Log In
Members
Home
Add Reply
Add Topic
It appears that Lyman made different versions of the #6 folding leaf. Which one would be period correct for an 1886 made in 1911?
clarence said
The one with two leaves, which is also the most common.
Common too on the Winchester M57. Big Larry
clarence said
The one with two leaves, which is also the most common.
Did they not all have two leaves. I have one on one of my 86’s that has a u notch and a shallow v notch. Leaves are same height. But the one I see most often has a v notch of varied depth and short leaf, half the height, with a small diamond or triangle on the face and the leaf is flat. The one I have dates to 1898 with the gun.
oldcrankyyankee said
clarence said
The one with two leaves, which is also the most common.
Did they not all have two leaves. I have one on one of my 86’s that has a u notch and a shallow v notch. Leaves are same height. But the one I see most often has a v notch of varied depth and short leaf, half the height, with a small diamond or triangle on the face and the leaf is flat. The one I have dates to 1898 with the gun.
Some had a single leaf, but those are rare. Rarest of all is the first production design having no notches at all, just two flat bars without index marks in the center, unless they had faded away by the time I got the one I once had; I’ve never seen another. The two notched leaves on later models were supposed to provide aiming points for shorter & longer ranges, so the one you describe with leaves of the same height defeats that purpose; maybe a special order variation, but nothing catalogued, as far as I know.
As Larry mentioned, the single leaf #6 was standard on the Model 57 and they are hard to find.
Best Regards,
WACA Life Member #6284 - Specializing in Pre-64 Winchester .22 Rimfire
oldcrankyyankee said
Did they not all have two leaves. I have one on one of my 86’s that has a u notch and a shallow v notch. Leaves are same height. But the one I see most often has a v notch of varied depth and short leaf, half the height, with a small diamond or triangle on the face and the leaf is flat. The one I have dates to 1898 with the gun.
I have a similar Lyman 6 on an 86 that dates to 1901 that has the taller V-notched plus the shorter flat leaf with a diamond. Like the one pictured below. 
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
1892takedown said
I have a similar Lyman 6 on an 86 that dates to 1901 that has the taller V-notched plus the shorter flat leaf with a diamond. Like the one pictured below.
Vast majority of them are like this one. The flat-topped bar with no notch was used on some English double-rifles before Lyman began making theirs; for your charging Rhino at 50 yds.
Well Clarence I guess the sight I have could very well be a special order. The rifle it’s on has a very long list of special orders and was R&R’ed to the factory 3 times. I guess I’ll look for the one shown above as it seems to be the most plausible one for this new 86 I have acquired. Thanks for your help.
oldcrankyyankee said
Well Clarence I guess the sight I have could very well be a special order. The rifle it’s on has a very long list of special orders and was R&R’ed to the factory 3 times. I guess I’ll look for the one shown above as it seems to be the most plausible one for this new 86 I have acquired. Thanks for your help.
That rifle is so right in every way, I’d never have doubted it. I esp like to see R&R returns because it’s strong evidence the gun belonged to an experienced rifleman who didn’t just mindlessly accept the original configuration, but thought about ways it could be improved for his particular shooting.
As for your unusual #6, I’d leave it alone for the same reason–someone went to the trouble to have it made up that way, which I have no doubt Lyman would have done if a customer requested it.
January 26, 2011
Offline
I sure like the #6 when combined with a Lyman tang or receiver sight. although simply shown as a #6 sight in the catalogs, there did seem to be quite a few variations of the sight based on the model and caliber. Different heights, notches, leaf styles. If you ordered a Winchester rifle directly thru the Lyman catalog the sight packages seemed to always show the #6 or the #12 (blank) as the middle sight when combined with their tang & receiver sights. As Clarance has mentioned more times than I can count, this does make the most sense to give an unobstructed view from tang to front sight.
I will add that most all of the 1894 ELWs with a tang sight will sport a 3 leaf express in the middle as opposed to the #6. It was a low enough profile to stay clear of your vision but not as good as the #6 option in my opinion. Anyway, just rambling now…….
~Gary~
Yes Clarence the rifle we are talking about is right as rain. I wish I had some good pictures of it but I don’t, only the sight and the checkered trigger. We dis cussed this back awhile ago about the fact that this rifle belonged to a rifleman. A man that knew what he wanted. Steve 004 is familiar with this rifle, we discussed it before i bought it. The one that has recently fallen into my care is in need of a period correct rear sight. It appears from the Cody letter it shipped with a folding leaf and a Lyman tang. Some where the leaf was replaced with a blank, and I can say it doesn’t match the rifle. I would like to see the correct sight on it. P.S. I hope for the day I can become the care taker of a fine 86 in .50 with a three leaf express sight.
Just to add to the confusion not all #6 sights say Lyman on them. I have no explanation for this but some do not have a maker’s mark on them. Everything else is exactly the same including the knurled edges.
Chuck said
Just to add to the confusion not all #6 sights say Lyman on them. I have no explanation for this but some do not have a maker’s mark on them. Everything else is exactly the same including the knurled edges.
Even true of certain of the tang sights, only the patent dates marked on them. Earlier production #6 also have a 1891 patent date, dropped I don’t know when, maybe after WWII, when many other things changed.
I had to find an early Lyman front sight for a large frame Colt. The only mark on it was a Patent date on the bottom. Took me about 5 years to find it. Only around 5000 large frames where built and only a small amount letter with sights. Not all were Lyman. Leroy had the tang sight on a gun at a Denver show. He took it off his gun along with the screws and sold it to me. I had to pay a “Leroy” price for it even after some bartering but I was glad to do so.
Lyman Colt small frame tang sights are marked with a C on the bottom, medium frame are marked O and the large frame are marked L. Hole spacing is smaller than the Winchester spacing and the staff locks into the upright position at a different angle.
1 Guest(s)
