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1860 Henry Coin front sight


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i would like to put a nickel or Mexican Coin on my Military Uberti 1860 Henry for a front sight. I bought this rifle as new and I think the previous owner filed it down rather than getting a taller sight as it shoots HIGH.

 

Correction shoots HIGH. Iphone typing on a sleepless night at 2 AM

 

Pictures? Advice on the sight.from owners of same? Approximate height?

 

Also the safety of having a Henry follower stick makes sense to me as well as solving the "Henry Hop" issue. Advice? Diameter? Length?

 

I saw a picture of supposedly back in the day solid brass front ring sight. Is this true? All one piece ring it was?

 

Thanks guys,

 

Crayfish

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The "cheater stick" is a 1/2" diameter dowel cut to a length of 4 1/2". There are folks who sell a new front sight for the Henry with a brass bead, I'd suggest one of those before trying a coin.

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As already mentioned, you need a lower front sight. OR a taller rear, and the taller rear would let you put whatever you'd like up front.

 

Also, with stock rear sights that are stamped metal, sometimes the notched part is somewhat flat which makes the rear shorter than it could be. Sometimes bending the rear to stand taller works in those cases where you need to raise the point of impact some.

 

Back in the day, there was a combination front sight that would look like you describe. It could be flipped one way to get an exposed post/blade, or flipped back to get a post that was shaded by the ring you describe. It was not a very short front as the ring laid flat on the barrel when down, requiring the post/blade to be tall enough to be seen over that ring. And of course, the post inside the ring had to be the same height as the other post/blade if the marksman wanted both options to shoot to the same poa.

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Fish, if it currently shoots low you will make it worse with a taller front sight. Do the math, teacher. :wacko:

Oops, I meant it shoots high. Wrote at 2 AM
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7/16 Dowell. Epoxie a fired case on each end so it won't drag in the tube. Put a pin thru it to act as a stop to keep the stick from fouling the action. Put a 10 round stack in the tube with the action closed. Stick should be about a 1/4 inch short of the end of the tube to leave room for the carrier block to "push back" the second round.

 

Coffinmaker

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Howdy

 

There were two slightly different front sights applied to the original Henry rifles. Prior to Serial Number approximately 12XX the front sight was rounded over evenly front and back. After SN 12XX until the end of production the front sight looked pretty much like the one Uberti installs on their version of the Henry.

 

Here are a couple of photos of the front sight on my Henry. This sight is stock, I have not altered it at all, except for a few dings that have happened after using it for a bunch of years in CAS. At its tallest point the front sight is .240 above the base that it sits on. It is .350 above the barrel flat. Original Henry rifles had a front sight made of German Silver. I do not know what metal Uberti is using for their front sight.

 

As I said in the other post, my Henry is pretty much dead nuts at CAS distances with this front sight and the Track of the Wolf rear sight.

 

 

 

frontsight01_zpse617da4e.jpg

 

frontsight02_zpsb73bb566.jpg

 

 

The type of sight that flipped to expose two different blades was called a Beach Front Sight. I have searched through my collection of photos of original Henry rifles and I have not found an example of one with a Beach Front Sight on it. Not saying it was never done, but I have not found an example.

 

Here are a couple of links to Beach Front Sights. How easy or difficult they would be to mount one on a Henry I have no idea.

 

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/875/1/FS-DP-BEACH

 

http://www.buffaloarms.com/red_river_front_sights_pr-4074.aspx

 

I did find one photo of an original Henry that had a hooded front sight dovetailed to the barrel directly behind the factory front sight. Probably had some sort of post inside the hood. The factory front sight was still in place, the hooded sight was taller. This rifle also still had its original ladder rear sight mounted on the barrel.

 

With all due respect, I do not take kindly to the term 'cheater stick'. I prefer to call the stick I place in the magazine after loading the ammo a spacer stick. It is enough of a challenge to be shooting a Henry as a main match rifle and anything that can be done to make it a bit easier and safer is not cheating.

 

Regardless, here is a link to another forum with photos showing how I made my spacer stick.

 

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,15500.0.html

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Btt for additional question

 

Does any manufacturer have a collar complete aftermarket front sight for the Uberti 1860?

 

I cheapest place I found to buy a complete STOCK front sight replacement was at Taylors. Not surprisingly Taylors has come to my rescue before.

 

My good friend who has better fix it skills then I do wants to have a back up site in case we screw up replacing the upright piece that has been filed down this weekend.

 

Thanks,

 

The Mudbug

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It's obvious from the picture you sent the sight is leveled at the lowest point on the front of the now rectangular blank.

 

My buddy and I are going to take the sight ring off and use the measurements you sent to cut a blank from brass stock or a coin to replace it.

 

Jim is more of a hand at these tedious endeavors than I. He suggested we have a back up plan on a replacement part in case we break the ring in the repair.

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

On top of SASS shoots we like to go plink and shoot paper at the Best of The West Range near Jim's home in South Texas. Not that I would shoot this distance, but they even have a 400 or 500 yard reactionary target area.

 

Mudbug

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