Hi everyone. I have a pre-64 Md. 70 featherweight in 308 that I plan on having rebored by JES to 358 Win. I thought it would be nice to have a peep sight installed and keep it iron sighted for my intended purpose. I want to keep the action original and I don’t want to drill holes in the receiver. Does anyone make a quality peep sight that would mount to the existing receiver holes?
I think it really depends on how seriously you plan to employ the sight. The simplest ones are rather of the notion reflected above. If you're good with that, go for it! A more seriously dedicated sight will probably be of the "L" shaped type with good sized aperture, vertical and horizontal range slide-scale components. The Lyman Model 48WJS, remains to my mind, the Cadillac of the "serious breed". breed. Moving down the scale of sophisticated dedication dedication there are a variety of units. The "Williams" units reflected decent econo units of alloy.
The nineteen twenties through sixties were the "era of the aperture sights and some precision, quite beautiful models produced. The good news, all pre '64 Model 70 rifles were drilled and tapped on left aft receiver area for mounting such sights. Two holes. The bad news only in the fact that most of thse truly great sights are long discontinued. Available, but pricey. A caveat is that although as noted, mounting them according to factory provisions should be a snap, MOST required receiver wood inletting. That last "Third Model" of the Lyman 48, a so-called "sweet spot" "typically didn't require any factory wood alterations either. Below a pix of one such Lyman 48 on a Model 70 of 1960 vintage in .338 Win Mag.
I'd suggest avoiding altering any factory original pre '64 genre! Winchester offered Lyman and Redfield aperture sights factory fitted. You should be able to fit an aperture sight to meet your demands without difficulty. But for inletting hazard, a screwdriver endeavor!
Got it, I plan on putting one on a rifle. Might have to give it a try.
I checked into these a few years ago. I expect you may also need a higher front sight which I did not want to use. I measured the rear aperture height with my Redfield 75 sighted in and discussed the required height with Andy @ Skinner. He was willing to custom mill his base to a minimum height, .070" lower than his standard, but it was still higher than my rifle (30-06 FWT) required. I wanted to keep my Redfield sourdough front sight and the factory Winchester hood. Just an FYI from my investigation.
Try the Lyman 48WJS and then try that woefully lacking in adjustment Skinner, and if you still prefer the Skinner you can re-sell the Lyman easy-peasy. The Lyman 57 is functional, for sure, but it just ain't a Lyman 48.
But it does beg the question: why do you need to drill more holes in the receiver? They came d/t'ed for both receiver sights and scope mounts from the factory.
And another question, out of curiosity, what's the perceived advantage of .358 over .308? Animal to self: "Boy I'm sure glad that hunter only shot me in the chest with a .30 caliber bullet. If he'd nailed me with a .35 I'd be a goner."
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
Try the Lyman 48WJS and then try that woefully lacking in adjustment Skinner, and if you still prefer the Skinner you can re-sell the Lyman easy-peasy. The Lyman 57 is functional, for sure, but it just ain't a Lyman 48.
But it does beg the question: why do you need to drill more holes in the receiver? They came d/t'ed for both receiver sights and scope mounts from the factory.
And another question, out of curiosity, what's the perceived advantage of .358 over .308? Animal to self: "Boy I'm sure glad that hunter only shot me in the chest with a .30 caliber bullet. If he'd nailed me with a .35 I'd be a goner."
My exact thoughts there, but you do it in such great detail. These guys must be new to the pre 64 model 70, because the 48WJS was my first thought. I can't really see a better sight going on one of these. Maybe they don't like the traditional look, and nice adjustability??? I also agree with Iskra John on getting the one that was made after 1947, so you don't have to modify your stock. No inletting and messing up the originality is numero uno as far as I'm concerned. I didn't think I'd have to go into great detail and explain why the simple answer is the 48WJS, but that is it. Keep it simple and use what has worked for decades. Unless the OP is asking for something that is more modern? I'm sure you have seen the rear scope base that also has a peep sight that flips up and then folds down when using a scope. Those were made by Redfield and I always thought they were kind of cool, but how good are those really? I'd probably just as soon use the factory irons. We might be all washed up on this one man. Not exactly sure what the OP is looking for.
