Which sights for Marlin Guide Gun?

M

MountainMan

New member
I'm thinking of acquiring a Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70 for short-range hunting of (and defense against) animals up to black bears and moose.

Which sights would you recommend? I don't want a scope or anything electronic. Perhaps something hi-viz, fiber-optic, tritium-powered red dot, etc? I'd like the best sights, regardless of price. I'd especially like to know specific brands/models of sights you've actually used on the Marlin Guide Gun or similar guns. Thanks.
 
Guide gun I shot just last week had a set of Williams peep sights on it. Nice sights, accurate and fast, at least for shooting cans.
 
I put a receiver peep site on my Marlin (don't know if it was Willaims or Lyman though). Increased the site raduis by about 6 inches and was much more to my liking.

It would be cool it you could add a small hi-viz bead to the front to compliment the rear peep! Would also be a little quicker I think.

By the way, you can take the inner aperature out of the rear peep and make it more of a ghost ring if you need/want to.

Hope that helps some,
 
I put the williams peep sight on mine. It is about a 1000% improvement over the stock buckhorn. Also, the Williams set came with a hi-viz front sight that I have not yet installed.

H
 
I've use none of these but have recently done a decent amount of research on the subject.

Williams Peep - decent, a little less expensive than the Lyman

Lyman Peep - Higher quality than the Williams, a little more expensive than the Williams, more positive sight adjustments, 2 sizes of apertures provided, one small for target shooting and one a little bigger for hunting, also can remove the aperture entirely and have a crude ghost ring sight.

Ashley Outdoors Ghost Ring - High quality, stout, fast aquisition, not the best for precision range work.

Wild West - High quality, with strong ears on each side to protect the peep, expensive, comparable in usage to the AO Ghost Ring.

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You say you want it for short range hunting, defense against large bear, and you don't care about money and just want the best sight. With those requirements, the Wild West sights seem to be what you need ( www.wildwestguns.com ). Maybe with a Williams, HiViz fiber optic front sight.

Kilgor
 
Mine has a Lyman reciever mounted peep on the rear with a Williams firesight (fiber optic) on the front.

As has been said by others, I remore the apeture for hunting to get a ghost ring effect. Works really well!

JPM
 
I put Ashley Outdoor's ghost ring sight on my 1895GS. Got it from Dillon, it was really easy to install, and moves the rear sight back farther (the rear sight is installed at the back of the reciever where it is drilled and tapped). Great target aquisition, I figure if I can hit a pop can at 50 yards, bear and moose will be no problem. I also installed the Ashley Outdoors Scout scope mount, so If I want to scope it with an Intermediate Eye Relief scope, I'm ready to roll. Also the mount doesn't obstruct the ghost ring sight.

It'll be a while before I try it on bear and moose, but soon it will be tested against a Boar or two.
 
thanks for the replies. wild west rear sight and williams front sight look like the best choices.

i'd still like to know if anyone's tried the williams 3-dot fiber optic set or a tritium-powered red dot on a marlin guide gun...
 
I started off with the Lyman reciever sight on my 444S, but it couldn't withstand the recoil. I had two of them come apart; both while confirming my zero just prior to elk hunting. The .45/70 has significantly more recoil than my .444 if you are shooting max loads with heavy bullets. The American Rifleman ran an article a few months ago on the .450 Marlin. I set my 444S up, just like they had the .450 in that article. Ashley ghost ring sight set. Ashley Lever Scout rail. Leupold Scout scope. Leupold QDW rings. The scope comes on and off at will to allow the use of the sights if you desire. This is a great set up and is somewhat more versitile than just sights or just scope. I actually can't see myself removing the scope, but I have that option if need be.
 
The Ashley Outdoor ghost rings are great sights, off the bench my guide gun will do an easy 2.5'' group at a hundred . They are also very fast and work great on fast moving critters in the thick stuff. They also work great in low light situations they're easy to see. And as far as using the 45-70 for an animal defensive gun I have no problem using mine in Big bear country with the right ammo. Try Buffalo Bore ammunition they've got some stout stuff for the 45-70. And by the way guys do you know that Ashley Emerson the inventeor of AO sights and and other cool hunting stuff, has split with the company that is now calling itself AO sights INC. And they are no longer allowed to use the Ashley Outdoor name. Thats why the recent name change occured.
 
I have a Williams Fool-Proof receiver sight and a Williams "Fire Sight" (hi-viz plastic) front. Works very well, but the Wild West rear sight looks indestructible. One nice thing about the Williams FP, though, is that you can change aperture sizes.
 
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