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August 28, 2019
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I am new to the Forum. I tried posting a sight question the other day, and, due to not knowing what the heck I was doing, posted a sight question in the wrong Forum. Despite that, one person responded anyway.
I have cut and pasted that discussion and moved it here to see if the correct Forum can add any more insight.
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Hi,
I’m trying to get the correct rear sight for my 1955 straight comb .308 FWT. It came with a Marble 69, which, I believe, would have have been used on ’52 – ’54 Monte Carlo FWTs and STD rifles.
According to The Rule Book, on all FWTs ’55s and after it should be a Lyman 16A which is 0.375″ high. This is in comparison to the Lyman 16B used on the post-’55 Monte Carlo STD rifle, which is 0.350″ high. (Note: I am quoting these heights from memory, as I don’t have The Rule Book in front of me right now. Please correct me if I’ve got these wrong.)
I have a Lyman 16 sight at home, but I am not sure where to measure it from so don’t know if it’s an A or B. Is it measured from the top of the sight to the top of the barrel when mounted? Is it the height of the folding leaf itself? Leaf including hinge plate extension below?
Any info on how these heights are measured would be helpful
Regards,
Ken
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PMThey were used on the low comb featherweights including the 358.
Steve
9:02 pm
August 28, 2019
Online Yes, when I said “straight comb” I meant low comb. Thank you for clarifying this.
I went back and looked at The Rule Book and in the section on Style Change (page 184), according to that reference, regarding FWTs:
“Rear Sights. From its beginning in 1952, the Featherweight rifle was offered with three rear sight variations:
1. Winchester Rear Sight 22K (1952 – 1955). This was used with the regular or low combed stock.
2. Marble No. 69 Folding Leaf Sight (1952 – 1954). This was used with the Monte Carlo stocks.
3. Lyman 16A Folding Leaf Rear Sight (1955 – 1963). This eventually replaced other sights on both the low comb and Monte Carlo stocks. It had all the features of the Lyman 16B except for leaf height, which was .375″.“
In the next chapter, on Catalogs, it lists all of the offered variations for the 1955 product line. That chart (Table 7-13, page 223) shows all FWT models, both low and Monte Carlo combs, as coming with the Lyman 16A rear sight. Like any reference book, The Rule Book may be prone to error or omission so this may not be 100% accurate, or there may have been other variations than what are listed there.
But based on what I see in The Rule Book, I think that I’ll try to find a Lyman 16A for my 1955 FWT and call it good. I’m concerned that a 22K will interfere with the objective bell of the vintage Leupold VARI-X II 2X7 that I plan to use on it. With my 3 other pre-64 M70s (a Type I-4, a Type II-1 and a Type III-1), I have found the Winchester 22G rear sights tend to interfere with Leupold 4X or 6X scope objective bells. For this reason, I use a Marble No. 69 on two these rifles when using with a scope. My Type I-4 has a 22G Flat Top which I am hoping to be able to use with a straight tube (1″ objective) scope.
That aside, back to the original question: Can anyone tell me where to measure the Lyman 16 rear sights with my calipers to measure the 0.350″ vs 0.375″ heights that are referenced in The Rule Book?
Thanks,
Ken
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