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
Personally, I was interested in less bulk than my traditional side mount receiver sight on my pre 64. It would be a set and forget installation sighted for my 200 gr. Partition load. A 1 piece, machined fixed peep mounted on the rear bridge would be perfect, bombproof and unobstructed visibility for quick shots in the elk timber.
A Lyman 48WJS is the classic receiver sight for the M/70 and would be my choice, it mounts without altering the wood or metal. The Lyman 57 was the economy version and I've always thought it looked cheaper though both will get the job done.
I bought the latest "cheaper" model Lyman a few years ago for my pre-'64 M70. It works fine and has plenty of adjustment, even for lower velocity cast bullet loads.
While I’m not exactly new to pre-64s, I’ve never installed a peep sight on one. And while I’ve seen plenty of examples of model 70s with peeps installed, I seem to always recall noticing the stock had been modified as well to accommodate the sight. I do lack much knowledge when it comes to the various models of sights, and I surely didn’t want to do any cutting or modifying to the stock. Also, when I wrote my OP, I did it without considering the two factory drilled holes on the left side of the receiver. Yes, I’m familiar with them and know what they’re there for, but for whatever reason it just didn’t click to me when I wrote my OP.
My intended purpose for the rifle will be hunting large game (elk, moose, bear) in thick cover. I agree that the adjustability of a Lyman or Williams is nice, but I don’t know that it’s something I’ll really need as I expect I’ll mostly be looking at shots 200 yards or less. The skinner appears to be what I had in mind and I somewhat expected a higher front sight post would be needed after doing similar work on my Marlin.
Regarding my choice for the 358, it’s somewhat a want, but practical in nature. The barrel I have seems to be shot out. I picked up the rifle for $300 in a pawn shop with considerable use. The bore was very dirty and shot like crap, so I cleaned it thoroughly and shot some more. Still no good until I started loading 125 grain flat base bullets. That’s pretty limiting, so I’m just taking what I have and trying to breathe some new life and use into it. I will also probably load reduced/cast bullets through the rifle for fun and smaller game like deer in pigs, in addition to loading heavier, full power loads when the rifle finds new life as a 358W.
Model 70’s with factory stock inlets still equipped with their original Lyman 48WH and Lyman 48 WJS receiver sights are treasures. Agree with the consensus re. using the redesigned sight base that was adapted to the stock contour on ALL stocks that were not factory inlet.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
Gotta ask: Why couldn't you "get a zero?" Lyman sights are adjustable through a hellaciously wide range of movement.
To the OP: Aha, I get why the desire to rebore. Sounds like a plan to me.
Sure, the two Lyman sights may have a lot of superfluous range of adjustment for the rifleman who simply wants to "set and forget for a specific load". But, the thing is that when you sit down at the shooting bench to sight in they make life so much easier than when dicking around with cheap sights with crude (or nonexistent) adjustments. I'm here to tell you that can be an exercise in frustration. The Lyman sight elevators (and Redfield and Williams for that matter) can be locked down securely after zero-ing with no fear of coming undone. Just don't be tempted to twiddle the windage knob afterward and it'll stay put forever too. They also have a tiny set screw in them that you can bottom out after setting elevation that allows you to remove the sight staff for cleaning or whatever and then return it perfectly to its original setting.
Another thought: if the rifle will absolutely only ever be used in the thick dark woods where range is measured in double-digit feet more or less, perhaps a simple wide shallow V-notch rear sight, such as the old English Express sights found on African stopping rifles, coupled with a big fat gold or ivory front bead might be a viable solution too. No known sighting arrangement was ever devised for fast and hairy "up close and personal" shooting in thick cover. Frankly that's what I would want on such a rifle - beats hell out of a scope when you've got about a half second to get the shot off. The rifle will perform like a good shotgun - coming up, swinging on the target, pointing like an extension of your hand.
Last edited by gnoahhh; 03/21/23.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
Thanks, Gnoahhh. The idea of a shallow v safari type sight is appealing and may be a great solution. I have never actually shot a rifle with that set up, but I do understand how it would be a quick set up to visually acquire and shoot with. My question is, how does a shallow v with large globe style front site tip equate to accuracy at relatively long distance, say 200 yards?