SIGHTS FOR A MODEL 1893 RIFLE

[BUSSMAN69]

I am new to this website. I am retired Military (US Army Military Police Corps) and retired civilian Law Enforcement too. Sheriff's Deputy here in Nebraska. So I was paid to carry a gun for most of my adult life. I was a farm kid too, so I was basically born with a gun in my hand. I am an avid hunter, shooter and arms collector. I also have an FFL and am a firearms dealer. So guns are pretty much my entire life. For about a year now, I have been avidly collecting old, original Marlin lever rifles. From the 1880's, 1890's and turn of the century manufacture. I've acquired around 15 already and am still going strong. Enough about me.
I just bought a model 1893 rifle off of Gunbroker in .30-30 Winchester. It looks to be all original except for the sights. It has a period correct tang mounted peep sight. So they removed the rear sight elevator and changed out the front sight also. Thank God they didn't remove the rear sight and put a blank in the dovetail. Like so many lever guns with tang mounted peep sights have had done to them. Apparently just removing the rear sight elevator was enough to be able to see the front sight. Both of these are easily found as new made replicas, but I would like to keep the rifle all original. So would anyone have an original rear sight elevator and or an original front sight for this Model 1893 rifle ?? Is was made in 1905 per the serial number check per Brophy. It has a half octagon/half round barrel with a partial length magazine tube.
This completes my quest to have all of the Model 1893 caliber rifles. I already have 2 in .32 Winchester Special, 2 in .32-40, 1 in .38-55 and 1 in .25-36. So this is a welcome addition to my growing Marlin collection. I am very partial to octagon barrels and steel crescent buttplates. And all of my guns that I collect are shooters with good bores. Thanks in advance.

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Bussman69;

Which front sight are you looking for? The Model 1893 had several different sights available in 1905. There was of course the silver blade Rocky Mountain front sight, and then Lyman Number 3 front sight as well as the Lyman Number 5 Combination front sight. With the tang mount peep sight, a Number 5 is often found as the optional front sight.
Once in a while, you can find a correct rear sight elevator on eBay. Most of the time, they are with a correct rear sight, which might come in handy in the future. Front sights can be found there, too.
Since you like collecting Marlins, you should consider joining the Marlin Firearms Collectors Association, Ltd. Our next annual meeting will be held in Kansas City, Missouri the last full weekend in July. This will be the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Association, and we are expecting a great turnout of members and displays. And, there are usually a good number of items available to add to one's collection.

[BUSSMAN69]

Thanks for the reply back. I am partial to the German Silver Rocky Mountain front sights, although all of the ones on my other Marlin rifles are gold in color ?? I have a couple with Lyman front sights also. I guess I like the look of the Gold Bladed front sights, they look "Older" to me than the Lyman front sights. Which look more "Modern" to me. Just my personal preference.
I have spent hours scouring the internet and I can only find one original front sight on Ebay, But someone did a Bubba job on it and filed down the high point of the gold blade. So it is not totally original. I am also looking for the "Fish Hook" rear sight elevator. I just as well be looking for Hens Teeth. Numrich Arms does have a faithful new made reproduction of that.
It would be nice to have unaltered, originals of both. So my quest will continue I guess. I was hoping someone on here may have a spare laying around. Kansa City is about a 6 hour drive for me from where I am at in Nebraska. So it is doable for sure. And I am recently fully retired. So I will definitely keep that convention in mind. Thanks.

[BUSSMAN69]

I suppose that I should mention that I plan on leaving the tang mounted peep sight on the rifle. But AM NOT going to use it. I plan on using the rear sight and a different front sight. If I can ever find one that is.

[Regnier (gunrunner)]

Bussman69;

You should note that on page 640 of the Brophy book that there are 4 different heights of the Rocky Mountain front sight. Thereis a picture of the 4 different sights on page 637. Different calibers required different front sights. The two tallest sights were for the Model 1893 and 1895. The shortest was for the .22 caliber guns and the next size was for the pistol caliber guns.
Somewhere in my paperwork, I have a flyer that describes the 4 different sights and what models and calibers the sights are made to go with.

[BUSSMAN69]

Ok, I was not aware of that. I thought the Rocky Mountain front sights were all the same height. I know that the Lyman front sights came in different heights. I will check Brophys book and see what you are talking about. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

[lundy]

Bussman -

I bought a model 93 yesterday from a local gunshop in Pennsylvania. I’ve learned through various web resources that the gun was manufactured before 1920, or 1924 depending on the source. This is based on the barrel stamp of “Marlin & Co….”. Barrel stamps of “Marlin Corpotation…” were manufactured after 1920 (or 1924).

I don’t know if my gun has the same rear sight elevator as your 1905, but either way you can have it. I planned to replace the rear sight anyway because I’d like to hunt with the gun and would prefer (for the deers sake) to have a new sight with a clear picture

My serial # is 5369.

Glad to send some pics of the gun and sights, just email me or txt 610 - five eight five - eightynine fortythree.

Regards,
Lundy