back to irons on my 44 mag lever gun

S

stagpanther

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You know, I have two safes full of AR's that I've had fun building and shooting, as well as gobs of pistols, revolvers, bolt guns etc.--but no matter what I have and can shoot, nothing equals a good lever gun carbine for me for the most fun as the "essence of shooting pleasure" for me.;)



My favorite is my long-time woods companion, a rossi 16" carbine in 44 mag with a good hot load in it. I have beat the heck out of this gun over the years, also have gone through many convolutions of sights, mounts, scopes red-dots etc in the elusive chase to find the right combination that makes up for my poor eyesight (and poor technique :o). I finally returned to where it all began and put irons back on--except I painted the stock front sight black and put a dot of day-glow nail polish on the metal bead--and installed a skinner peep where the rear buckhorn was. Skinner supplies various aperature sizes--but I eventually ditched them all and simply painted the peep without any aperature black (the stock silver ones create too much glare and what I like to call "eye paralax."



I stepped out for a few quick shots to see what needs to be adjusted--this 4" group was at 60 yds in blustery 28 mph winds and very cold snowy conditions, so for me that was pretty good--and hopefully I'll get better with practice.

 
Funny how that works isn't it? I don't have the collection you do but I do have some of the latest and greatest so to speak and always find myself enjoying my lever actions with stock iron sights the most, in particular, my .44mag 16" Rossi as well.
 
I have a new Marlin 1895, I got it with Ghost Ring sights. I really want to keep the iron sights on it. My eyesight ain't what it used to be. I'm having real trouble getting a clear view of my front post - a white line. I need something like a fiber optic orange dot up there I guess. But I may put a red dot on it. Really rather have the iron sights though.
 
thanx Mike, it's a nice one--but being Braztech it didn't come very nice and needed some work--their stuff can be a toss of the dice that way.

With a good scope on it I could shoot MOA at 100 with it if I was on and had a good load, but I really want to see if I can "adapt" my old eyes to getting proficient with the irons, shooting a lightweight carbine that way just seems like a heck of a lot more fun--and a relief from compulsive sub-MOA disorder. :D

K2--I tried that for a while and it does work, but it sure looks weird. : ) I found that by making the sights black--and the large rear aperture peep--help with the blur problem but doesn't get rid of it altogether.
 
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I have optics on all of my bolt guns. Some intended for close work have less magnification. But so far I've resisted the temptation to scope any of my lever actions. At 59 my eyes aren't bad, but I can't do what I used to do with irons.

I did try mounting a 2-7X on one of my Marlin 30-30's, even took it to the range and zeroed it, but had to take it off. It changed the whole dynamics of the rifle and bumped the weight up to 8 lbs. None of my bolt guns weigh that much even with optics on them.
 
For your leverguns that need some 'sight help', consider a tang sight with a target aperture. In addition to increasing the sight radius that aids in precision aiming, the small aperture close to your eye increases your Depth of Field; the area that you see things in clear focus. My 24" leverguns, a Rossi 357mag and a Uberti 45colt, both have a tang sight which gives me a 30" radius (up from 20" with the standard rear sight position) and I'm able to see both the front sight and target clearly even with my 69yr old far sighted eyes.
 
I'd never seen a tang sight until I just looked them up. Very interesting! For hunting really? I'll be shooting at hogs - and will want quick acquisition. I'll do more reading about these.
 
lever carbine

My pride and joy woods roaming carbine was a Marlin .357, (pre safety) until things got to the point that I could not make out the front bead like I need to really shoot it well. I've resisted putting a scope on it....for the same reasons jmr40 states, more bulk and weight.

My first change to the rifle when I first bought it in the early '80's was from the standard bead and blade sights to a Williams peep, that really helped with accuracy. I ran the peep w/o the aperture. About age 45 or so, I reinstalled the aperture, and that helped with front sight focus for about 10 yrs. Now, things are not so good again.

The most visible front sight for me with a peep seems to the the white stripe XS. Longer barrels help. I can detect a big difference between my stubby Marlin at 18.5" and a similarly sighted Ruger .44 at 20". Things start getting right with an M1 and its 24" barrel. I've shouldered a few 24-26" levers with tang sights, and the picture is much better, but do not own one and question the utility of the tang and long tube for anything but timely long range shooting or paper punching.
 
