I am looking for ideas and options for a good adjustable, peep sight for a British styled Express Rifle. Want to be able use a Flag Safety. It will be an open sight Rifle only no scope.

I know of the of Rigby style striker mounted peep sight.
But I have a few questions about them.

Do they hold their zero well or do they move around a bit.

And do they twist over to the side or fold back to to be able to use the Express Sights?


My preference is for some sort of a receiver mounted sight as it would be easier to get to the flag safety.
But worry about being able to fold it or remove it to use the Express Sights when needed (wanted).

Is there a adjustable Aperture sight that mounts on the rear
bridge? It would need to be removable or folding to be able to use the Express sights for up close work.

I saw that Lyman makes an Aperture/Peep that fits on the Mauser that I guess mounts on the side of the of the action.
But how does it mount without interference with the bolt release?

Ideas, Options, links or places to look?

Allen

Allen, I have a Lyman sight on an P14 Enfield actioned BSA (ersatz Mauser ) The Base of the sight screws onto the right side of the rear receiver bridge in front of the cut out where the bolt handle turns down. Once you have sighted it in, there is a stop screw to adjust which sets the vertical reference point, on the front of the sight base is a spring loaded button which when pushed disengages the main height adjustment screw enabling the sight to be removed leaving only the base behind. When returning it to the base the previously mentioned stop screw limits how far in it can go & hopefully returns you to zero. As the Lyman sight does not strike me as a hugely robust piece of gear, a better option might be one of the Talley or NECG rear sights that clamp onto the rear scope mount base. Many guys run these as a back up in case of scope failure, but in your case you could mount only a rear base & go from there.
If its a Mauser thing I totally understand.
Steve.

quote:

p

Shinzo's explanation is an accurate, thorough one. Redfield receiver sights are very similar to the Lyman, and also rather easily found. Both firms made receiver sights for the Mauser actions which worked exactly the same way.

Such sights were made in two grades, the more expensive of which was much heavier duty than the inexpensive lines.

Also, both makes were available with either "target" or "hunter" adjustments. The target adjustment screws had knurled end-knobs on them, which were easily gripped and turned with the fingers to adjust them. The Hunter adjustments did not have knurled knobs, but oval topped knobs with screw slots, intentionally so no one could putz with them with just their fingers, and had to use a screwdriver (or coin) to change the settings.

Both target and hunter knobs had spring-loaded detents which caused them to adjust in "clicks", both felt and audible. Although clicks came in various "dimensions", depending on the age and makes of the sights, IIRC the bulk of them were in 1/4 MOA clicks.

Parker Hale, A.J. Parker, and Vaver also made similar sights, but they were not nearly as commonly used in North America. The Vavers were available in some models with 1/8th minute clicks, and I am not sure the A.J. Parker or P-H sights had the "hunter"knob option. None of mine did.

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As to your other question, yes, some of the cocking-knob peeps would fold straight back to allow use of open rear sights on the barrel, but they were then a hazard (to my thinking) to the shooters eye if he was at all a stock-crawler, or shooting a heavier bore rifle.

I still have one, which I have never mounted, for that very reason. I also took several off of Holland & Holland and Rigby rifles for the same reason.

They also did have some accuracy loss compared to the Lymans and Redfields BECAUSE they were mounted on the cocking piece. The cocking piece does not always go back to exactly the same horizontal position each time the rifle is cocked, and .001" variation in horizontal sight location can mean a horizontal POI difference of 1/2 MOA or more from shot to shot, (more if the sight radius is short). So, although they worked fine for game, they wouldn't be most target shooters' first choice.

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Were I you, I'd get a Lyman 48 made for a Mauser, or something similar. They are plenty sturdy as long as you don't have them cranked way up in the air. I've used them for many years and have no complaints.

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P.S.: The way I use them is to sight in both the open sights and the receiver sight at the bench. Then when I go into the field, I remove the receiver sight from its base, and put it in my pocket. While I am hunting, if I run onto a close up animal, I don't have to worry about removing the receiver sight to see the open sights, as it is already removed.

If I see an amimal at a distance, I almost always have time to reach in my pocket for the receiver sight, slip it in the base, and then use that more accurate sight for the longer shot. Incidentally, I do the same with my QD scope mounted rifles too.

Best wishes,

AC

Shinzo, I now remmber that when I had a Lyman 66 on my marlin 444 that the lyman having that remove and replace sys.

After doing more searching and reading in the old posts I have found that the Lyman 48 & 57 mount as you mentioned on the right side of the action while the Lyman 35 mounts on the bolt release.

