sight question

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nwcatman
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sight question

Post by nwcatman »

i DON'T KNOW if this is the right place to post this or not. if not lemme know. i have a 2008(?) Remlin CB in 45-70 that shoots high right. 3" windage and 8" elevation. want to put on a different adjustable rear sight. the current one is adjustable for elevation only and is as low as it goes now. maybe a skinner? or? looking for reccomendations. had a scope on it but the recoil took care a that.
Walt
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Re: sight question

Post by Walt »

nmcatman, I have Skinner sights on all my Marlin levers and I'm happy with them. I'm sure you can correct your sighting issues with just a new front sight. I prefer peep sights to buckhorns although I do have a red dot on my Guide Gun. I like the red dot enough that the traditional look had to take second place. Having said that, the Guide Gun is probably the only lever action I'll ever put anything but peep sights on.
nwcatman
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Re: sight question

Post by nwcatman »

Walt wrote: Sat Nov 22, 2025 1:56 pm nmcatman, I have Skinner sights on all my Marlin levers and I'm happy with them. I'm sure you can correct your sighting issues with just a new front sight. I prefer peep sights to buckhorns although I do have a red dot on my Guide Gun. I like the red dot enough that the traditional look had to take second place. Having said that, the Guide Gun is probably the only lever action I'll ever put anything but peep sights on.
front sight would have to be an adjustible one. i have spent many fruitless hours years past trying to move front dovetail rifle sights "just enough" to correct POI. the ye olde punch and whacker method. i was just out today sighting in my 2004 45-70 marlin SGS. 300 gr JSP over 35.0 gr REL 7. years past i used 45.0 gr REL 7 over all my cast and JSP but those hard to me recoiling days are over.
since you also have a GG and maybe reload(?) lemme ask you something. i dug out (found) a box of Speer HOT CORE 350 gr. HCFN bullets. HOWEVER, the COAL on those when utilizing the cannelure to crimp is 2.713, when the normal COAL is 2.550 for a Marlin guide gun. and i don't have a Ruger #1 in 45-70. so....will they function? use em in my BFR? if they'll fit. just realized you didn't say if you shoot 45-70. if not disregard the above . hell getting old.
BTW i've been on PK for years (sporadically) but had to get a new email addy and so shows me with 2 posts. blah blah blah who cares.
Last edited by nwcatman on Sat Nov 22, 2025 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AmBraCol
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Re: sight question

Post by AmBraCol »

Welcome to the forum. I moved your post over to the general discussion area as it will get much more attention here.
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samsi
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Re: sight question

Post by samsi »

Combinations that have worked for me, the first two on Marlins with 3 and 4 being a TC and Winchester:

XS front and ghost ring
XS front and Skinnner rear
Skinner front and NECG rear
Marbles front and Williams rear
nwcatman
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Re: sight question

Post by nwcatman »

AmBraCol wrote: Sat Nov 22, 2025 8:59 pm Welcome to the forum. I moved your post over to the general discussion area as it will get much more attention here.
thanks
Walt
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Re: sight question

Post by Walt »

nwcatman, I can't answer your question about length to cannelure, etc. because I shoot only cast bullets. My 300 and 405 gr bullets have never given me feeding problems in my Guide Gun. The only factory loads I shoot in any caliber are rimfires.
nwcatman
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Re: sight question

Post by nwcatman »

Walt wrote: Sun Nov 23, 2025 8:57 am nwcatman, I can't answer your question about length to cannelure, etc. because I shoot only cast bullets. My 300 and 405 gr bullets have never given me feeding problems in my Guide Gun. The only factory loads I shoot in any caliber are rimfires.
thanks anyways. i have tons of cast, mine and store bought waiting to be loaded but found these jacketed ones. i also only shoot reloads. cept .22's.
samsi
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Re: sight question

Post by samsi »

The cannelure on the 350 Speer is likely meant for the .458 Win Mag, although that OAL would likely function in an 1886. They'll run 2.800 OAL in the 45-90 and 50 Express.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: sight question

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

I actually like a “fixed” rear sight like a Skinner ladder sight and do my adjustment on the front sight.

Even on my Ruger/Marlin Shootists 40th anniversary gun, the Skinner rear is bottomed out and I tried different front sights to get the right combination.

But I don’t baby my rifles and I like to carry my leverguns in a saddle scabbard. That may have affected my preferences.
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AJMD429
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Re: sight question

Post by AJMD429 »

.
I definitely prefer aperture sites, like the Skinner, on pretty much all long guns, and actually on hand guns as well…!

These two threads cover, bunch of that and have some pictures.

Long gun aperture options:

https://levergunscommunity.org/viewtopi ... 74#p390174

Handgun aperture sights:

https://levergunscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?t=92022

More rationale on which ones I use versus which length of barrel:

https://levergunscommunity.org/viewtopic.php?t=85699

On my guide Gun, which is a shorter barrel I believe than the 45–70 you have, I have a Williams aperture. I think WGRS is the model, and a fiber optic sight. On a 45–70 with 24 inch barrel I have a rear tang sight with a Lyman globe front sight.

For me, the short handy carving type guns makes sense to be set up with the fastest sight even if I sacrifice Sion or adjustability. The longest barrel guns I don’t find practical for hunting, but are fun at the range and the extra precision and adjustability with a good tang sight makes sense.

But the more practical intermediate size firearms with 20 inch barrels or thereabouts are the ones I’m likely to be using when I hunt, where I want to have reasonably quick acquisition, but durability and simplicity is paramount. I want some reputable adjustments, so setups like the Williams FP or the Skinner make sense. I’m old enough that I had Williams sites most of my firearms just when the Skinners were coming out, so that’s really the only reason I don’t have Skinners on at least half my guns; clearly, they are about the most compact, durable, and adjustable set ups you will find.

If I were a talented machinist, however, I would take an adjustable base like the Williams FP, and machine the bottom of a Marbles Bullseye fixed ‘double’ aperture, so it had a threaded hole and could therefore be adjusted laterally for windage instead of having to ‘drift’ the darn thing. That would be pretty cool.
It's 2025 - "Cutesy Time is OVER....!" [Dan Bongino]
piller
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Re: sight question

Post by piller »

The Guide Gun I took to Africa has Skinner Sights. I unscrewed the peep portion and left in my bag at the Guide's client building. The ghost ring part was enough.
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nwcatman
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Re: sight question

Post by nwcatman »

wow. you guys are a wealth of infor x10. thanks
nwcatman
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Re: sight question

Post by nwcatman »

Scott Tschirhart wrote: Sun Nov 23, 2025 2:56 pm I actually like a “fixed” rear sight like a Skinner ladder sight and do my adjustment on the front sight.

Even on my Ruger/Marlin Shootists 40th anniversary gun, the Skinner rear is bottomed out and I tried different front sights to get the right combination.

But I don’t baby my rifles and I like to carry my leverguns in a saddle scabbard. That may have affected my preferences.
you still in SA? used to live there. in san marcos now.
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: sight question

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

Still in San Antonio.
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