Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Help with old .22

Stopped by one of the local pawn shops today, and saw a rather odd gun in the rack. At first, I thought it was an old Daisy .22, but then noticed it had a lever. Pulled it down, and found it was an old single shot Revelation 103. According to Google, its nothing more than a rebadged Savage 89.





Its a pretty neat little rifle, and nothing like any other "normal" lever .22 rifle. Its closer to a falling block, where the rear action block pivots down once the lever is dropped.





It takes a little bit to get a LR shell in place, but ejection is crisp. Its not difficult, just different than anything I've ever messed with. Actually has a really good trigger, and doesn't seem to be too complicated. I doubt I will be taking it apart, as replacement parts are almost non-existent.

Speaking of replacement parts, the only thing wrong with the rifle is its missing the front sight. I say missing, but it looks like it was actually ground off.









I'm not sure what I am going to do about the front sight. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what its supposed to even look like. I've tried finding a replacement, but no luck so far. I have found a couple similar styled sights on eBay, but not sure if they are the correct diameter. The barrel is 0.580", and the mag tube is 0.505" in diameter. The barrel/mag band is 0.590/0.515", so I would need to find something close. A Marlin 150 front sight looks close, or even a Marlin 70, but that would require me moving the barrel band back.

I believe I could move the barrel band back 1/4", and then maybe simply drill/tap for a generic front sight. Looks like just about any plain front ramp style would work, just have to find one.

Any suggestions?

Looks like the Ithaca that was made by Erma, IIRC, in the 60's.

IIRC 70 and may not as I am going on 70. Its a Ithaca mod.49

It is a Ithaca 49, gun parts corp has a front sight
for it, cost $12.95

I found a few online, but their description has me a little hesitant to order. I mic'd my barrel, and it comes out at 0.580" in diameter...they list their sight as fitting 0.560".

Now, the likelihood of Ithaca using different parts is slim, but I don't want to end up with a part I can't use. I'm really tempted to simply drill and tap my own front sight, and move the front band assembly back 1/4". The front sight/barrel band on these guns is held in place with a set screw, and isn't the most robust design.

On the other hand, that is a lot of work for a gun that may not shoot minute-of-can at 25 yards!

So your barrel is 0.58" and the part 0.56".

a dowel rod and some sand paper makes that happen....

Ditto. It looks like pot metal and probably take all of 5 minutes to hone to fit.

Speaking of pot metal, what's under the paint on the receiver? In the pic it looks like aluminum or something where the paint is worn away.

The Ithaca 49 was a dandy little rifle, well made and accurate. This one, even though it copies the Martini-like design of the Ithaca looks to be very crudely made, like in a jungle workshop somewhere. I wouldn't invest too much time or money in it.

Looks exactly like my Ithaca 49. If it is its probably made of aluminum wanted to get mine reblued a few years ago and that's how found out.

I'm assuming the receiver is some kind of die-cast zinc alloy, but not sure. I vaguely remember it being magnetic, need to check again to make sure.

Just checked, and I *think* the receiver and lever may actually be aluminum.

Hot chamber die cast ZAMAC.

GTC

+1 on the dowel rod, remember it's a press fit and 0.02 isent much metal to work with, plus I'm sure the pot metal will streched alittle. Don't want it to just slide on with finger pressure, as it will shoot loose

Ok, little bit of an update.

I gave up on the idea of drilling/tapping my own set of sights, and instead ordered a replacement front sight off eBay for an Ithaca 49 for $17 (about 1/3 what I paid for the rifle). Problem is, the sight won't fit over the barrel. It looks like the front sight band is also die cast, and the Ithaca guns must have a had a smaller diameter barrel. My barrel mic's at 0.585" in diameter, with the previous band being 0.590". The replacement I picked up is 0.550", so a decent amount of metal needs to be removed before I can make it work. This really isn't a bad thing, as this will ensure an absolute tight fit for the front sight. Problem is, I am not sure the best method of removing minute amounts of metal from the inside....any suggestions?

I think there's your answer

I have one of the Ithaca 49s in 22 wmr . Fun little rifle and I'll agree with the above poster . Wooden dowel rod and sandpaper. Possibly a round file nearly the same diameter.