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
30
December 12, 2021 - 12:02 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

TR said

 I load most of my antique Winchester’s with factory weight bullets at original velocity, each click of the elevator equals 50 yards, that’s not a coincidence. I use the rear sight elevator to range set the tang sight, then drop the rear sight down to shoot. Having the proper rear sight and elevator for caliber, bullet weight, and velocity was imperative then. Quality made Winchester the desired manufacturer then and the collectible gun now. T/R  

Well & good, not disputing any of that, but my point is that when you’re guessing the range, knowing that each notch equals 50 yrds will not necessarily put you on target, unless you’re an uncommonly good guesser, which the average shooter is not. 

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 1725
Member Since:
June 4, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
31
December 12, 2021 - 12:04 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

 Chuck, Stand corrected, thanks. T/R

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4601
Member Since:
March 31, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
32
December 12, 2021 - 12:07 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Range guesstimating is hard even for above average shooters.  Then when you get it on the closest notch you then may have to adjust your sight picture to get it exactly where you need it. 

Avatar
Location: 32000' +
Moderator
Moderator
Forum Posts: 2119
Member Since:
July 17, 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
33
December 12, 2021 - 12:08 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

Chuck said

I can see what the document says but wasn’t the 22 A replaced with the 22 B in 1887?  If so, why would this document say 22 A and 1908 not 22 B?  

Hi Chuck, 

To directly answer your question, in this particular book some of the Change of Product Notices encompassed several sights in the same series.  In many cases the clerk recording the change wrote the specific change particulars (like the omission of the side checking) on the first sight instance and then simply put “see that sight notation” on the subsequent sights affected by the Change Notice.  Kind of the lazy way to do it and it requires you to flip back and forth between blueprints but it is what it is.  Hope that makes sense?

In 1899 for .30 WCF it was specified as a 22B.  It appears as if the 22B was discontinued and changed back to the the 22A in February of 1914.  By May of 1918 the blue print spreadsheet shows it as a 22H on the 94 in .30 WCF.  So it appears to me as if it has always been a “22” series sight but the style (letter) of the sight has changed over the years as well as the small changes made to the sights themselves.  

Again, I am not a centerfire guru but it appears as if an 1899 Model 1894 chambered for .30 WCF should have had the 22B with the side checking.

Let me know if there is a different 22 series sight blueprint or notes you would like to see and I will shoot some more pictures.  There are 21 sheets on the 22 series of sights.

Best Regards,

WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire

http://rimfirepublications.com/  

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 1725
Member Since:
June 4, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
34
December 12, 2021 - 12:10 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

clarence said

Well & good, not disputing any of that, but my point is that when you’re guessing the range, knowing that each notch equals 50 yrds will not necessarily put you on target, unless you’re an uncommonly good guesser, which the average shooter is not.   

 Clarence, I am not a good guesser, but I know how long Bob’s range is. I don’t know how they did it in the day but I think I might have gone hungry guessing range. T/R

Avatar
RickC
Guest
WACA Guest
35
December 12, 2021 - 12:27 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

JWA said

Chuck said

I can see what the document says but wasn’t the 22 A replaced with the 22 B in 1887?  If so, why would this document say 22 A and 1908 not 22 B?  

Hi Chuck, 

In 1899 for .30 WCF it was specified as a 22B.  It appears as if the 22B was discontinued and changed back to the the 22A in February of 1914.  By May of 1918 the blue print spreadsheet shows it as a 22H on the 94 in .30 WCF.  So it appears to me as if it has always been a “22” series sight but the style (letter) of the sight has changed over the years as well as the small changes made to the sights themselves.  

Again, I am not a centerfire guru but it appears as if an 1899 1894 chambered for .30 WCF should have had the 22B with the side checking.

Let me know if there is a different 22 series sight blueprint or notes you would like to see and I will shoot some more pictures.  There are 21 sheets on the 22 series of sights.

Best Regards,  

Thank you Jeff. That’s exactly the info I was looking for & appreciate your input here.

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4601
Member Since:
March 31, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
36
December 12, 2021 - 12:30 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

TR said
 Chuck, Stand corrected, thanks. T/R  

No need and that was not my intent. Sorry.

Stroebel’s books are confusing at best.  Generally the info is there but you have to go back and forth to find it.  The latter part of the Winchester section gives you a breakdown by Model but doesn’t give the suffixes. Earlier in the book the 22 for instance it shows all the suffixes except the A and B. We all know the early #22 found on the earliest 73’s is not even mentioned. Maybe it was just the 22, no suffix?

I’d like to check out Pauline’s info.

Avatar
Location: 32000' +
Moderator
Moderator
Forum Posts: 2119
Member Since:
July 17, 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
37
December 12, 2021 - 12:39 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

RickC said

Thank you Jeff. That’s exactly the info I was looking for & appreciate your input here.  

Hi Rick,

No worries, I updated my post to Chuck so it contains a slightly better explanation if you go back and revisit it.

Best Regards,

Jeff

WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire

http://rimfirepublications.com/  

Avatar
NY
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 6389
Member Since:
November 1, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
38
December 12, 2021 - 1:24 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

Chuck said

 Maybe it was just the 22, no suffix?

 

No need for a suffix or prefix when there’s only one model.  Only when additional variations are introduced at a later time does a means of differentiating them arise.   Lyman’s #5 front sight was all but itself until the 5A & B variants were designed a few yrs later.  My favorite Winchester sight is the 82A; it must have been preceded by an 82, but since I’ve never seen any reference to it, I assume it didn’t survive beyond the prototype stage.

Avatar
NY
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 6389
Member Since:
November 1, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
39
December 12, 2021 - 1:29 am
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_EditHistory sp_QuotePost

TR said

 Clarence, I am not a good guesser, but I know how long Bob’s range is. I don’t know how they did it in the day but I think I might have gone hungry guessing range. T/R  

One of the places I sometimes take my dog is a golf course with a 300 yd driving range, & yd markers at 50 yd intervals.  Have always thought, what a great place to hunt–no range guessing required!  (Actually, the place is overrun with deer, but I kind of suspect deer hunting is discouraged.)

Avatar
Member
WACA Member
Forum Posts: 4601
Member Since:
March 31, 2009
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline
40
December 12, 2021 - 6:39 pm
sp_Permalink sp_Print sp_QuotePost

I pulled out Gordon’s book.  He does show an example for a late 1866 sight that looks like a #22.  He also shows many of the variations of the 1873 #22 but gives no suffix info.  He does not show a #22B with the adjustable aperture.

Forum Timezone: UTC 0
Most Users Ever Online: 778
Currently Online: cj57, tsillik
Guest(s) 193
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
clarence: 6389
TXGunNut: 5057
Chuck: 4601
1873man: 4323
steve004: 4261
Big Larry: 2354
twobit: 2306
mrcvs: 1727
TR: 1725
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 17
Topics: 12789
Posts: 111406

 

Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 1770
Members: 8873
Moderators: 4
Admins: 3
Navigation