Got a question,
I just aquired a Win Model 72 .22rf rifle at a garage sale last weekend. The rifle is in good shape, could be excellent shape but there is a little bluing missing on the receiver. Anyway on the the meat of my question.....

This rifle has a dovetail front bead sight near the muzzle and no rear sight. On the bbl there is no dovetail slot or any other marks showing where a rear sight would be. The barrel is clean and has no mounting holes of any kind on the bbl. The receiver has two holes drilled and tapped on the flat portion of the left side rear of the receiver. It seems to me this is where a peep sight or a scope mount was mounted and used. The previous owner told me the history of the rifle - basically as a kid he liked a Rem rifle over this Win, thus this rifle sat in the corner and was only used briefly. The owner also explained there was a mount on the receiver in this flat portion - but he couldn't remember much about it.

The question I have is what options were available on the Model 72 - and of course where can one find a peep sight to fit this little receiver - without drilling a bunch of holes in it? Also - where can one find a scope mount for this rifle if a peep is out of the question?
I apprecdiate any help you guys can provide!
Thanks a million
Eric

The M72 you bought is the TARGET version.

It had a peep sight that attached to the reciever on the LH side with a screw, and a composite front ramp affair with a removeable hood.

The good news is the peep and front ramp was the same as the M69A target model also.
You see them from time to time on eBay.

The best way to mount a scope is to have the reciever grooved and then use tip off mounts for the 22 rifles. Winchester did groove the late versons.

Every 69A I own, I machined the dovetails on the reciever and then put the old Kimber double lever rings on them, makes a real nice setup with a 4x Leupold compact scope.

Jim Wisner
Custom Metalsmith

Thanks Jim and OldGuy,
I appreciate the info. Finding info online about this rifle has been a chore. There never is a bunch of info other than when they were made. If the sights are the same as the M69A I will be doing some hard core searching for a set. I am tempted to go the route of a scope but I always have loved good ol' fashioned peep sights.

Jim - I like the idea of grooving the top of the receiver for the tip-off mounts. This seems more reasonable than drilling holes in the poor thing! The rifle is in such good shape I hate to drill or cut on it more than is necessary.
Anywho-
Thanks for the inputs and responses
Good Shootin'
Eric