Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Will be getting a Lever-Action 30-30 in the not too distant future and the first thing people tell me is, you'll want to get Skinner Sights for it because your eyes are old and aren't getting any better.

Well, thanks for that. So I was looking at the sight and it immediately turns into analysis paralysis. I'm just looking to plink some paper/steel, perhaps a hog at ~100 yards at most. Which is the best sight for that purpose?

Regarding the rifle, probably a Marlin 336...but hopefully a used, well-loved JM series at my favorite LGS. At any rate, most likely a Marlin.

Thanks in advance.
Last edited by atxgunguy on Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Skinner Sights - Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Not skinner. People seem to like them because of the simplicity, but your Marlin will accept a variety of other options I like much better.

Old school tang sights as made by Lyman and Marbles are quite nice. Quality of current Marbles is better than current Lyman. I have this sort of peep on a bunch of levers.

Receiver mounted peeps of the style offered by Williams, Lyman and others are closer to the Skinner mounting styles, but actually adjustable and accept different size apertures that a person might actually want to use.

My hat is off to the ingenuity of the folks at Skinner for making a sight and a business from some hardware store scrounging, and their products do provide some options that are useful in particular applications. Your Marlin, in the other hand, has better stuff available.
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Re: Skinner Sights - Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Nearly bought a Mossberg 464 becuase it was there in the LGS, but yikes...fit and finish looks like it was put together and QA’d at Beer:30 on a Friday.

I know the new Marlins also suffer with some fit and finish issues as well, but ugh...anything has to better than Mossberg’s offering.

LGS said they’d have at least one Marlin on order for the coming week, so let’s hope for less suck.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Lever Actions: Skinner Sights - Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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YankeeTarheel wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:01 pm I thought the newest Marlins had fixed the problems, but I could be wrong.
I LOVE my 1979 JM Marlin--it's my favorite firearm and the only one that is absolutely pure fun to shoot! I know I shouldn't change the sights but I'm thinking of a 'scope for it.
Marlin’s quality apparently went downhill after their Freedom Group acquisition. It’s a case of YMMV at this point.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Lever Actions: Skinner Sights - Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Marlin 336 orderedfro my LGS today. As I’ve got some time to wait, I was looking over the various options offered. While I think the XS would be great, they’re modern styling really diminishes the look of a Lever Action. Williams sights seem to be more my cuppa, but I’m running into analysis paralysis with the options. I like the basic aperture sights with the front fire sights, but...ugh...fiber optics isn’t doing the old-tymey look any favors.

I’m thinking about just starting with a basic aperture or ghost ring on the rear and sticking with the factory front sight.

That said, I do like the look of the Skinner rear sights...especially the blued+brass option.
LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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For iron sights of just about any sort, you will need to do something to be able to see the front sight. When you are older than age 40, this is a problem without Optician intervention, or some other measures.

I am age 62, and have special glasses for rifle & pistol shooting that deal with the problem, the master eye lens set up so I can see the front sight, the other lens set up for infinity (where the target is). It works well enough for me to shoot Expert level scores in Service Rifle.

There is a cheaper alternative, made by Lyman and other vendors. It is a supplementary aperture which sticks on your glasses, and looking through that plus your sights cleans up the picture of the front sight.

For type of iron sights, an aperture rear sight I shoot far better than the factory open rear sight. This may require drilling and tapping of the receiver.

Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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I'm in my early 40s and recently went to the eye doctor. I'm in that weird butter zone of being just near sighted enough that I can read without glasses but still need them for driving and long range depth perception.

To get back on topic, I went with the blued Skinner peep sight. Installed with a basic brass hammer and a bit of percussive maintenance. Shoots dead on out to 100 yards with a slight 6 o'clock hold for distances shorter than 40 yards.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a nice accurate range plinker that gets you a solid 2MOA.
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LGC Texas - Vice President

Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Marlene said:

Not skinner. People seem to like them because of the simplicity, but your Marlin will accept a variety of other options I like much better.
I have a Henry Steel in .357 Magnum. I looked all over and the Skinner Sights were the only option I found. I think I am about $200 total into the project (I added the plug for the removed buckhorns and had to buy a new front sight). The sights work fine, but there is a wait time and the cost seems out of proportion to what you get.

Given the volume in which these rifles sell, it is hard to understand why there are not more options.

And for the final step, I had to take one of my wife's steel files to the range to trim the new front sight down to the right level :-). That was a first for me.

The sights work well, and the looks of the rifle maintain their integrity. Basically, I just hate buckhorn (or semi) sights. The peep sights work a lot better for me.

So I guess I am a +1 on Marlene's comment. I would have preferred another option.
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Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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NuJudge wrote: Sun Apr 21, 2019 9:21 am For iron sights of just about any sort, you will need to do something to be able to see the front sight. When you are older than age 40, this is a problem without Optician intervention, or some other measures.
Sorry but I don’t agree. I’m no optician but I have found that I can see the front sight clearly through an aperture but not over notch or V sights. This is exactly why I’m going with apertures where possible on rifles.

Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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Mattguy I have the semi buckhorn on my Henry 44 and 357 and like them . Had no problem sighting them in. But to me fair I’m a bit of an oddity (no smartass remarks) I am blind in one eye have been since right after birth. I see the world differently than most people even those that have lost sight in one eye later in life. I have never had binocular vision so my brain is not trained for it. I have perfect depth of field and see in 3 dimensions. But I see more like a SLR camera. I can voluntarily change my focus and debts of field. Makes it easier to focus on front sights an target or to align sights then focus on target.now I have always had to wear glasses since kindergarten and with age I have bifocals.
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Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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TrueTexan wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:22 pm Mattguy I have the semi buckhorn on my Henry 44 and 357 and like them . Had no problem sighting them in. But to me fair I’m a bit of an oddity (no smartass remarks) I am blind in one eye have been since right after birth. I see the world differently than most people even those that have lost sight in one eye later in life. I have never had binocular vision so my brain is not trained for it. I have perfect depth of field and see in 3 dimensions. But I see more like a SLR camera. I can voluntarily change my focus and debts of field. Makes it easier to focus on front sights an target or to align sights then focus on target.now I have always had to wear glasses since kindergarten and with age I have bifocals.
I've cooked my eyes too many times welding over the years & got a nasty astigmatism in one eye on top of that.

I struggle with peep sights these days. Probably why I've come to prefer a more open sight. Can't hardly close just one eye anymore. I do almost all shooting with both eyes open now. Except with scopes. Those just depends on the day it seems.


Age. It's just so grand.
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Re: Lever Actions: Which iron sight is best iron sight?

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I know there's not a lot of love for Skinner sights on this forum, but I bought some for my Marlin 336 a few years ago and think they're a great product for the price. I've never tried any long shooting - it's a 30-30 after all, but at 100 yards, it's a tack driver, and they look good, too - a nice complement to the brass trigger.
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