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Who is running a Williams FP rear sight?

1289 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Arrowhead, 
Tacoma
After some net research, I figured the Williams FP (AG-TK) rear sight coupled with the Lyman 17A AMI sight would provide just the cure for these old eyes needed on my 24" frontier. As I understood it , this was the go too set-up for numerous cowboy Silhouette shooters over the years.
Well, I installed the FP rear this week and figured I'd test get some reference groups with the factory front sight before doing the replacement upgrade to the 17A.
Well what I'm seeing is that my rifle is shooting a full 12" high at 50 yds with this set-up. ( 6" at 25). Not what I was expecting at all. By my math (and confirming with the Dawson Precision sight calculator) I am going to need a 17A with a 575"+ height to get close to a real zero at 50 yds. given the AMI is only .494", I think I have the wrong sight on hand.
Any experience/thoughts appreciated.
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Tacoma said:
I installed the FP rear this week and figured I'd test get some reference groups with the factory front sight before doing the replacement upgrade to the 17A.

Well what I'm seeing is that my rifle is shooting a full 12" high at 50 yds with this set-up. ( 6" at 25).
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The line-of-sight with the receiver sight is higher than with the open/iron barrel sights; so you need to replace the front sight with one that's taller than the issue sight.

Here's a handy sight height calculator:

Sight Correction Calculator | Top Rated Supplier of Firearm Reloading Equipment, Supplies, and Tools - Colt (brownells.com)
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Boilerjack22
Tacoma,

I have that exact sight on about 25 of my rifles.They work great, but the front sight usually has to be replaced by a taller one.
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Tacoma
Thanks Gents, I fully expected to have to use a taller sight. I just expected that the 17A AMIs .494" height would be the right one ( as researched on the net.) . I had also read that at least one person was getting only holdign under 2" at 50 yds with the Williams FP and factory front on his frontier. From my experiment with the factory front and use of the sight calculator, I'm now thinking I need at least the 17A UAG at .585". .. I've ordered AUG but was just hoping for input/ confirmation here before I start hand fitting the wrong sight.
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C
The William's GR-TK will work without requiring a taller front, as it has a lower profile. The sights are very similar, but the GR has the rail clamp in front of the sight elevator, rather than under it, as is the case with the AG. I realize you already have the sight and it would be silly to buy another, but I mention this for any others reading this thread, who may be contemplating this set up.
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Tacoma
Chickenhater said:
The William's GR-TK will work without requiring a taller front, as it has a lower profile. The sights are very similar, but the GR has the rail clamp in front of the sight elevator, rather than under it, as is the case with the AG. I realize you already have the sight and it would be silly to buy another, but I mention this for any others reading this thread, who may be contemplating this set up.
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Ah, very telling! I think I got my alphabet mixed up on this one.. I still want to install the 17A front sight but I might just buy a FP-GR and give it a try anyway. i like the idea of the lower profile. I can always use the AG on another project. Maybe even one of my air rifles. THANK YOU !
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C
Good idea, the AG will work with most air rifle factory front sights. Diana, A&W, Weirauch... etc.. have tall hooded fronts and I've used my AG's with those mentioned. Some have plenty of adjustment, though the A&W 124 has the elevator near full travel at 45yds. Good luck and happy shooting.
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Tacoma
For those who may follow. Just as @Chickenhater indicated, switching from the FP-AG to the FP-Gr allowed me to shoot at 25 and 50 yds with the factory ( 0.410") front sight on my 24". In fact, the rifle was shooting 2" low at 25 yds when the FP-GR was bottomed out. ( where it had been 5-6" high. That's about a 7" difference at 25 between the two FP sights.)

I'm still going to swap out the front with a Lyman 17A AMI ( 0.494") but I need to find time to fit that one. ( The factory front is giving me a REAL hard time coming out.) Meanwhile, I developed a Fiber Optic insert for the 17A. I'll be documenting that elsewhere on RFC when I can.
Audio equipment Gas Automotive design Gadget Automotive wheel system
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Lv2fish
Can anyone confirm if the PF-GR is compatible with the H001 new style front sight?
This is the screw mounted H001 sight, not a drifted on dovetail, or barrel band incorporated sight.
Thanks
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Tacoma
Lv2fish said:
Can anyone confirm if the PF-GR is compatible with the H001 new style front sight?
This is the screw mounted H001 sight, not a drifted on dovetail, or barrel band incorporated sight.
Thanks
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My guess would be "yes" as their seems to be plenty of adjustment in the rear sight. It would depend on your front sight blade height though ( not on the style of sight). Given both the H001 and the H001T are calibrated to use the same rear sight, the front sight height must be close.
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Tacoma
Update:
So I finally have the sight upgrade on my 24" frontier finished. Namely, the rear Williams FP-GR-TK rear and Lyman 17A AMI front sights are installed and sighted in at 25 and 50 yards. I also fabricated a fiber optic front insert for the 17A that makes the sighting process a bit easier on these old eyes. Lastly, fillers also installed where the rear buckhorn was installed to give it a more finished look.
It was a little bit of work to get it all done but I'm happy with the outcome. At 27", the sight radius is about as long as you could get on a lever gun of this type. The precision of both sights are a HUGE improvement over the old buckhorn too. My old eyes still struggle a bit even with the 0.085" FO front insert and 0.050" rear aperture but that's more of a testament on my health than anything else. Adjustment wise, I was about 1/3 of the adjustment range ( 120 clicks+) up on this sight set-up to zero Tac-22 at 50 yds Once dialed in, I was able to repeatedly put 5 shots into a 2.5" bull at 50 yds with this set-up. That's about as good as it gets for this old guy with open sights on a cold winters day at the range.

Since I could find so little on the net regarding this sight pairing, I've attached are some pics of the end result and process.
Wood Road surface Asphalt Bumper Air gun

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Boilerjack22
Now you have me thinking, I’d rather have a Williams on my Henry H003T pump, instead of the Skinner, I now have
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P
I went for simple when I mounted this $25 Williams WM-96 peep sight (meant to replace military Mauser rear sight leafs) - which zeroed almost immediately, using the issue front sight (to which I applied a dollop of paint)

Hood Automotive lighting Plant Grass Bumper
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A
I had a Lyman tang peep, on mine after trying a Skinner and immediately removing it, then a Williams, but have now gone the more modern route. I found a 4 X shiny blued steel Bushnell Scope Chief at the last gunshow I attended and it now sets on top of my LB frontier. In my opinion scopes on lever action rifles look funny but I am certainly a better shot with it.
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