This question isn't specifically regarding big bores, but as I recall there are some examples with these sights that have appeared in this forum before, so here goes...

I was just reading a piece by Seyfried on the .275 Rigby where he describes the Rigby method of mounting the cocking piece sight. The trigger sear is the female V piece and the bolt sear is the mating male V to hold everything in alignment. He also says that an intentional by-product of this is a smooth trigger pull.

So two questions for those of you who know these rifles:
- does this sear treatment really enhance trigger pull? If so, why hasn't anyone but Rigby done it (even without the cocking piece sight)?
- can anyone post photos of these two parts out of the rifle so I can see exactly how they interact? I have a good visual from his description, but pics would really be great.

I've always wondered exactly how Rigby kept things aligned when the sight was on a moving part, and this clears up a lot of things.

I believe that you will find some photos of cocking piece sights if you search this forum and 'Gunsmithing'.

George

quote:

The trigger sear is the female V piece and the bolt sear is the mating male V to hold everything in alignment.

I would like very much to see a close up photo of that arrangement.

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
I believe that you will find some photos of cocking piece sights if you search this forum and 'Gunsmithing'.

George

I did a preliminary search before posting and found some pics of the sights as part of a complete rifle or bolt, but none that show these two parts on their own outside of the bolt/rifle that clearly illustrate how they fit together and work to hold the sight in alignment as the cocking piece moves within the bolt.

It's interesting what a simple, strong solution this would be for a rifle, but esp durable for a big bore safari rifle.

Ross S. had an article in Rifle Magazine, maybe two years ago that was titled, I believe "small things" or something of the sort. He include pictures of small details of different English/Scottish built rifles. That arrangement was included. Good luck finding the article. Basically it was a female V on the bottome and Male V on the top. This stabilized the horizontal movement of the bolt in the rear bridge, using the Rigby peep. gduffey

I have a supposedly exact copy of a Rigby cocking piece sight, made by William Hause.

He told me this was the last one he had left, and had copied it from an original Rigby that he once had.

It is very simple in design, and is attached by milling a dovetail into the cocking piece. The only change made to the internals is to shorten the firing by by 1/8th inch.
Given that, I am not sure it would effect sear engagement.

It's going on a Mauser 98 (Whitworth) in 500 Jeffery.

Garrett

NOTE: the excellent piece shown elsewhere by Tom Delucci is now a Jim Wisner item. Tom sold out last week. Let us hope that the $250 price tag does not increase...we know the quality will.

Rich
NRA Life Member
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by N. Garrett:
is attached by milling a dovetail into the cocking piece. The only change made to the internals is to shorten the firing by by 1/8th inch.
Given that, I am not sure it would effect sear engagement.

That much I can easily see. The sight itself fits into a dovetail in the back of the cocking piece. The part that gets me is how Rigby modified the sear(s) to get the matching V intersections between moving parts that would guarantee that the cocking piece itself didn't move around - so the cocking piece, and thus the sight, didn't change position (other than a small bit fore and aft) as the bolt was worked.

Nice home for the sight BTW!

I spoke to Jim Wisner on the phone today about Tom Delucchi's cocking piece sight.

He said it was a "low priority" for him, and didn't anticipate production for a year.

I was disappointed.

Garrett

it seems a bit sad to take a product off the market for a year because it is a "low priority" item...just a high enough priority item to buy Tom out.

I really like Jim and the stuff he makes, but waiting a year sucks.

Rich
NRA Life Member
DRSS

I looked at a Rigby 416 at the last Louisville show. The sight on it looked identical to this one although i have a piece missing from it.

A gunsmithing book by Howe has drawings how to make one .But when I offered the book for sale here , no one wanted it !!

Which Howe book is it mete? If i don't already have it, I'll buy yours.

Lawndart,
I just bought this book. It is the second of a two volumn set. It is the 1941 edition. Good book and neat looking site.
John
I made a mistake it was the second vol. pg 282 to 285 1941 edition

http://www.golmatic.de/Waffen_EN/buechsenmacherbedarf_en/visier_en.htm

Any idea what those puppies cost and how to get one?

Rich
NRA Life Member
DRSS

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Any idea what those puppies cost and how to get one?

Rich
NRA Life Member
DRSS

Contact Scrollcutter

I have found Tom Delucci's work first rate. Much better than Wisner's. The old Wisner Gunshop in Chehalis turned out some real crap.

Tom Delucchi retired from making his anymore.
He gave his patterns and some samples to Jim Wisner.

