I have a Winchester 1886 ELR (new edition, Japan manufacture, purchased in 2001) which I've decided I have to get serious about. By serious, I mean get it into shape to take hunting, which the simple open barrel rear sight is simply not adequate. I want to be able to use this rifle on general North American game out to 250 yards. As such, I've decided to go to a receiver or tang sight.
My first choice for an aperture sight is the Lyman tang sight, which I've mounted on an 1892 and an 1894 in the past, and I'm comfortable with it. But the "modern" 1886 was made with a tang safety, which precludes putting a tang sight on the gun unless I send it to a 'smith and have the tang safety disabled. The alternative is an adjustable receiver-mounted aperture sight, such as the old Redfield, or a Lyman. I haven't looked at the newer Lyman receiver sights, but have heard they're made of plastic. (I want to use this rifle out to 250+ yards, so an X/S express sight is NOT what I'm looking for...)
So, I'm looking for some opinions here: tang vs receiver, and if tang, who knows a reputable levergunsmith who does the tang safety disable job reliably?
