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Hey all, I am curious as to how most people choose to utilize a standard rear sight in relation to a tang mounted peep. Do most folks attempt to cowitness the rear sight within the peep, or to remove the rear sight altogether and add a blank? I can see the benefit in utilizing that standard rear sight when at close range and deploying the peep when attempting a longer shot. Just curious how others approach this conundrum.
Matt,
That is how I use a tang peep with a standard barrel sight. I use the open sight for close range and then the peep for distance. The barrel sight does not interfere with the peep at distance since your elevating. I know some guys like the Lyman leaf sight on the rear so it folds down out of the way.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
Matt,
I can’t speak for most people but can give an example how it works for me. I have a 1886 Dlx extra hvy in 45-90, nice gun, great bore, and it shoots straight. I added a Lyman N tang sight to it 20 years ago, as my eyes aged it made shooting it easier. I left the standard rear semi buckhorn on, sighted for 50 yards with factory velocity loads. It so happens on that caliber each step on the elevator of the rear sight gives me 50 yards of additional range. The N Lyman tang needs to be screwed down to fold back and clear the comb of the stock. So when I go to shoot it if the range of my target is 200 yards I give the rear sight elevator an additional three clicks. Then fold up the tang sight and set it to the rear, making it on at 200 yards, next I drop it back to the 50 yard setting making out of the way. Granted I could mark my tang sight stem for range but that requires good light and my cheaters to adjust. It’s a quick and easy range adjustment in a deer blind or on the rifle range. T/R
Is it possible William Lyman knew something about this subject, & the best use of the tang sight he designed? He consistently warned AGAINST leaving the brl. sight in place after installing one of his tang sights. In the early yrs of his company, he wrote many letters to sporting pubs explaining the optical principal of his sight, & his catalogs included these instructions:
“The open rear sight should always be removed from the rifle brl. A large proportion of those using this sight do not get half the benefit from it they should because they will not take off the middle sight which stands directly in the way of a large part of the view.” To emphasize the latter point, there was an illustration of the shooter’s view of a deer partially blocked by the sides of a middle sight, compared with another drawing of the unobstructed deer seen with the middle sight removed.
Townsend Whelen was an early Lyman enthusiast who devoted several pages in The American Rifle to promoting Lyman sights. He repeated in different words everything about best use of the sight written in the catalog, & included the same illustrations. I’ve never found any other shooting authority who disagreed.
If you can find it online, read “Lyman’s Patent Combination Sight” in the May, 2008 issue of Precision Shooting, the only complete history of the development of this sight I know of.
TR said The N Lyman tang needs to be screwed down to fold back and clear the comb of the stock.
Lord, I couldn’t put up with that aggravation! Marble’s “Flexible” tang sight was designed to avoid the problem caused of a long bolt-throw, & catalog illustrations show the extended bolt of a ’95 pushing backwards the staff of the sight.
But if you must have a Lyman N, here’s one you won’t have to fold down: https://www.ebay.com/itm/234467186821?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l1120&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=b5b1a08373df4704842e44f9647ecc4f&bu=43185806222&ut=RU&osub=-1%7E1&crd=20220315073710&segname=11021&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cut%3Dut%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid
TR and interested others, I shoot a few of my Winchester lever rifles at silhouettes at our gun club. When we have the “extreme” buffalo shoots, we have targets at 100, 200 and 300 yards (yeah, no where near correct black powder rifle distances, but its what our range can support). My 1894’s in .25-35 have barrel and tang sights. The barrel sight is set for 100 yards. The tang sight is set for 200 yards. For 300 yards, I have to use “Kentucky” windage over the silhouette in question, but it does work. When I fold the tang sight down, I put a cleaning patch between it and the comb of the stock. This system works for me at least. Tim
PS. While lots of fun, the .25-35 struggles to topple even the ram at 200 yards! The buffalo at 300 requires multiple high hits to go down!
I don’t remove the rear sight unless I have a #6 lying around or it actually gets in the way. Most times it does not. The practical thing is to do what TR said. A Lyman marked blank is not an easy thing to find. If you do find some I’ll buy all you can get.
I’ve got a Lyman catalogue from 1926, on page 5 it shows the famous running deer in buckhorn sight verses a Lyman Rear Aperture. He points out the advantages of his product which I totally agree with. I do not shoot at running deer, I simply want the sight so my old eyes can see the front sight clearly at greater distance. My guns are collectable, but I like to shoot them. If I buy a gun without a tang sight I usually add one for shooting and display, when it comes time to sell I remove the tang sight if it does not letter. Pounding on and off an original rear barrel sight just doesn’t make any sense in my case. T/R
TR said Pounding on and off an original rear barrel sight just doesn’t make any sense in my case. T/R
It doesn’t; THIS reason for leaving the sight in place–to avoid possible damage to the sight or brl.–makes excellent sense! But that’s different from saying, or implying, that a middle sight doesn’t obstruct the view of the target, which was Lyman’s point.
November 7, 2015
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It depends. In my case I need the peep sight for a good sight picture @ 100 yards. If your presbyopia is less advanced than mine you may be able to use the barrel sight at 100 yards. Most of my Winchesters don’t have folding barrel sights so the ones I shoot have the barrel sight carefully labeled and tucked away in my parts box and a sight blank installed in its place.
Mike
Good info to take in here, and it sounds like you guys are mixed on leaving the rear in place or replacing with a blank. It seems when I try to get a good sight picture with the tang, I don’t like the rear sight encroaching on the picture. It’s almost cluttered for lack of a better term. I don’t have this rifle sighted in properly just yet, and perhaps the peep will need to be raised at sight in and this will get remedied. Yet to be seen.
I also suffer from two minor problems, one, I like the sight picture I get with the peep better than using the rear sight and the second problem is that I hate covering up the Winchester text on the rear tang with that same peep! What a conundrum haha
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