Question re: Lyman 48 Installation

[NMC_EXP]

Greetings

When Lyman 48 sights were installed on the M1903 or 03-A4 were the mounting holes in the receiver blind holes or were they drilled through the receiver wall?

I'm considering an 03-A4 which had a Lyman installed and the mounting holes are drilled through. I do not know if this was standard procedure and if not, whether it is a safety concern.

The receiver still has WW2 Parkerizing so I asume it was not drawn and tempered to ease the drill and tap operation.

Thanks in advance

Jim

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Mike Haas]

Greetings

When Lyman 48 sights were installed on the M1903 or 03-A4 were the mounting holes in the receiver blind holes or were they drilled through the receiver wall?

I'm considering an 03-A4 which had a Lyman installed and the mounting holes are drilled through. I do not know if this was standard procedure and if not, whether it is a safety concern.

The receiver still has WW2 Parkerizing so I asume it was not drawn and tempered to ease the drill and tap operation.

Thanks in advance

Jim

Jim - I'm not going to read into your post to much but I would suggest you approach this issue carefully.
Let us know the Serial # of the Rifle and better yet a picture of the drilled mounting holes on the top and side of the receiver.
I'm not saying this because of a safty issue so much as preservation and curiousity.

[NMC_EXP]

Jim - I'm not going to read into your post to much but I would suggest you approach this issue carefully.
Let us know the Serial # of the Rifle and better yet a picture of the drilled mounting holes on the top and side of the receiver.
I'm not saying this because of a safty issue so much as preservation and curiousity.

Mike

Thanks for the reply and note of caution.

This rifle is being offered as a standard 03-A3 which was gunsmith modified by the addition of Lyman front and rear sights. It is not being represented as an original Springfield Armory NRA Target or other Armory variant.

It has interest for me only as a shooter, not a collector.

I like the '03. I'd enjoy it more with better sights. In this case the damage is already done so the preservation issue is a moot point.

Regards

Jim

[Jim Tarleton]

All 48 Lyman installations I have seen are drilled all the way through (I have 6 03's with 48's). There is no safety issue whatsoever.

Drilling a hole in a steel structure does not necessarily make it weaker. A steel bar with a small hole drilled through the center is stronger than the original solid bar.

Jim

[edlmann]

All 48 Lyman installations I have seen are drilled all the way through (I have 6 03's with 48's).

I can't imagine a blind hole in the side of the rear bridge of an '03 action having much more than one thread of contact - you'd want all the contact area you could get in any case. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a blind hole for a receiver-mounted aperture sight.

[NMC_EXP]

I can't imagine a blind hole in the side of the rear bridge of an '03 action having much more than one thread of contact - you'd want all the contact area you could get in any case. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a blind hole for a receiver-mounted aperture sight.

I've never examined an '03 with a Lyman installed so I was not sure. My frame of reference is Rem 40X and Rem 37 smallbores. Those have blind mounting holes but the receiver walls are probably thicker than the '03.

Regards

Jim

[NMC_EXP]

All 48 Lyman installations I have seen are drilled all the way through (I have 6 03's with 48's). There is no safety issue whatsoever.

Drilling a hole in a steel structure does not necessarily make it weaker. A steel bar with a small hole drilled through the center is stronger than the original solid bar.

Jim

Thanks for the info. This particular Lyman 48 has the slide with 105 minutes of elevation adjustment. I assume this is the "short" version?

Do you know how much windage adjustment this sight has?

I'm interested in this rifle for club H.P. matches and might give it a try at 1000 yds.

I like the old steel and walnut.

Regards

Jim

[Dollar Bill]

Thanks for the info. This particular Lyman 48 has the slide with 105 minutes of elevation adjustment. I assume this is the "short" version?
Jim

Jim, I've looked at a few Lyman 48s and from what I've seen, the 48C came with 30,60,90, and 125 slides. I have a Lyman 48S, which also fits the 1903s, and the longest slide, which I have is a 105. Maybe Jim Tarleton, or someone else knowledgeable about these sights can help out.

[Cosine26]

NMC EXP,
What you have I believe is a post WWII “long slide” Lyman 48. Per my memory the post-WWII Lyman 48 came in two sizes. To quote from the Lyman catalog:
Series 48 Receiver Sight with standard elevation slide (up to 600 Yard)…$12.50
Series 48 Receiver Sight with special long slide (up to 1000 yards) ……….$14.50
The standard slide was calibrated to 60 minutes while the long slide was calibrated to 105 minutes. I still have a “long slide” on a M1903.
I do not know how much windage adjustment the new 48 has but it’s more than plenty.
I believe that the pre-WWII 48’s were calibrated TO 125 minutes

[NMC_EXP]

NMC EXP,
What you have I believe is a post WWII “long slide” Lyman 48. Per my memory the post-WWII Lyman 48 came in two sizes. To quote from the Lyman catalog:
Series 48 Receiver Sight with standard elevation slide (up to 600 Yard)…$12.50
Series 48 Receiver Sight with special long slide (up to 1000 yards) ……….$14.50
The standard slide was calibrated to 60 minutes while the long slide was calibrated to 105 minutes. I still have a “long slide” on a M1903.
I do not know how much windage adjustment the new 48 has but it’s more than plenty.
I believe that the pre-WWII 48’s were calibrated TO 125 minutes

Cosine

Thanks....based on the angles of elevation table in Crossman's Book of the Springfield, I thought 105 minutes was enough for 1000 yds.

Regards

Jim