Browning Model 53 Deluxe 32-20

RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
oscarflytyer said:
Ric - what ap sight you using? Lyman side mount? Mine is not d&t'd, and that IS going to happen. I have to have a peep. Would PREFER a Lyman 57/66 STEEL side mount, but I might also go with a top mount Skinner peep.
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It is an older steel Lyman 66LA. It was first used on my Marlin 218 Bee, that is long gone. Be careful on your lay out, as there is not a lot of room with the locking lug cut out. I have one screw in front and one in the cent of the lug raceway. I thought that would be better than the front in the raceway and rear on the pressure side. FWIW, this is some of the toughest steel I have ever had to drill and tap, sharp tooling and go slow with good lube.
 
oscarflytyer

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
Damn Ric! I do have a very good 'smith. But you are making me nervous! This rifle serial is 233 of 5000. I would die if a d&t hosed it. IYO - would I be better drilling the top for the Skinner? OR - I could simply use the Skinner bbl dovetail mount peep. It should work relatively well and no d&t.
 
smokeywolf

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
oscarflytyer said:
Ric - what ap sight you using? Lyman side mount? Mine is not d&t'd, and that IS going to happen. I have to have a peep. Would PREFER a Lyman 57/66 STEEL side mount, but I might also go with a top mount Skinner peep.
Click to expand...
Think I would investigate whether a Winchester 98a bolt peep will mount on the 53. I suspect there are reproductions available. They were a fairly common option on the model 64 and I know they've been mounted on model 65s, which were not much different from the 53.
A little cleaner looking IMHO than a receiver mount and much easier to replace a bolt than a receiver if it ever came to it.

EDIT to add: I think it was actually the 98c version of that bolt peep that was used on the model 65 Winchesters.
 
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RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
oscarflytyer said:
Damn Ric! I do have a very good 'smith. But you are making me nervous! This rifle serial is 233 of 5000. I would die if a d&t hosed it. IYO - would I be better drilling the top for the Skinner? OR - I could simply use the Skinner bbl dovetail mount peep. It should work relatively well and no d&t.
Click to expand...
It is not hard if you know what you are doing, but nothing you are going to do with a 1/4" drill and tapping by hand (I put it in my mill). Never seen a Skinner except in pictures and don't know how they attach except for the top mounts on a Marlin. The Model 71 Winchester bolts have to be milled for extractor relief, so don't know how that would work on a '92 sized action.
 
D

david s

Well-Known Member
In the 1980's and early 1990's when Browning was bringing in there reproductions of the Winchester lever guns I bought most of the variations as they were cheaper than the originals. The 65 in 218 bee and the 53 in 32-20 are favorites. Some people don't like tang mounted peep sights but Marbles makes one for the model 92 Winchester series rifles and also offers the correct metric screw for the Browning's there's one on my 65. Lyman also has there elevation adjustable version of the tang peep. These only require a single hole tapped in the tang. XZ Sight Systems also make a peep sight for the Winchester/Browning model 92 series rifles. There's straddles receiver above the bolt and requires two holes drilled. It's more of a hunting sight and requires a fairly tall front sight replacement. It's actually a pretty neat sight set up though. My S&W 1905 and the Browning 53 have about 80 years between there manufacturing dates and the chambers reflect this. It took three attempts with different 32-20 sizing dies to get one that sized the case enough to fit the Browning after the case was fired in the S&W. There grand rifles though.
 
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