Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Mounting tang sight on 1885 Browning without tang

I would like to mount a tang sight on a tangless 1885, I have a Marble's sight ordered for it, and it was listed for the 1885 without tang. Is this much of a problem to do? Is it o.k. to mount on top of the wrist of the stock, or does some other work have to be done? I saw that Crossfireoops has done work on the Buffalo Classic for tang sights. I would be thankful of any help received.

45, I haven't done this but know a couple who have, and have read detailed stories of others who have also. There was, I believe, one fellow who bedded and epoxied a rather deep steel base into the wood of the grip, and he said he was satisfied, but it surely must have weakened the grip somwhat. Whether that's an issue or not depends on individual judgment.

The only completely acceptable mountings I've heard of are those who have had a good, qualified 'smith weld on a tang, and then rout the stock for same. If I just HAD to have that tang sight, and I DO sympathize with your love for them, I think this is the route I'd go. Not the cheapest, but definitely the most satisfactory in the long run. All else would be improvised proceedures, and are probably problematic in the long run, though many will be serviceable for at least a while.

This isn't definitive info, so don't take it that way. Much of it is just opinion, but it's not without some knowledge of the known results of all the options available, either, so .... you pays yer monies an' takes yer choice.

Those are such neat rifles (except for the difficult takedown) that they ought to be done right, or I suspect you'll eventually sell it at a significant loss to someone who will do it right. I'm speaking from experience in THAT aspect!

Thanks for replying Blackwater, I talked to a good gunsmith close to home here, and he said pretty much the same as you did. I believe I'll mount a ladder sight by Smith Enterprises on the barrel or mount a Williams receiver sight. I believe I'll be satisfied with that. This rifle is new, and I got it at a heck of a good price, so I could not be picky about tang or no tang.

If you look really close at the old original, and limited run Browning Bpcrs......You can spot the joint where a tang was mortised into a regular '78 / '85 style" tangless" reciever, Tig welded, prior to final grind, buff out.

It's a pretty straightfoward job, when properly executed.
Would be more than happy to discuss the ins and outs of this, with your Riflesmith.......................For nothing more obtrusive than a fold down Marbles, a properly fixtured, and bonded in lozenge, .......DRILLED / TAPPED after bonding in, for good alignment's sake, will be just fine.........

If you're aiming to go to a bigger staff sight, well, that's another kettle of fish.....and a proper tang should be considered.

So far, I've put tangs on '78's, '85's, Rugers # 1 and 3, and the H&R , as well.........They really shouldn't call that a " Buffalo" anything, without they put a factory tang.

Measure twice, cut once......GTC

Crossfire, if you don't mind my asking here, what do you charge for that modification, and how much to inlet the stock for the tang? I may know someone who wants to do that. PM me with this if you aren't comfortable with answering here. Thanks.

Oh, no sweat, whatsover...................this is a subject that needs to be de-mystified. Too much gas being blown around,
And some of it with the best of intentions, no doubt.

Blackwater wrote:
"The only completely acceptable mountings I've heard of are those who have had a good, qualified 'smith weld on a tang, and then rout the stock for same"

Good words, but there's an unbelievable amount of extra labor entailed, if this sequence were to be followed. Man , it's bad enough " following the tang" into a fresh beefy blank, with lots of extra material to play with. Remember that the excellent through bolt design throws you a long curve , in that ANY misalignment in new tang mortise can become catastrophic ...................as you go to final torque on through bolt,.... misalignment = SIDE THRUST against the mortise. This could quickly subtend to a split wrist......No?

It doesn't have to be at all this difficult......................Here's my " Never Sweat" method:

* From 1018 cold rolled stock,or for the high rollers, precision ground Starrette stock , form your tang,the lower flat, end radius, and side flats should be finished, no sweat on leaving the top a bit "proud".

*Do NOT drill / tap the sight mounting holes yet.

* fixture the action, with butstock mounted, and torqued in a milling machine, Obviously , getting everything super square, and " On bubble" is a critical factor. If your machine is big enough to let you set up the entire rifle, so much the better, use the barrel / bore axis, to help with alignment.