I understand there is a short body and a long body Lyman sights and the short body does not need the stock cut to fit them or at least very little any way.

Shinzo, did the sight mounted in front of the bolt interfere
with working the bolt?
The bolt will be of the old style shape that does not need a cut out in the stock (or at least very minimal).

What is the difference between the Lyman 48 and the Lyman 57? Is one a short body version?

I have been trying to find more info about the 35, 48, 57 sights on the web but so far not found much.
Any one know of some links or sites?

So far it looks like a Lyman 48 or 57 is my best bet.

Allen

quote:

Originally posted by AllenBosely:



Shinzo, did the sight mounted in front of the bolt interfere
with working the bolt?
The bolt will be of the old style shape that does not need a cut out in the stock (or at least very minimal).

Allen, sorry, can't help with Lyman models, my BSA had an earlier similar peep sight on when I got it so I simply replaced it with a newer Lyman, not sure what the model was but as the stock was already cut away for it that wasn't an issue. The BSA has a modified bolt handle compared to the original Enfield dog leg, shorter & straightened but I have no problems reloading from the shoulder quite rapidly so I shouldn't imagine you would either with this sort of setup.
Steve.

Dear Mr. Bosely:

I am in the process of doing something similar using Lyman 48 aperture sights, but sans the express sight on three Mauser actioned rifles.

My initial question is have you shot open sighted rifles for any length of time?

The reason I ask is I started with a buckhorn open sighted 1894 Winchester in 32 Special (borrowed) at age 14, hated the sight, and bought a scope sighted Model 700 Remington the next year.

On the other hand, I have shot a peep sighted Marlin 39A 22 long rifle for 32 years, just upgraded the peep sight to a Lyman 66 MC (steel), and can still shoot accurately to 75-85 yards with it.

You might try some different types of open and aperture sights on your friends' rifles to see what you like.

The Lyman 57 aperture sight is a cheaper, and not too sturdy peep sight that mounts on the right hand side of the rear receiver bridge between the bolt handle cut out and the cartridge ejection port.

The Lyman 48 aperture sight is a slick piece of engineering, much stronger, more expensive and mounts exactly like the Lyman 57. It does come in variations as mentioned above. These are harder to find and run over $100.00.

The Lyman 35 aperture sight, as far as I can tell, is strictly a collector's piece. It replaces the left hand sided ejector box on the Mauser. It is fabulously expensive. I saw one this week on E-bay that was bidded at over $450.00, and I don't know what it sold for eventually.

The new Lyman 57 is aluminum by the way.

If you want some more information, please PM me.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

the Lyman 35 that was on Ebay went for around $470.00 I believe.

I installed a cocking piece sight made by Rusty Marlin of this forum on one of my 375's. It's a single square bridge Mauser that was orginally a Westley Richards 318 Accellerated. The sight is a very beautiful representation of the Rigby sight. Quality and workmanship are with out fault. This is one of the first ones he produced and the newer one looks to be even better. This rifle has an integral rib with one standing rear blade. The apeture sight works perfectly and I have been using it with the original apeture diameter and have not drilled it out larger. Accuracy is as good as I can shoot with irons and it repeats as far as I can tell perfectly with operation of the bolt. It also looks like it belongs there. I put a taller front sight blade in to actually look over the rear fixed blade which I probably will never use. If I planned on using the rifle for game I would probably put a fold down rear blade in as insurance and just dial down the peep if I HAD to use the rear blade. Works for me and as I said it looks like it belongs. Only thing left is to have it blued and I'll get around to that some day.

You want a Lyman 48M. There was one on ebay last week, dunno what it sold for. Search "Lyman 48M" and "Lyman 48". They are not uncommon.

XS Sights are the best. Have installed them on three rifles. One on a Mauser scout rifle. One on an 86 Winchester and the the Weaver backup on my son's Mexican Mauser as a back up to a scope mounted with QD's on weaver rings.

I think there is a Lyman 48 either here in classidieds or on 24hr.

Allen,
One optiton is the bolt peep..It can be ordered from some gunsmith in RSA for about $250. I can't remember his name however...

I install Talley bases for a scope and then get one of Talleys quick detachable very small and neat little peep sights that he makes for $60. or so....

I can send you a picture of them on a Mauser and a Win 63 if your not familair with them..

Yes Ray, Pictures would be great.

My e-mail is abosely@stignatius.net

How fine is the adjustment on the talley's ?

Thanks, Allen

Hi,
Williams have a little peep sight that is bolted on the receiver called "guide".
I use one for some time.
Thanks
Martin