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Winchester 94 Sights


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Any favorites for Winchester 94 sights?  Nineteen Seventy-Seven model, pre- AE.  :)

 

My long-time favorite on a Marlin 336 is a steel Lyman 66LA I installed over fifty years ago.  New ones (66A for the Winchester) are aluminum... and surprisingly pricey.  :huh:

 

Both my Marlin and my son's Winchester are .30-30 ~ want to get both up for this deer season.

 

 

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my fave lever gun long range sight is a Lyman No 2 (which is just over $100)

941FE987-8B48-4787-BC73-252EB860C27C.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

I may have one of those old Lyman 66 sights lying around.  If I find it are you interested?

 

Yup~!  :D

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I'm quite fond of the Williams 5D.

https://shop.williamsgunsight.com/ecommerce/p/5dwinchester-9436-001398

 

There's two little screws on the left of the Winchester 94 receiver. And the Marlin 336 receiver for that matter. And this sight is made to screw in there.

 

Winchester9430-3038-5530-30.jpg.3a6a8badb038473177781ed35a233d53.jpg

 

There is one on that top 94, and one on this 39 down below.

 

Marlin39A22LR188938WCF.jpg.d2e6d628cf24b57d717e0cbcfb9437b0.jpg

 

MSRP is about 50 bucks, but it's about 40 at Midway.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1005998569?pid=583902

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I have XS Sights peep and white stripe front sights on my Win. 94AE carbine and my Marlin 336. Both are 30-30s.

I have tried many different iron sights. These are my favorites. 
 

Unfortunately Winchester sights are a backorder option right now. Last month they just said “Unavailable” so they must be getting them made soon. 
https://xssights.com/products/sights/hunting-rifle-sights/winchester/

 

Here is a link to their Marlin sights. 
Unfortunately these sights come with a rail…unless you also want a rail then, Yippee! :D
https://xssights.com/products/sights/hunting-rifle-sights/marlin/

 

You can get different sized peeps / ghost rings for rear sights. They come wit two, a .231 and a.191”, I think. Going by memory. 
 

When I put these on my Winchester 94 I could bust clays lying on a dirt pile 80 yards away firing quickly and hit every one. I did the “attacking bear test” and would get at least one kill shot every time I tried. 

 

Attacking Bear Test

(I did not come up with this. I read about it 30 years ago.)

 

- Take 5 pieces of 8.5 x 11” paper and put a 3” black dot in the center - dot represents a bear nose. A nose shot straight at a running bear with a penetrating bullet should hit the brain or brain stem. 


- Put each sheet on a target stand, pole or board with the dot 3-3.5’ off the ground. This represents the height of the bear nose on a running bear.

 

- Place 1 target at 50 yards then the remaining 4 at 40, 30, 20, 10 yards from the firing line. Stagger to targets side to side at about 12-18” to represent the bears nose moving while it’s running.

 

- A bear running hard can cover 50 yards in 3 seconds. 
 

- You have 3 seconds to shoot at each target starting at 50 then working your way in to 10 yards. You shoot 50, 40, 30, 20, 10.

Now count the number of hits in the nose (black dot)

Do it over and over to get better. 
 

I could get at least 1 kill shot each time, once I practiced. Sometimes I could get 2.  Out of all my guns, handguns and long guns, my 94 became the gun I always carried in the woods in Oregon. It was the only one I could consistently run that drill with. 
 

I was told there were no Brown or Grizzly bears in Oregon.  There were black bears, but black bears don’t leave brown bear tracks. I would encounter bear tracks occasionally and some were Brownie tracks.  

I typed all this just to show how well a white stripe front sight viewed through a peep sight can be beneficial. 
I didn’t put XS Sights on my Marlin until after I left Oregon. 

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Pat, that exercise sounds like a ton o’ fun ~ will be trying that one! 

 

It reminds me of a “game” Half-Breed Pete, his brother Mark, and I once played out in the boonies.  We took two or three old tires and wired circular pieces of cardboard inside ‘em – essentially filling the center.  Then we hauled ‘em to the top of a hill, and took turns “launching” the tires down the hill.  The other fellas would be positioned at a point about fifty yards from and ninety degrees to the path the tires would be following, and took turns shooting at the imaginary “running deer” as they raced and bounded along.  Shooting my 336 .30-30 with the Lyman receiver sight, I did the best – probably owing to a lot of duck hunting, I quickly figured out how much to lead the things and would usually put at least three bullets through the target out of a full magazine of six.  That was a blast – no pun intended!