* Choose a perfectly sharp end mill, of the center cutting variety, And shallow pass, by shallow pass , mill in your stock mortise, and the coresponding reciever mortise.....................Simultaneously ...........Running a vacuum while your running this op won't be a bad idea. Go slow, and watch your depth.

* you've probly got the drift on how this works, by now, and if not ask lotsa specific questions.

* I usually ( once buttstock is removed) square up the reciever slot radius, and try to incorporate machining features
into the tang that will further lock , and align it in it's place. The metal to metal fitup should be very snug.

* With a profusion of Copper chill blocks and plates clamped in every available plane, Fusion weld ( DC TIG) the two pieces.....Action / tang, and use minimal filler rod, as reqd., and keep things cool, as you proceed.

With your wood re-mounted , get back into good alignment, and plumb, in the mill, and drill / tap your tang sight mounting holes.

With the wood well masked, you can now carefully file, dress, and polish the tang top into final finish. I'm sure that by now you will have realised that a custom " flat" , for tang sight base is very doable, using this method. A flat base, to a flat feature on the tang, is a hot setup.

In the abscence of good TIG welding capability, I wouldn't turn up my nose at good low temp silver soldering practice, as a viable alternative....................that paste that Brownell's flogs would be just the ticket.

Work safe, gTC

Some afterthoughts, ..........just returned from a work party, spreading lime on 500m. sil range, for Sat's. BPCRS shoot......nice ride, good " windshield time ".

Did some thinking...........Given that the slot slot milled into the top rear of reciever / frame on yer '85 doesn't have to be THAT deep...................one could pattern after the early C. Sharps '75 mounting method for the top tang.... With a nicely counterbored and fitted screw holding the tang into it's mortice.

This was not a smashing success, on the '75's.....where the tang has a bedding / structural duty, as well as a spot for a sighting system.......................the current itteration is a way more solid one piece set up, and I've retro- TIG welded some of the earlier one's, which were a bit prone to squirm, and shuck.

On that '85, you're not looking for any real demanding structural function, the through bolt handles all that. A staff sight doesn't apply any inordinate load , so the tang can be fairly svelte, dimensionally. A rear screw, in the add on tang, to control any tendency to "resonate", will have to be short, but still doable ...............those through holes do get in your road, sometimes. A machine screw, into a glued in insert would be a practical approach, if threaded wood screw can't get depth.

Once I had all the ducks in a row , so to speak, I would glue the new tang into the reciever, with dyed acrglas, one less cranny for smunge to accumulate, and definately a belt and suspenders approach.

This set up is more than feasible, and lets one play with matching up the bluing job, before final assembly.

Worth thinking about, No?

*Note.... this may seem really basic to lot's of you, but DON'T do the milling in both directions, when cutting in the tang mortices, return to start point, and work in one direction only........Whatever your own experience, and tool geometry dictate................up-mill, or down-mill as you see fit, but only one method, and with minimum tool " stick out"....through the course of the job........we're looking for a very good metal to metal fit here.

GTC

Crossfireoops, thank you for the information, you're obviously know what you are talking about. I do not have the skill to do this, and I do not know any smith's in my area who would have the capability to do what you explained. Would you recommend A gunsmith to do this? Would you be interested in doing this?

Thanks, crossfire. I guess that's why I'm only a HOME gunsmith! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The way I've heard it done, epoxy bedding was a must. I sold mine, but if I ever get another, I'll probably be PMing you. I had a 6x Leupold on the Hornet, but that rifle just doesn't look or handle quite right with a scope on it. I just LOVE these rifles, and can't believe they didn't put a tang on all of them. They're not cheapies anyway, and "in for a penny, in for a pound," and I don't think a little extra for a tang would have disuaded anyone from a buy. I think my favorites were the TH LW's. I swooned over a local .44 mag., but the fellow wanted too much for it, and I already had too many projects in the works. Sigh.

Thanks again. I think you've renewed my craving for another one.

I mounted a carbine style sight from Buffalo Arms. My only bitch... the V in the elevator is the same width as the slot in the upright (if that makes any sense to you). So you can't really tell whether or not your front post is the same height as the top of the elevator staff. MAJOR boo-boo on the maker's part and on mine for not thinking to look.

All you sight makers make a note of this!