I just installed a Williams sight on a Marlin 36. Now, when shooting at the 25 yard line, I find the hits are about eight inches high with the sight bottomed out. A taller front sight is in order.

So. . .anyone know the height of the standard front sight? How much higher should I go? How much of a pain are they to replace?

Thanks!

Is this a 20" barrel?

The sight you installed, ... is it a receiver sight?


If the answers are "yes" and "yes", you need a front sight that is about .250" taller than the one you have now.
A little taller than that probably wouldn't hurt, either.

Best to go to a gunsmith so that the sight can be removed and the new one installed with a "sight pusher", to avoid buggering stuff up.

To determine how much difference in sight height you will need:

Shoot a good group at 25 yards with the rear sight approximately in the middle of the adjustment range to determine how far you need to move the POI down on the target. The formula for finding the correct front sight height to use with your open sights follows -

Divide the sight radius in inches by the distance to the target in inches. Then multiply that figure by the distance you want to move the point of impact on the target. The result is the change in sight height you need.

Say your sight radius is 18 inches (distance from rear blade to top of the front sight ramp) - I'm just using numbers to make the calcs easier, you'll have to measure your rifle. The distance to the target 25 yards away in inches is (25*36) or 900 inches.

18/900 = .02

Let's say you want to move the center of your group down by 10 inches.

10*.02= .2"

in this example you would need a sight .2" higher than the current front sight to move the POI down 10 inches at 25 yards. Measure the height of your current sight from where it meets the base to the top of the ramp and add .2", that would be your correct front sight height.

The reason you fire your group with the rear sight in the middle position is because you might not find the exact height you want and this will give you some wiggle room if you get a bit taller or shorter front sight.

HTH.

P.S. Don't worry about taking the measurements down to the ten thousandth of an inch. A standard tape measure is good to measure the sight radius and a caliper that can measure to plus/minus a hundredth is more than precise enough for the blade height measurement.

Thanks Guys. I appreciate it the info.