Tang sight install question

S

stubbicatt

New member
Fellows: I am contemplating installing a tang sight on a Uberti 1873 lever rifle that shows great promise, accuracy wise. I do not wish to remove the barrel sight, as it is great for hasty shots to maybe 150 yards or so.

I wonder, will the barrel sight interfere with use of the tang sight if it is not removed?

Thanks.

--Still thinking this through.
 
1. To use the barrel sight, you would have to lay down the tang sight -- which would then dig into your cheek as you got down on the stock.
2. To then use the tang sight while still having the barrel sight ahead of it would also block out the bottom half of your sight picture.

I've got a Lyman#2 sight on my own `73(s) -- and like my M1A and Garand, snap shots with the aperture are both fast & natural.
All vision goes through the aperture as it comes up, front blade goes straight onto the target with little/no thought of "alignment"
(as is necessarily the case w/ standard open sights).



Try it w/o the barrel sight. You'll like it.
(And you can always put the barrel sight back on if you don't)
 
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I did something similar on a Hawken carbine. There is a trick to it (actually a couple) A forward-folding sight fixes the cheek gouge problem for example.

Positioning is critical! "Measure twice, cut once" is doubly applicable here with the sight both erected & folded!

Mine is set up so the existing leaf sight is set for 50 yds with my preferred load. My ladder sight is set to bottom out at 100 yds. This allows me to use both without interference, provided I just ignore the low looking leaf in the image area when I use the ladder. Beyond 100 its so low I just ignore it.

The sight ladder I used is pretty wide so I also had to ensure clearance for the hammer of the percussion ignition, both folded & erect, but that shouldn't be a problem with your rifle.

(images (C) wogpotter 2013, 2014)
DSCF1029_zps394a3964.jpg


DSCF1028_zps9a20725b.jpg
 
Thanks fellas.

Mehavey, I have a couple I am considering. One is offered by Taylors and Company, another is made by a fellow here in Colorado, but I don't have his information at hand. Both are "lollipop" style sights sort of like the Lyman, but they have a windage adjustment as well as elevation.

The purpose I am considering is for a lever action silhouette match at the club. 80 pound rams at 200, the other critters at 50 yard increments coming towards the firing line. The scoring includes a "hit" for full bullet strikes on the rams and pigs, which don't always topple, especially with the 357 magnum.

The cartridge I am shooting is a 357 magnum, which with no adjustments to the barrel sight hits out to 150 just fine, but the drop off at 200 is such that I have to bring two clicks to the elevator wedge on the barrel sight, and I still have elevation issues. I still go over and under at 200 with regularity, but steady for windage. I haven't settled on a cause, but the 4 or 5 foot discrepancy tells me it has to do with the shooter, not the cartridge, and the other guys suggested a tang sight would really help.

My thought would be to set the tang sight for 200, and maybe the turkeys at 150 with adjustments to sight picture to accommodate that distance, but use the barrel sight which lets me smack the chickens and pigs, and which I really like using. I mean I clobber those chickens!

What I would like to avoid is having to make an elevation adjustment to the tang sight during the course of fire. My reasoning is that the lollipop sights are not as precise as a vernier sight, and not as repeatable, and I would like to be able to "set it and forget it." This is probably the main reason I don't want to remove the barrel sight, plus it is more than adequate for pigs and chickens.

I guess the other reason is that if I remove the barrel sight, I will probably end up buying a globe and post front sight, and at some point, I just have to say "enough," you know? I really like the rifle as it is. Perhaps a little more practice on 200 yard targets will get me in form without having to resort to new sights at all.
 
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The sporting tang sights from Marble's, Lyman, and the Uberti sold by Taylor fold pretty flat, dropping down into the hand hole ahead of the stock comb. I don't think they will poke you in the cheek or eye, but you will have to find a comfortable place for your thumb alongside the tang, not over it.

With 200 yd elevation, the leaf of the barrel sight ought to be out of the peep sight picture, especially if you run the elevator down to the 50 yard notch.
 
If that's your course of fire -- and you want simplicity-- I'd go with a Marble's
(since you will have to fine tune for tang windage to match the barrel sight's
alignment to the front sight).

When folding the tang down for shorter-range targets, just fold up some
bandage gauze into a pad and tape it over the sight w/ a piece of masking
tape so it won't eat your thumb.
 
postscript:

A Marbles is going to look just like this...

PumaTaurusTang.jpg


...and even though it will fold neatly down, you will need to put
an improvised pad over it to grip the stock w/o interference
 
need more pictures.....I have seen two different heights of folding vernier types that should clear your cheek. Both fold forward and are much slimmer that the marbles.
 
Yep. Thats sort of what I thought it would be. As I shoot now, my thumb really neatly sort of presses on the rear of the receiver next to where the hammer falls. The receiver itself is contoured I think for this purpose, as it just fits in there nicely.
 
PumaTaurusTang.jpg


I believe with this marbles you can simply unscrew the big screw and remove the staff when you use the rear open sight. I have one, seems like that was an option, even though I never take my off. That is why I hedge a little.

I am pretty sure most of the tang peeps are all easily and quicky removed with a single screw. No need to fold it down. Just remove and replace in 1 minute. Not an issue at all, unless the match is timed and you have to change distance under the clock.
 
There are several tang sights that allow for the entire elevator to be removed & reinstalled without change of zero. Of course the hinge bottom plate is still there.
 
I have Tang [Marbles] and barrel leaf sights on both my Winchester 94 and my Marlin 39A.

Replaced the barrel leafs with the Marlin folding leaf from Numerich [looks almost exactly like the original leaf/elevator sight except the leaf folds flat].

On both guns I am use to shooting with my thumb alongside the stock instead of wrapped over it.

39A Leaf sited 25/50yrds Tang 100yrds
94 leaf at 75yrds Tang at 150

Of course both site on both rifles are adjustable to any thing I want.

I like the Marbles tangs because they have windage adj.
 
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