We appear to be SOL for the time being.

I purchased William Hause's last Rigby sight for $325.

Garrett

I beleive this is Tom Delucchi's version of a Holland & Holland style cocking piece peep sight.
These pictures were originally posted on this forum by Scrollcutter.

Mauser offered them as a standard option pre WWII. The mauser ones were made by Parker Hale and are fairly common in Africa. Nag 500Grains for a photo. I belive he has ended up with my Model A mauser which had these sights. My H&H .404also came from the factory with one of these sights fitted.

I don't know if fitting the cocking piece sight improved the trigger pull, but both the .404 and the 9,3 had very acceptable 2 stage trigger pulls.

I am pretty upset, as I had three of them ordered from Tom and to be delivered early this year to finish custom rifles being built. Now having to wait for Wisner to do a production run will be a further delay as well as a frustration.

What we need to do is to find a (commercial) small parts machinist to do a run us.

If we could come up with an order for about 20 or 25 of the sights, it would be worth his effort.

The Rigby sight might be the way to go, only because we have the drawings for the machining (from Howe's book), and I have a sight to show the machinist how it's supposed to look when complete.

Anyone got some names?

Garrett

There is a gunsmith in Miami that used to have modern CNC machinery and did that kind of stuff for Brownell`s. He should be in the web as Somarriba Inc. I would be interested in one also.

If you are checking interest, I'll take two.

JPK

Timan, Are you listening? I am in for several. gduffey

I keep telling you guys to contact Scrollcutter. He is setting up to make the Rigby site. He already has all the drawings etc.

Scrollcutter (Roger),

Are you reading this?
If you want, you are more than welcome to borrow my Rigby (copy) sight to take measurements from.

Garrett

Anyone have a photo of the Jeffery Patent (8872) cocking piece peep sight?


--Tinker

From the current Mauser web site (www.mauser.com):

These are from the Dorleac & Dorleac website.

http://www.dorleac-dorleac.com/

It would be really nice to see a peep sight that mounted on top of a Dakota type bolt sleeve rather than the cocking piece.

Why not build a very SIMPLE sight without all the complications of the ones shown. For a simple sturdy sight all that would be required is an 'L' shaped part with the bottom leg of the 'L' being the male dovetail part and merely drill the upright part of the 'L' and tap for the aperture part. Elevation could be acompolished by screwing in or out on the aperture part and windage by drifting the sight in the dovetail. Two set screws to lock if required,one for aperture part and one in dovetail. Simple, sturdy, and requiring little machining. If you wanted to use a side slide type safety you could even make the bottom leg of the 'L' to insert in the hole the flag safety mounts in and it would require no bolt machining.

MFC,
couldn't find the sights department, got a map or spot to point to? Also, did they have any pricing and perhaps an American distributor?
Nice looking sight, nonetheless!

regards,

Rich

That sight from Dorleac & Dorleac is an almost exact (but not quite) copy of the Lyman #1A cocking piece sight.

The Rigby is the simplest design I have yet seen.

Garrett

I think the sight from D & D IS a Lyman sight, in the white.

I own three of them (now)- that is a Lyman 1A.

sorry to double up here.

On mine, the knurled portion is smaller in diameter, the eyepiece is plain, not with the extra piece on it as in the photo.

IA's are difficult to find that still have the stem and eyepiece on them.

The reason I thought it was a copy was the lack of the protuberence normally seen on the #1A sight, just behind the hinge (where the sight pivots).

Garrett

I have had an original Rigby sight in my shop loaned to me by a forum member to make up a set of drawings. The sight is very complicated and to make the sight the way that Rigby did would be so expensive to produce that no one would be able to afford it.

I am considering the manufacture of the sight, but only if I can modify it in a way to make the sight less labor intensive. It must also maintain the look and feel of the original. A tall task.

I spoke with Jim Wisner this morning. He has a large backlog of work, but once he gets the sight up and running there will be a good supply of the Holland type peep.

As an aside, Jim's work will stand with anybodies. It will be a quality sight, and like the rest of his work... Impeccable!

quote:

That sight from Dorleac & Dorleac is an almost exact (but not quite) copy of the Lyman #1A cocking piece sight.

Just a guess, I'd bet the bottom portion is original, and the knurled portion and stem are new, only from looking at the sight in my hand, the condition of the one in the photo, and the man I bought my sights from saying that the stems are usually missing. He had a fair amount like that.