Whats the story on mounting a Lyman 17a on Marlin 39a?

[sciguy309]

It looks like I will be going with an adjustable Marbles tang sight on my 1950 vintage Marlin 39A for small bore cowboy silhouette and a Lyman 17a up front.
My current conundrum centers around the mounting of the Layman 17a. I've been informed that this is not a simple direct fit into the dovetail of my Marlin ramp. One part or the other must be filed to make a fit or the rifles barrel could be dovetailed to set the 17a lower than the ramp allows. One of the SteelChickens crowd has mentioned problems sighting all for distances with a 17a mounted on the ramp.

What do you Marbles tang / Lyman 17a shooters advise on this topic?

The snow drifts are finally 100% gone and their calling for > 70 degrees here by the weekend.

Thanks for any informed replies,

Hugh

[jnyork]

It will fit into the dovetail just fine, you will have to get a needle file and file a little, no big deal, file the SIGHT not the dovetail. Just keep working a little at a time until the sight just barely goes into the dovetail when being driven in smartly with a BRASS punch and small hammer.

Where people have trouble is when they get the wrong size 17a for their application. They either cant get down far enough for the chickens or up far enough for the rams. There are 4 different heights of 17a, ususally the lowest one works for most people, but a lot will depend on how your eyes see the sights and what hold you use. You will be using the post front insert and it can be filed down some to compensate a little.

[Jason]

After using a brass punch and small hammer for years, I finally saw someone else use a sight pusher and haven't used the brass punch for sight mounting again. Even supporting the ramp, you can break one of the screws holding the ramp on or strip out one of the holes in the barrel when tapping the sight with the brass punch. If you're just going to be doing the one front sight, it would be cheaper/easier to just pay a gunsmith with a sight pusher than it would be to buy a pusher and modify it to have the clearance necessary to insert/remove these globe sights we use. Here is the one I have.


http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=732798

When I got it, I didn't have a grinder handy so a buddy modified it to make the cut out area a lot deeper. It works wonderfully, though, and I've probably installed or removed 20+ sights with it for myself or friends since I got it. I haven't dinged up a sight ramp, broken the head off a ramp screw, or stripped out a barrel hole since, either.

[sciguy309]

After using a brass punch and small hammer for years, I finally saw someone else use a sight pusher and haven't used the brass punch for sight mounting again. Even supporting the ramp, you can break one of the screws holding the ramp on or strip out one of the holes in the barrel when tapping the sight with the brass punch. If you're just going to be doing the one front sight, it would be cheaper/easier to just pay a gunsmith with a sight pusher than it would be to buy a pusher and modify it to have the clearance necessary to insert/remove these globe sights we use. Here is the one I have.

When I got it, I didn't have a grinder handy so a buddy modified it to make the cut out area a lot deeper. It works wonderfully, though, and I've probably installed or removed 20+ sights with it for myself or friends since I got it. I haven't dinged up a sight ramp, broken the head off a ramp screw, or stripped out a barrel hole since, either.

Jason,

Thanks for the installation tip! The right tool makes a job like this so much easier. I had already envisioned how easy it would be to break off those
little ramp screws.

Hugh

[jnyork]

Uh, remove the ramp and mount it in a vice for the work, then you dont have to worry about the screws.

[Jason]

I would love to do that but the site covers enough of the screw heads that I can't get a screwdriver to them with the sight on.

[sciguy309]

It will fit into the dovetail just fine, you will have to get a needle file and file a little, no big deal, file the SIGHT not the dovetail. Just keep working a little at a time until the sight just barely goes into the dovetail when being driven in smartly with a BRASS punch and small hammer.

Where people have trouble is when they get the wrong size 17a for their application. They either cant get down far enough for the chickens or up far enough for the rams. There are 4 different heights of 17a, usually the lowest one works for most people, but a lot will depend on how your eyes see the sights and what hold you use. You will be using the post front insert and it can be filed down some to compensate a little.

So to get this straight, one should use the shortest 17A along with the short Marbles upright with the adjustable Marbles tang?
Who would you suggest as a reasonable parts supplier. The darn shipping is crazy on small parts from so many of these companies.
When the USPS does Priority Mail for just over $4.00 it seems crazy to pay huge dollars for small items.

Thanks for the advice.

Hugh

[jnyork]

I always order from Brownell's, never a problem.

If you are getting the tang sight with the two stems, I have no clue which one will be the best for you, I have no experience with those. I have always just ordered the standard sight .

If you have a business license or an FFL including a C & R, Brownells offers a great discount.

[Finprof]

[quote="jnyork"]Where people have trouble is when they get the wrong size 17a for their application. quote]

I missed this topic before and want to add a caveat that different Marlin models will use a different height 17a. I put the .404 on an 1897CB and it workled great, but when I put the same sight on an 1894CL in 32/20 it shot a foot high at 25 yards.

Brownells hs a discussion in their catalog of how to measure proper sight height. I should have read it first.

[ppkny]

I think someone said on this forum if you measure the rear sight center distacne from the barrell the front sight should be at the same dimension . This would get you close enough to start. I know on my setup putting the rear sight in the middle of the travel you have plenty of adjustment from the chickens to the rams. It only uses about 3 turns of the screw.
ppkny

[dgslyr]

I have Lyman 17A's(.404 tall mounted on the ramp) on my 30/30 XLR and my 39A with Williams fp's on both.I had to get the long target knob elevation screw for both rear sights.The long elevation screw might or might not have been nessesary for the 30/30 but it was with the 39A.The screw that was in the one on the 39A needed to be about .100 longer.The long one I got from Brownells was over .300 longer.Neither of these sight's came with Target Knobs.I added them after I got them along with Gib elevation lock screws that were too long and had to cut off with a dremel tool.