Winchester 94 Front Sight Dovetail

[Clutch80]

After learning a lot reading on the various forums, I figured someone here might be able to shed some light on a situation I have run into.   I recently picked up a pre-1964 Winchester 94 and love the rifle.  Unfortunately it shoots about 3 inches high at 50 yards with the rear sight as low as it can go.  The simple answer is a taller front sight but when my gunsmith tried to install the new sight it was too loose in the dovetail.  It turns out the dovetail for the front sight is .3825" rather than the normal .375" (3/8).  Williams doesn't carry sights with that width and neither does Midway.  Anybody run into this before or know who sells sights for the wider dovetail? 

[Wingshooter]

I have not run into that particular issue, but I have bought a lot of model94 parts from Midwest Gun Works. http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi

http://www.midwestgunworks.com/page/mgwi/ctgy/winchester-gun-parts

I believe they have gunsmiths that specialize in the 94, so it might not hurt to give them a call.


And

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Rifles-42602/94Series-40353/94Pre64-34346.htm

Is it possible that the rear sight and elevator are not correct for that gun? I ask that because I actually had a pre64 where that was the case. The rear sight was not an actual Win94 part, so I ordered the correct pieces. Edited November 9, 2015 by Wingshooter

[runco]

Numrich and Ebay have been my go to places for gun parts. 

[peejman]

Is it a bead sight or just a simple blade/post? If the latter, you can just file the existing sight down. 

Edited November 9, 2015 by peejman

[gregintenn]

Is it a bead sight or just a simple blade/post? If the latter, you can just file the existing sight down. 

If he's shooting high, filing the front sight ain't gonna help. :ugh:

 

I thought 3/8" was standard. Your smith might have to make a sight. That, or shoot heavier bullets. How does it shoot with the rear sight elevator completely removed?

Edited November 9, 2015 by gregintenn

[peejman]

If he's shooting high, filing the front sight ain't gonna help. :ugh:

 

I thought 3/8" was standard. Your smith might have to make a sight. That, or shoot heavier bullets. How does it shoot with the rear sight elevator completely removed?

 

 

Oh yeah... that righty tighty thing gets me sometime too.  :)

[Clutch80]

Thanks for the info.  To clarify, the 3 inches high was after I took the ramp completely out from under the rear buckhorn sight.  I also put on a Williams FP 94/36 rear sight and cranked that as low as it would go (scraped the bolt-ouch) and was still 3 inches high.  I will give Midwestern Gun Works a try to see if they have ideas/sights.  I was also wondering if putting a shim under the taller front sight would help tighten it up by wedging it up against the "roof" of the dovetail.

[Wingshooter]

Is that the same with different types of ammo?

Can you cut the notch a little deeper on the rear sight and just pull a real tight bead with it?

[Clutch80]

I've shot Federal 150 grain and 170 grain through it with consistent results.  Haven't tried any of my handloads yet because I wanted that out of the equation. There is a piece on the dovetail that adds additional elevation adjustment but that is as low as it gets as well.  The taller front sight is probably the best bet if I can get one to fit.  Just sent an email to Midwestern Gun Works customer service and will try to give Winchester  customer service a call as well. 

[DWARREN123]

Can the gunsmith solder a piece on to the top of the front sight to lower POI?

[Grayfox54]

Several options:

A thin shim in the dovetail with the new sight

Add material to the top of the original sight

A bit of solder added to the new sight dovetail area.

Peen the dovetail on the barrel. 

Peen the dovetail area on the new sight.

 

I'm a bit surprised that a competent gunsmith wouldn't at least suggest one of these options. 

 

 

[Clutch80]

I got word from Midwestern Gun Works that they didn't have anything they could offer to help.  Spent 15 minutes on hold with Winchester waiting for a parts person but had to hang up and get back to work.

 

The gunsmith did try to peen the dovetail but that didn't do the trick.  He's a younger guy that I was trying to support with some work and may not have thought of the other options.  I'm going to take it to my other gunsmith who is more experienced but more backlogged because he's really good. 

[Clutch80]

Closing this one out with good news.  I worked with my old gunsmith to get the right size sight by shooting a group an doing the calculations.  He had the right one on-hand but the dovetail was still too wide but with some peening and got it to fit solidly.  The height calculations were spot on with the elevation coming in 1/2 inch low on the first shot because the sight was a little taller than required.  Now to load up some ammo and re-zero with handloads.  Thanks to everybody for your help on this one.

[Sunfish]

3 high at 50 isn't so bad how does it do at 100? If it was me I would just hold down a little up close and see where it hit to the point of aim downrange.

[Clutch80]

The ballistics tables I looked at only showed a drop of about 1/4 inch from 50 yards to 100 yards so I figured a zero at 50 with iron sights was good.  After I get it set up with my handloads I will take it out to 100 yards and see what I get. It's a fun rifle to shoot and the handloads will make it more affordable.  As a side note, the test group that I shot to determine the correct front sight height was about 8 inches high but I popped clay pigeons with it by holding 8 inches low.  Did I say it was a nice shooting rifle?