Originally Posted by OXN939
Got a potential bead on an old school 1894 that is beat up, in need of love and right up my alley. Problem is, I want to run a peep sight like either the Lyman 66A or Williams 5D, and I'm pretty sure the receiver is not drilled and tapped to accept one. Anyone ever done this on an old '94? What was the approximate cost? How sacrilegious is it to do this to a pre '64? Pictures of the receiver below. Thanks in advance for any input!

[Linked Image from live.staticflickr.com]

I've got 2 94s, both in 32WSP. My grandfather's is from 1907 and has a Lyman tang sight. My project gun is from '67 and has a Williams FP receiver sight, a FireEye fiber optic front, and (blasphemy) a scout rail.

Some thoughts and opinions.

First, I view receiver sights to be period correct. To be $uper period correct, $eek out a vintage Lyman. I believe (you should confirm this) that the old Lymans and current Williams use the same hole pattern. If I'm correct (and I'm often not) that would allow you to toss a Williams in there now till you (or the next owner) finds a period correct Lyman.

I find the Lyman tang sight to far superior to the Williams in terms of visual acuity. Getting the aperture (aka peep) closer to the eye makes a huge difference, particularly out at 200 yds.

My tang sight has no windage adjustment and it took careful work and some beer (sorry Gramps) can shims to get it perfectly(ish) vertical. Prior to that, it would move to one side increasingly when adjusted higher since it was out of plum. In contrast, the FP has click adjustments for both elevation and windage. I have a 5D on an air gun and I think the FP is well worth the additional cost.

My grandfather never flipped his express sight and just used the short zero for 50-100 yds. Where we hunt in Vermont, 50 yds is a long shot. He also never used the tang sight. He was a hunter, not a shooter, and the tang sight would get busted while tracking in the tight woods if left up. And left down, it would just be an unneeded complexity for quick shots. I settled on setting my tang sight for a longer 140 yd zero. I figured if I needed to make a long shot, I would have the time to flip it up.

My eyes have been getting worse and I like shooting at the range as well as hunting. I got a tall front sight which allows me to get a sight picture above the scout rail I've added. I'm going to move to see through rings so I can duplicate the high/low approach; peeps zeroed for 100 for quick and close and a 150 ud zero on the scope for long shots.

Sorry for the length and hope something here is helpful. All this to say, I prefer the Lyman tang sight at the range, particularly when shooting lead, and I strongly prefer the FP/FireEye combo for tracking.

Last edited by Pinnah; 12/01/23.