 

@Sedalia Dave if you happen to come across an extra one o’ those sights, I would absolutely be interested!  :)  That would be a marked improvement over the factory barrel mounted sight!  Deer season starts here on September 21; Sassparilla Kid and I have decided to use our respective lever .30-30’s - he now has the Winchester 94 that I bought new back in 1977.  We have other options, but these should be suitable for the terrain we’ll be in.  And we have an ample supply of (dreaded, california-mandated copper bullet) ammunition loaded up for ‘em.

 

Now, personally, I’m going to go in the other direction with the old Marlin.  I bought it back in 1971 from F. Bob Chow, in San Francisco.  [boy, were times ever different!]  Marlin was running a “special,” rifle (carbine) with a factory mounted scope – I couldn’t resist.  But by 1972, I had removed the scope and put it on an old J C Higgins .22, and replaced it with the Lyman receiver sight and a Marbles Sheard front sight.  It worked quite well for me for several decades, and I took some deer with it.

 

Well, my eyes aren’t what they used to be – plus, the beginning of cataracts (not bad enough to surgically correct yet).  I can still pass the driver license test without glasses, and the peepers are still correctable to 20 20.  But when I was younger, they were 20 10 ~ my eye doc said I had “hyper-acuity” vision.  And when I started wearing glasses, for years it was correctable to better than 20 20.  I gotta say… it was reeeally cool!  I could literally see stuff no one else could!  :lol:

 

But, at any rate, for this year I’m going to try a scope again.  This afternoon I mounted an old Weaver K2.5 with a sweet tapered post reticle on the Marlin.  Smaller than the one that came with it fifty-three years ago! 

(But don’t anyone tell OLG ~ he likely wouldn’t approve; he once remarked that my putting a sling on the thing was akin to “putting socks on a rooster!”)  :rolleyes:

 

image.thumb.jpeg.1e5ebb9f3fa4c6291304ffe186d5f6fd.jpeg

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I run the Williams sights on my 94 .

Love the look and no interface with the Stock where you grip the rifle .

 

20240816_110857.jpg

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8 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

But don’t anyone tell OLG ~ he likely wouldn’t approve; he once remarked that my putting a sling on the thing was akin to “putting socks on a rooster!”

I have noticed that those that have issues with what other people do with their guns or money never volunteer their own to help you avoid irking them.

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9 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Pat, that exercise sounds like a ton o’ fun ~ will be trying that one! 

It is fun. It also can give one a sense of humility. ;)

 

Up until I did that test I was carrying a .45 Colt Vaquero when traipsing about or if there was a lot of traipsing I carried a much lighter S&W 327 Night Guard (8 shot .357 w/ 2.5” barrel)

I could not pass the test with either, though I came close with the 327. 
 

I think I would like to try that test soon with my Ruger PC Carbine or my SFAR. Though around here the black bears are well fed and more docile and there are no furry cougars. 

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10 hours ago, Rooster Ron Wayne said:

I run the Williams sights on my 94 .

Love the look and no interface with the Stock where you grip the rifle .

 

20240816_110857.jpg

 

DANG, Rooster!  Just how long is that barrel???   That's plumb sweet!  :lol:

 

What's the history on it?  What calibre...?  :)

 

And I agree with you on the tang sight.  I truly love 'em on some rifles ~ particularly those that are single shot with long barrels.  Oh... and as nice as the Lyman tang sights are, I prefer Marbles - windage adjustable; no shimming required.  Which, by the way, is not consistent at different ranges.  ;)

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8 hours ago, Pat Riot said:

I have noticed that those that have issues with what other people do with their guns or money never volunteer their own to help you avoid irking them.

I have noticed that too.

 

I was once berated because I shortened the stock of my "brand new" '94 'Trails End'  in .45Colt to fit me.

