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I have a prewar Model 70 300 H&H with a Lyman 48 (haven\’t been able to ID the exact variation). I\’ve put a scope on it and removed the 48\’s slide in order, of course, to mount the scope. I\’ve noticed that the slot sides on the 48 base are pretty sharp and would be easy to cut yourself on. Does anyone know if Lyman ever produced a filler for the 48\’s side slot, i.e. just a flat blank w/o the 90 degree crosspiece that held the peep and elevation/windage adjustments?rnI was going to just remove the whole receiver sight, but unfortunately whoever installed it notched the stock for the 48\’s base. This notch leaves an unsightly blemish on an otherwise new looking stock, so I\’m hesitant to remove the 48 base.
Slot fillers are scarce, but they show up on ebay from time to time–I saw one listed few wks ago. Create a “saved search” for Lyman tang sights (“slot filler” is too specific), & another one may come up IF you’re very patient. Here’s one truism to which there are no exceptions: remove the slide to mount a scope & it WILL be lost somewhere down the road!
Slot blanks run $125…. if you’re patient with a grinder, you can take an “orphan” standard staff (usually $40-$50) and cut the windage portion off to create a blank. Most 48 blanks have the Lyman leaping deer marking… some are unmarked. Can you post a pic of the sight? Since it’s a pre-war rifle, it might have the long staff, if that’s the case, the price just jumped for your project. Below is a Paul Jaeger custom pre-war Model 70 in .220 Swift… the sight has a slide blank installed… previous owner “mis-placed” that slide…. c’est la vie.
Ben said
previous owner “mis-placed” that slide…. c’est la vie.
Always happens…except on custom rifles with a trap buttplate & a cutout for the slide.
Online
BRP’s corollary to Murphy’s Law:
“Anything that can be removed from a rifle without tools WILL be removed and will invariably be LOST.”
BRP
I once owned a Sporterized 1903 with a trapdoor buttplate (that was fitted for the Lyman 48) and a trapdoor grip cap (fitted the larger eye disc.) I wasn’t in tune with Custom 1903’s at the time regrettably. I sold it for a nice profit, but left way too much on the table….. as I’ve already said, c’est la vie (which is the extent of my French).
Ben said
I once owned a Sporterized 1903 with a trapdoor buttplate (that was fitted for the Lyman 48) and a trapdoor grip cap (fitted the larger eye disc.) I wasn’t in tune with Custom 1903’s at the time regrettably. I sold it for a nice profit, but left way too much on the table….. as I’ve already said, c’est la vie (which is the extent of my French).
Get another one of those don’t want to keep, please call me FIRST!
clarence said
Slot fillers are scarce, but they show up on ebay from time to time–I saw one listed few wks ago. Create a “saved search” for Lyman tang sights (“slot filler” is too specific), & another one may come up IF you’re very patient. Here’s one truism to which there are no exceptions: remove the slide to mount a scope & it WILL be lost somewhere down the road!
Clarence,
Thanks a ton! In the interim I managed to think of looking in Strobel, and, as you probably know, he describes “Lyman Dummy Slides” on pg 40. That didn’t provide the valuable ebay tips that you did, which is what I really needed. Good point on the “losing risk” and I certainly see that as a problem. I have the sight slide labeled and w/might sights/sight parts drawer, but that doesn’t eliminate the risk. Will try to think of a way to keep it w/the rifle and base,
“Slot blanks run $125…. if you’re patient with a grinder, you can take an “orphan” standard staff (usually $40-$50) and cut the windage portion off to create a blank. Most 48 blanks have the Lyman leaping deer marking… some are unmarked. Can you post a pic of the sight? Since it’s a pre-war rifle, it might have the long staff, if that’s the case, the price just jumped for your project. Below is a Paul Jaeger custom pre-war Model 70 in .220 Swift… the sight has a slide blank installed… previous owner “mis-placed” that slide…. c’est la vie.”
Ben,
Your info and great suggestions are much appreciated! Had been thinking about “fabing” one up, but am no machinist, so will consider your ideas further. I did figure out since my post that it is a 48WJS; the staff is the same length as the one on my 1951 Model 70 .270, and I don’t think is the long one. Unfortunately, I am technically challenged and haven’t yet been able to upload the photo you requested. As you would know, the 1950’s version base is cutout so the stock wasn’t notched on my .270, whereas the prewar’s WJS is not cutout and the stock is, unfortunately, notched. As w/Clarence’s similar warning, I will try to prevent loss of the slide/staff, and appreciate the headsup.
{BRP’s corollary to Murphy’s Law:
“Anything that can be removed from a rifle without tools WILL be removed and will invariably be LOST.”
BRP}
BRP
Thanks for the word, as w/that from the others, I will do my best to heed!
Mike
November 7, 2015
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I generally buy the modern sight blanks and make do. If I had a truly exceptional rifle I’d buy a modern sight blank and fit it to the contour of the barrel and blue it to match, but that would take time, patience and skill.
