u.s. model of 1917 winchester, replacement rear sight

[sw28]

hi, i have a partially sporterized 1917 I'm missing the original wood, the bayonet and maybe a piece too the bayonet attachment. that said its in a bishop stock. still full length barrel. i don't want to mill the receiver for a scope, it has a flip up sight that goes to i think 1800 meters folded down its a 400 meter battle sight. is there a open sight that can be put on too have some use as a hunting rifle with no drilling or tapping any holes? i hate peeps i cant shoot a peep worth a darn. my eye doesn't center the front post I'm hoping for a normal rear sight like on a Winchester, marlin or Remington. I've done a few google searches with no luck.thanks for your time.i also had a smith check the rifle out and the headspace its fine too shoot.

[Mikey]

sw28:  I would check one of our sponsors, Mid-South Supply, to see if they carry any sights for the P-14/M-17 that you might like.  I would also check Brownells as they have lots of stuff like that.   

I understand your non-preference for a peep sight, although the US military peeps are some of the most effective battle sights in the world and some tang sight models use a larger circular rear aperature.  A rear peep sight gives you a better sight picture than a 'v' notch and I have used peep sights for both hunting and target work and they work fine for me. 

If the rear peep on the M-17 is too small for your eyes you could always try getting another rear peep with a larger opening or just get another one and open up the hole yourself until you get the size you like.  HTH.  Mikey.

[woodchukhntr]

SW28,

The best way to use a peep sight is to just look through it without paying any attention to it.  Your eye will automatically center in the aperture.  Stop looking at it, just look through it!  You are too used to looking at the rear sight because you are trying to line up 3 objects (rear sight, front sight, and target).  A peep sight basically cuts down the number of objects that you have to line up to 2, the front sight and the target.

[Brithunter]

although the US military peeps are some of the most effective battle sights in the world and some tang sight models use a larger circular rear aperature.

  This really cracked me up as until America used the p-17 rifles none of them had peep sights. The P-17 of course was a slight adaption of the British P-14 303 rifle  .

[woodchukhntr]

although the US military peeps are some of the most effective battle sights in the world and some tang sight models use a larger circular rear aperature.

  This really cracked me up as until America used the p-17 rifles none of them had peep sights. The P-17 of course was a slight adaption of the British P-14 303 rifle  .

And the P-14 was a slight adaptation of the Mauser 98, which the U.S. adapted in 1903.

[TNyoteboy]

I'm sorry I'm anal, it's an M1917, U. S. Model of 1917, which was an adaptation of an Enfield Pattern 14 rifle. But you are correct that we adapted them when we realized we were never going to have enough 1903s to fight a war.

[sw28]

thanks for the replies guys. i have tried Williams peeps on 3 rifles but never have been able to shoot them i don't think my eye centers automatically, i have read that not every ones does. not sure if its true or not.with the battle sight on the 1917 i think having it flipped up to be on the 200yard setting would be impossible to keep in place .and down on the 400 yard setting i assume i,d have to get" Kentucky windage" working for me seems the mid-range trajectory would be high. maybe 6-8 inches at 100 yards?

[Brithunter]

although the US military peeps are some of the most effective battle sights in the world and some tang sight models use a larger circular rear aperature.

  This really cracked me up as until America used the p-17 rifles none of them had peep sights. The P-17 of course was a slight adaption of the British P-14 303 rifle  .

And the P-14 was a slight adaptation of the Mauser 98, which the U.S. adapted in 1903.

   Strange this as yes the P-14 used front locking lugs and a Mauser staggered magazine however royalties were not sought by Mauser for the P-13 design. Mannlicher didn't pay them for their twin front lug bolt either as Mauser did not invent the idea of two front locking lugs. He did however design the two column staggered magazine and this to get away from paying Mannlicher royalties on the packet loading system as used of the M88 and commission rifle.

   This thread is about aperture sights and not the Mauser and it's design features .

   No if the poster really cannot manage an aperture sight then I suggest a good quality express type sight and here is one place that does them:-

http://www.z-hat.com/express_sights.htm

  Also these do an adjustable version:-

http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/sights.html

Hope that helps.