Just picked up a pre 64 FW in 30/06 and I am looking for a peep sight that doesnt require wood removal. Talley makes one that fits their bases. Anyone have any suggestions?

Ashley Outdoors makes an express peep sight set for H&H length Model 70 actions. They might make one for standard pre-64 actions as well.

when I bought my first FWT in 1988 It had a Williams peep sight. The stock was not modified.

The Lyman 48 WJS is the gold standard....

A post 1947 Lyman 48 WJS is the gold standard and does not require stock inlet. For a hunting rifle I would stick with StaySet knobs (coin slot).

No other sight comes close to a Lyman 48 WJS.

Be careful as some that are assembled from mismatched parts may not work or work smoothly; they may be just fine but they may not as needed. They are are precision individually hand fit (and serialed) sight.

I checked ebay and several of the Lyman 48 jws have sold for almost $300??? Might have to go a differest route.

Thanks for the replies

That is awfully high. You don't need a minty one with the box to hunt with.

$300.00 is way too much for a Lyman 48 WJS, $125-$135.00 should buy one nice enough to go on a hunting rifle. 48's with the Stayset knobs can be bought for less than that as collectors shun the Stayset knobs preferring the knurled target knobs. The later WJS models do not require the stock to be notched.

I have a vintage Redfield 80 on my 1954 M70FW - not quite the pizazz of the Lyman, but just as accurate and correct for the rifle. Look for the Model 70W or Model 80W (quick detach). I also run one on my 1957 M94 - the old Redfields are good sights. Haven't checked in a while but $100 ought to do it. Odessa

+1 on the Redfield 80 receiver sight, an all steel sight built just as well as the Lyman 48. They just don't have the cult following the Lyman 48 does therefor they are more reasonably priced. I like the coin slotted knobs on the Redfield better than Lyman Stayset knobs but that's just a personal preference.

I use Redfields and Lyman 57's on a couple rifles and like them a lot. Definitely a cheaper but viable alternative to a 48. But, on the other hand, I have 48's on some rifles too, and certainly hold them in higher regard. 48's were hand fitted at the factory and their slides are dovetailed into the bases which spells accuracy of movement. Are they worth the extra money? On a target gun, yes - repeatability of adjustments is superb. On a hunting rifle? Not so much. But, there is the coolness factor...

Thanks for all the input!!

The currently produced Williams 5D sights will fit and not require wood removal. They will, however, require a taller front sight.

The pre 64 M70 Featherweights I have came with a dovetail slot in their barrels where a Lyman type folding open sight was installed.

Just get regular scope mount bases you can see over and you can have both a scope and irons!

Among others you can see over the Weaver scope mount bases.





$16.99

For you guys that have a peep sight on your model 70's, what do you feel is your effective range?

Depends on a lot of factors- light, woods (thick or open) or open fields/clearcuts, steady rest or not. Generally on average I would say 200 yards on an average size deer in good light in the open, and that's stretching it for me. Luckily that would constitute a very long shot where I hunt.

Depends on how much you practice.

I have competed at 600 yards with a peep sighted M70.

I zero mine at 50-75 yards on my hunting rifles but if I wanted to I wouldn't hesitate to zero at 100 and shoot at 200 yards.

Similar, I zero my Lyman receiver peep on my 300 H&H to hit dead on 3"s high at 100 yards, I want the bullet to land approximately +3 smack on top of the front bead, lands at +3 at 200 yards also.

Thought being, run the bead up just into the brisket on an animal, having the bullet impacting high makes sure I dont cover the animal with the bead itself, works very well for the ranges I hunt.

The 220 gr Partitions leaving the muzzle at 2750 will perform very well out to 300 yards, can't think of any animal short of ele or cape buffalo I wouldn't turn this load loose on.

I wish my eyes were good enough to use peep sights...

Where we hunt (Vermont) with that buck law a scope can see a 3" antler better than irons.

Remove the aperture when I hunt with a receiver sight....

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

At dawn, dusk, or any other low light hunting situation.

I'm very thankful/lucky to have good vision at this stage of life.

Where I hunt I have about 100 yards as the max to see a deer let alone shoot it. I also hunt where a legal buck must have at least three points on one side. I use a binocular to confirm a shootable buck, and I've zeroed my rifle (Pre-64 FWT .30-06 with a Redfield receiver sight) to put the bullet under the center of the bead at 100 yards. That way, the shot always falls under the bead, so I just put the bead where I want to hit the deer. If I'm shooting at longer ranges, I use a rifle with a scope. Like the others, I pull out the aperture while hunting.

Removing the aperture to create a ghost ring is all the rage these days. I don't get it. Unless one has good sharp young eyes, a ghost ring becomes a "no ring" and without any definition of a circle, how can the eye find the center of it?

Another purpose of an aperture is to focus light. Unfortunately while the smaller the aperture the more focused an image becomes, it comes at the cost of diminished light transmittal. The solution, for me, is to use a Merit adjustable aperture. It works like a camera iris and can be opened or closed to match current light conditions, and because of its relatively wide rim it always provides a well defined perimeter of the circle.

I grew up as a target shooter and had the 6 o'clock hold drilled into my head. To rely on the bullet impacting somewhere under my bead is anathema to me, plus even a 1/16" bead blocks out a heckuva large amount of the target at 100 yards. For me it's all about the precision of having the bullet impact at the top of the bead, plus it makes holdover precision for longer shots more achievable... IMO.

All of that assumes a bead front sight. What about the guys who use a sourdough front sight, or a blade front sight? Those of us who employ all of the above on different guns are well advised to simply employ a 6 o'clock hold and be done with it.

Different strokes, I guess.

Having trained in the military, a ghost ring is second nature to me, so no issue there. I can still shoot expert with irons. But I don't use that as a yardstick for measuring hunting accuracy.

With a bead sight, if I know the shot is centered in the bead out to 100, I still know where it is going to hit with relative certainty. Certainly enough to put one in a deer's lungs within 100 yards. If the deer is farther out, I will not see it. If I am hunting in a place where I could see the deer over 100 yards, I have a different rifle. If the bead covers more than the vital area, the deer is too far and I don't shoot.

The merit adjustable may work for you, I've never tried one. but I doubt I will, because I'd hate to feel the need to mess with it when a shot could present itself. Just out of curiosity, do you adjust it as the light changes, or leave it set all day? I tend to leave even my variable scopes on one setting unless by some odd circumstance I have time and need to adjust.

Were I shooting targets, the 6 o'clock hold would be appropriate, but that is a defined, unmoving target. With a deer, it's size may differ, it may be presented at different angles, and it may be moving. Different situation entirely.

So, for me with my limitations, and the environment within which I hunt, my system works quite well. In another situation, I may vary my technique.

YMMV.

Thanks for all the input guys. I had a model 71 with the bolt peep at one time and found it best when I remvoved the
aperture. Im trying to locate a Lyman at a resonable cost.

Yup, different strokes.

With the Merit I start out with it wide open as the sun is coming up. I close it up as the day brightens. No big deal for someone who is intimate with his equipment.