Mike
TXGunNut said
I generally buy the modern sight blanks and make do. If I had a truly exceptional rifle I’d buy a modern sight blank and fit it to the contour of the barrel and blue it to match, but that would take time, patience and skill.
Mike
So Mike, for clarification, when you say “modern sight blanks” are you talking about a vintage “Lyman Dummy Slide” for an original Lyman 48, or are there dummy slides available for current/modern Lyman receiver sights? And are you finding these blanks on ebay?
Thanks
Mike
November 7, 2015
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Skizzer said
TXGunNut said
I generally buy the modern sight blanks and make do. If I had a truly exceptional rifle I’d buy a modern sight blank and fit it to the contour of the barrel and blue it to match, but that would take time, patience and skill.
Mike
So Mike, for clarification, when you say “modern sight blanks” are you talking about a vintage “Lyman Dummy Slide” for an original Lyman 48, or are there dummy slides available for current/modern Lyman receiver sights? And are you finding these blanks on ebay?
Thanks
Mike
I’m sorry, I had a barrel sight blank on my mind as that was on my workbench that day. I’ve had to purchase a receiver sight to scavenge the upper components. It was a Lyman but I’m almost certain it wasn’t a 48 of any type. I’ll look in my parts box next trip into the gun room.
Mike
Perhaps I don’t properly understand the intricacies of making a slide blank for a Lyman 48WJS, although I’ve owned and used several of these sights. Still have one on my 30 Gov’t ’06 Super Grade.
It seems to me the blank could consist of nothing more than a short section of flat stock, mild steel or even aluminum, with the opposing vertical edges dressed with a file to mate with the obverse bevels of the sight base dovetail. This could be done with a hacksaw or jigsaw, files and sandpaper. The fit is not critical because the blank could be held in place by a single set screw in the center of the blank, after d/t a hole in the blank.
I’d use mild steel and color it with Oxypho but blackened aluminum would work.
It would be needlessly difficult to emulate the fit and function of a bridge-less factory staff.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA, 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.
Zebulon said
Perhaps I don’t properly understand the intricacies of making a slide blank for a Lyman 48WJS, although I’ve owned and used several of these sights. Still have one on my 30 Gov’t ’06 Super Grade.It seems to me the blank could consist of nothing more than a short section of flat stock, mild steel or even aluminum, with the opposing vertical edges dressed with a file to mate with the obverse bevels of the sight base dovetail. This could be done with a hacksaw or jigsaw, files and sandpaper. The fit is not critical because the blank could be held in place by a single set screw in the center of the blank, after d/t a hole in the blank.
I’d use mild steel and color it with Oxypho but blackened aluminum would work.
It would be needlessly difficult to emulate the fit and function of a bridge-less factory staff.
Yes, that could all be done, but it wouldn’t have the look or cachet of a Lyman dummy slide designed specifically for this purpose
Lyman Dummy Slide in action on a pre-war M70 carbine. Very pleasing to the eye and the Lyman ‘Leaping Deer’ is definitely a bonus.
The advantages of a properly installed Griffin & Howe side mount are illustrated in this photo. Flip the two levers, slide the scope off and put in the Lyman slide. If the Lyman is sighted in the elevation screw will contact the base and one is ready to go. Remove the slide, reinstall the scope and it will hold zero (or be minute of a deer close). Pre-war ingenuity at its finest.
November 7, 2015
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Finally found my Lyman donor sight, it was a 55R. Wasn’t a wasted trip, sized a few hundred bullets while I was trying to remember which safe place was sheltering the leftover pieces. I think I’ll hide it someplace different this time.
Mike
I just spent the better part of 2 days looking for 2 bipods that I took off a couple rifles last week. I had put them in a pouch in the gun bag for the appropriate rifle. Drove me nuts. Been looking for a Beach front sight for about 2 years. I put it someplace to keep it protected.
November 7, 2015
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Chuck said
I just spent the better part of 2 days looking for 2 bipods that I took off a couple rifles last week. I had put them in a pouch in the gun bag for the appropriate rifle. Drove me nuts. Been looking for a Beach front sight for about 2 years. I put it someplace to keep it protected.
Chuck-
Don’t tell anybody but that 55R was the first place I looked, and the second place. 
I was distracted because it was next to or maybe under the Lyman sight that belongs on my first 75 Target. When I went to paw through my parts box in the gun room (where the sight SHOULD have been!) I noticed the tumble lube on a cookie sheet full of freshly-poured 45 bullets was dry so I ran them through the sizer and applied a second coat of mule snot.
I’ll see if one of the parts folks makes it to the TGCA show in Waco next month. Which Lyman 48 sight bases will work with Skizzer’s M70?
Mike
Tedk said If the Lyman is sighted in the elevation screw will contact the base and one is ready to go. Remove the slide, reinstall the scope and it will hold zero (or be minute of a deer close). Pre-war ingenuity at its finest.
If the original hasn’t been lost it by then! Pre-war ingenuity can’t compensate for human error.
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