MVA Tang Sight Problem

[MacRob46]

This problem is not mine but a very good friend of mine has an issue, which I hope someone in the group can help solve.

My buddy has a Winchester 1886 in .45-70. He ordered a base for a vernier tang sight from MVA. He switches the staff between two rifles. The problem he has with the sight, when mounted on the 1886, is that the end of the breech block smacks the nut at the bottom of the staff when the action is fully open, and the staff is in the upright position. I don't know if "nut" is the proper terminology but that is all I could think of to call it. It is the little cup in which the adjustment screw pivots. He has called MVA. They have offered to provide a shim for the base to raise the nut out of the way. However, anything more than 3/32d in thickness will snug the base up against the hammer when the action is open. He does not think, nor do I, that shimming the base is the answer.

I told him I thought that he should probably pull the sight down before he opens the action so the staff will be out of the way. His belief is that you should be able to open the action without the breech contacting any part of the staff. Anyway, that was all I could come up with.

Does anyone have any experience with these sights on these guns and, if so, how did you handle it?

[Lumpy Grits]

Is this one of the newer jap-chesters or an original '86, OR?
Really need to see some pictures of how the sight is mounted, and point of contact with the rear of the bolt.
Gary

[MacRob46]

Well, I have a photo but I do not have a clue how to post one on the forum.

[Lumpy Grits]

Well, I have a photo but I do not have a clue how to post one on the forum.

Me either..
G.

[DAVE ROELLE]

1886 lever gun ???

[DAVE ROELLE]

1886 lever gun ???

[Kurt]

I don't know how he has the base mounted, staff mount screw forward or back, If he has it forward reverse it to the back. He will loose some elevation but it might be back enough that the bolt wont reach it.
Some put the base pivot front to get more elevation for the Winchesters.

[DeadEye]

Mac,

Kurt has a point, the Winchester base mounts what looks like backwards to the Sharps so just turn it around. I'm presuming it is a Winchester and not a 'Brownchester'. Has he fired the gun with the MVA on it? The recoil of firing that gun will naturally tip the staff back and allow him to chamber the next round without contacting the 'nut'. I know my Marlin 1895CB sure does. That is unless he has the staff screw so tight it can't pivot back under recoil and that's not the way it is supposed to be. Most BPCR High-Wall shooters have to tip it back to insert the blow tube and chamber the next round. This I know from personal experience. Shimming would not be my choice.

Paul

[beltfed]

Deadeye,
Doesn't a tang sight tip forward if anything under recoil?
beltfed/arnie

[DeadEye]

Absolutely right Arnie. When I re-read it I knew I said it wrong. I was thinking and didn't say, since you have to return it to battery anyway why not go just a little further and solve the problem. Better now.

thanks for asking nicely

Paul

[GeorgeB]

I have an 1886 with the same issue, it doesn't bother me, if it did I think I would just take my Dremel with a cutoff wheeland remove a bit of the bolt that contacts the sight then re-blue it

[MacRob46]

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

The sight base is installed with the mount for the staff to the rear of the base, so it is actually as far back as it will go with that mount. I forgot to mention that MVA elongated the slots for the base screws for him and even with that there is still contact.

I suggested to him, as I mentioned in my first comment, that he should just bring the staff down to as near horizontal as possible before opening the action. His view is that there should be ample clearance without doing that. To me that is the simplest solution and, of course, I have to do that when I blow tube or clean my 1874 Sharps so after awhile it becomes second nature to lower the staff.

He is not likely to cut any metal off the rear of the bolt.

MVA sight #131 would probably solve this problem too. It does not have the elevation screw.

I believe his 1886 is one of the Miroku guns; it is not original nor is it Italian.

So far I have just seen photos of the setup. Going to try to get over to his house to look at it in person so maybe I can talk about it with more authority.

Thanks again for your responses. I will let you know what I find.

[Kurt]

George that would be like cutting off your finger tip because it hurts from being cold

[MacRob46]

FYI...the rifle is a Browning commemorative model, made in 1986. The builder is Miroku, which is what I thought. MVA is going to provide a 3/32d shim which may move the sight up enough for the rear of the bolt to miss the "nut" on the lead screw...or maybe not. We will see when it gets here.

Thanks again for your suggestions...

[Jim Watson]

A friend has a Winchester 1886 with a sporting tang sight, I misremember whether it is Lyman or Marble's.
It actually has a bevel on the end of the elevation adjusting collar to clear the corners of the breechblock.

That target tang sight is going to take some tweaking.