Replacing buckhorn rear sight with ????

[Bruce in WV]

I want to replace the buckhorn rear sight on my Marlin 1894.
I do not want a peep sight. I had one on my Win 1892 Trapper and did not shoot it well, even with a lot of practice.

My preference is to use a replacement rear sight that mounts in the factory dovetail slot. I have a Ranger Point Precision green fiber optic front sight that works pretty well for my old eyes, so another fiber optic might be a good solution, but Williams doesn't offer a dovetail mounted rear Firesight for this gun. I want to identify a good Firesight for another make/model that will fill the bill.

My assumption is following this path is that another dovetail mounted Firesight would work, but I'm not sure what the critical measurements are that I need to match: is it the height of the top of the rear sight blade/wings? How about determining the width and shape of the notch for a replacement sight? Some handgun sights tout a U-shaped notch vs square bottom?

[crs]

Checkout the Marbles sights- they have a good selection and reputation:

[AJMD429]

I'll try to dig up a picture of the Marbles Bullseye I have on several of my leverguns. Once you get it sighted in (it is 'drift-adjustable' like the factory sights as far as windage, and has the usual 'ramp' for elevation), it is very accurate and great for 'old eyes'. However, due to the larger ring, it can also be used for FAST jump-shooting - faster than anything else I've seen, yet you just take that extra second, and you can get precision.



As you can see by the 'shaded-in' drawing on the right, which is the 'field of view' you get with a normal 'open sight', there is LOTS of stuff that is obscured. With the Marbles Bullseye you can see far more field of view, which I really prefer.




The worst part of the sight is that it is 'unconventional looking'. At the range, people comment that it looks weird, but then after they see how well I can shoot with it, despite old eyes, they want to try it. After that, they usually want to know where to get one.

They are inexpensive enough you aren't out much if you buy one to try.

[JerryB]

I put the Marbles Bullseye on my grandsons old 94 30wcf. He really likes it, so do I.

[Bruce in WV]

Thank you for the suggestions.

It turns out that Williams, HiViz, and TruGlo all have a universal fiber optic sight that will fit the Marlin 1894 and duplicate the Marlin factory buckhorn min/max notch measurements. Since I need the fiber optics I'm glad there are lots to choose from!

[AJMD429]

Yep. And if you do need taller ones, I think I've gotten taller fiberoptics from MidwayUSA that fit the Marlins and Rossis.

The Marbles Bullseye sights I've installed so far have usually been ok with the factory front sight height, but front sights aren't expensive, so I usually have a few on hand because when I equip a new gun I buy fronts of several heights.

[gundownunder]

I got a used Marlin 32-20 10 years ago and someone had already altered the sight when I got it.
What they did was file the top off the buckhorn and square the U to make it a little wider and a little more open, just like a handgun rear sight.
Works perfectly and I wouldn't change it for anything else.