A "peep sight" works best when close to the eye. A mid-barrel "round hole sight" is something entirely different.
 
A "peep sight" works best when close to the eye. A mid-barrel "round hole sight" is something entirely different.
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Most definitely agree with that--the choices are limited with rossi--but they do make a peep that fits where the safety is and I've thought about doing that--but unlike the vast majority of other lever gun lovers I actually like the safety as I am often dragging the gun around in very heavy woods growth
 
AFAIK you can't put a tang mount on a rossi model 92 without some drilling.
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Not true. Both the rifle versions, the 24" rifle and the 20" short rifle, come already taped with the second hole in the tang. Here is what I used on my 24” Rifle. I really like this setup and I hope this information helps:

I got the sights at Brownells:
• Front - Lyman Globe front sight model 17A - Brownells' p/n. 539-017-444WB (metric dovetail)
• 1ea Lee Shaver Insert Set for Lyman 17A combo card – Brownells' p/n. 781-100-017 (I use the small post)
• Or – 1ea Marbles 45MR 1/16” Brass Bead front sight Marbles p/n 604521, Brownells' p/n. 579-604-521WB
• Rear - Marble Folding Sporting Rear Sight No. 95 - Brownells' p/n. 579-000-082 (you need a folding one so it doesn't block the tang
• Tang - Marble Rossi 1892 Peep Tang Sight - Brownells' p/n. 579-009-807WB (made specifically for your Rossi '92) or Lyman No. 2 1892 Peep Tang Sight – Brownells' p/n. 539-050-002WB (Made for Winchester 1892s)
• Screws - Marble Peep Tang Sight Screw Set (Rossi) - Brownells' p/n. 579-000-101WB (Marbles p/n 995002, again, specifically for your Rossi '92)

Note: Use the existing front and rear sight to line the tang sight up, then remove the front sight and use the rear and tang to line the new one up. Finally, remove the rear sight and use the front and tang to line the folding new one up.

A "peep sight" works best when close to the eye. A mid-barrel "round hole sight" is something entirely different.
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Correct. For the increased DoF I mentioned above, your eye has to look directly through the aperture, therefore, it's best for it to be close to your eye vs a Ghost Ring type sight that's barrel mounted.
 
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Not true. Both the rifle versions, the 24" rifle and the 20" short rifle, come already taped with the second hole in the tang. Here is what I used on my 24” Rifle. I really like this setup and I hope this information helps:
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16" carbine

 
good grief!

Oh my.......I had no idea that the Rossi carbines had that safety!!!!!

Could they have thought of a more obnoxious place to put it?
 
Nice rifle. I had the 357 mag version. I also have a Rossi pump 22 that is a copy of the winchester pump but I disremember the model number. It belonged to my dad. My dad had the tang drilled and tapped for a tang sight. He also had a new lifter installed so it would handle short, long and long rifle rounds. He used that gun to hunt squirrels in his back yard with CB 22 long rounds. And he killed a barrel full or squirrels with it too.

My thoughts are that a tang sight works for stationary targets. If you want to be able to shoot at targets that are moving get a receiver sight. On your gun you will have to have the receiver D&T for the sight. Then you can mount a williams or Lyman receiver sight to the rifle. Remove the aperture insert so you have a ghost ring for fast shots. Of leave the insert in for more precise shots.

I have ran all the available sight options on lever guns. Some I just use with the factory open sights like on my marlin 44 mag. My marlin 357 has a small 1.5x4 power scope. My marlin 30-30 has a weaver 4x on it. The marlin 39A has a 4x scope on it because it is so accurate that to not have a scope on it is to miss its ability to group. And it WILL group.

My winchester 94 made around 1981 has a williams receiver 5D sight on it. I love it. Especially now that I have had cataract surgery and have super sharp long range vision at the sacrifice of close range vision. Thats just the way it is. Reading glasses are cheap.

But of all the sights on lever actions I have tried the receiver sight is the most versatile. You lose some low light use but thats about all.
 
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Thanks for info rat--I'll look into the receiver sight thing(s) I already have Steve's guns kit with video--I've just been too lazy to pull the safety--and I guess I should be embarrassed to say I actually like it since the universal opinion seems to be against them!:confused:
 
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