I told him that 'off the rack' trousers were too long for me too, and that it was mine, and not his, and to please go away (perhaps in not as many words)  🙃

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16 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

It reminds me of a “game” Half-Breed Pete, his brother Mark, and I once played out in the boonies.  We took two or three old tires and wired circular pieces of cardboard inside ‘em – essentially filling the center.  Then we hauled ‘em to the top of a hill, and took turns “launching” the tires down the hill.  The other fellas would be positioned at a point about fifty yards from and ninety degrees to the path the tires would be following, and took turns shooting at the imaginary “running deer” as they raced and bounded along.  Shooting my 336 .30-30 with the Lyman receiver sight, I did the best – probably owing to a lot of duck hunting, I quickly figured out how much to lead the things and would usually put at least three bullets through the target out of a full magazine of six.  That was a blast – no pun intended!

I would like to try that as well. It sounds fun. 

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18 minutes ago, Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062 said:

I have noticed that too.

 

I was once berated because I shortened the stock of my "brand new" '94 'Trails End'  in .45Colt to fit me.

I told him that 'off the rack' trousers were too long for me too, and that it was mine, and not his, and to please go away (perhaps in not as many words)  🙃

I know exactly what you mean. The little people just don’t comprehend greatness…or minding their own business. ;)

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I wandered into the LGS to have my 87 stock shortened (i short stroke that LOOOONG throw of it’s lever).  I was told “it’s the right length for me” by shorty behind the counter.   I’m all, “it isn’t yours”.  

 

Which reminds me - it’s been a few weeks past the time promised.  I’ll drive by tuesday and if it isn’t done, I’ll just take it home and do it myself.  

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That reminds me of the time back in 1972 or '73 when I took my old Stevens 5100 doube to a smith to have the chokes changed from F/M to M/IC.  Simple enough procedure.

 

When I went to pick it up, he flat refused to release it to me.  "I cannot legally release your gun to you without recording the serial number.  It doesn't have a serial number, so you can't have it."

 

Well, we had rather spirited discussion about that.  Finally resolved it by allowing him to stamp my birthdate onto the "water table."  He recorded that in his "books," and I got my gun back.  :wacko:

 

 

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On 8/28/2024 at 2:38 AM, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Any favorites for Winchester 94 sights?  Nineteen Seventy-Seven model, pre- AE.  :)

 

My long-time favorite on a Marlin 336 is a steel Lyman 66LA I installed over fifty years ago.  New ones (66A for the Winchester) are aluminum... and surprisingly pricey.  :huh:

 

Both my Marlin and my son's Winchester are .30-30 ~ want to get both up for this deer season.

 

 

 

Finally found the sight when I was looking for something else. :D

 

It is a Redfield Model 70. Unfortunately is came off a Marlin 36A-DL so I'm almost positive it will not fit your Winchester 94

 

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5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

Finally found the sight when I was looking for something else. :D

 

It is a Redfield Model 70. Unfortunately is came off a Marlin 36A-DL so I'm almost positive it will not fit your Winchester 94

 

 

Well Dave, I do appreciate your keeping me in mind and looking!  :)

 

I'll keep on the search ~ they're out there.  I did just score a cool sight on Ebay for a 1926 Savage!  :D 

 

I had two of these Savages; a 1926 in .250 Savage (.250-3000) and the slightly heavier 1926 version in .300 Savage.  I passed the .250 on to my son several years ago, and intend to get the .300 up and running in the foreseeable future.  Sweet li'l rifles, they look like a baby Springfield.  The 1920 is under six lbs, and generally had one of three possible sight configurations:  the typical barrel mounted semi-buckhorn, the super sweet Lyman 54 bolt tailpiece mount, or a Marble's S20 receiver sight.

 

The .300 has the base for the tailpiece Lyman, but is missing the slide.  The .250 I gave the Kid has the Marble's; I always did like it.  So, replacement slides for the Lyman are non-existent, and the whole sights are quite dear - like three hundred bucks or so.  But I did find a Marbles!  :rolleyes:

 

Savage Model 20 with Lyman 54 bolt sight   image.thumb.jpeg.e267683863ede7047cd5728f88e92384.jpeg LYMAN 54 SIGHT Savage 1920 $299.00 - PicClick

 

 

Savage Model 20 with Marble's S20 Sight    image.jpeg.6ae8930a2f75ef2bc646291bfd41d55d.jpeg Looking for Marble S20 peep sight - 24hourcampfire

 

 

The Rifle   image.thumb.jpeg.93c7f0ea903027103fc61f3469ed56a2.jpeg           image.png.bfc4178e9157f9943fd609f3973dad1c.png

 

 

 

  

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