A Possible Future Range Experiment
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:18 pm
I am contemplating doing a 'Comparative Test' of different models of Krag "No-Drill" Receiver Sights.
"No-Drill" is an unofficial collector term, that has been applied to a certain variety of 'after-market' Krag sights.
These sights were designed to be easily installed on U.S. Krag rifles and carbines, by the owner.
Originally inexpensive, they used existing Krag receiver holes and surfaces, thus, not requiring skilled Gun-Smithing services for installation.
(Collectors have long appreciated that the 'No-Drill' sights saved many a U.S. Krag from being drilled & tapped)!
Simple 'peep' sights when coupled with replacement front-sights, offered advantages over original military sights, especially when adjusted for 50-to-100-yard Woods Hunting.
Redfield (originally 'Western'), Pacific, and Leroy Rice were the main producers of these sights. Production of the "Pacific" models started in the 1920's and ended around 1953.
Rice and Redfield sights were produced by 1930 and still available into the 1960's.
Many 'altered' Krag rifles & carbines will be found to still have these sights (or parts of them) installed.
This past January (2022), I finally added a Leroy Rice 'peep sight' to my collection.
The Rice Sight, frugally made from sheet-metal stampings in Elyria, Ohio, is often seen on Krag rifles that were altered for Hunting.
It was available via 'mail-order' advertisements, that appeared in the back pages of "The American Rifleman", for generations.
Looking kind of 'home-made', the Rice-sight seems to have been "the red-haired step-child" of Krag receiver-sights, but its simplicity and low price got it out there!
Nowadays, they are getting listed for $250 on eBay.
I don't know what they actually sell for. (?)
IMHO - For Hunting and 'Aging Eyes' the "No-Drill" Krag sights still offer viable choices.
If there is any interest, I can test these various sight models against each other and see how they 'stack up'.
I am puzzling how best to pull this off and come up with a 'trial' that will be a fair test of their relative merits.
Any ideas, feedback, and expressed interest are appreciated.
"No-Drill" is an unofficial collector term, that has been applied to a certain variety of 'after-market' Krag sights.
These sights were designed to be easily installed on U.S. Krag rifles and carbines, by the owner.
Originally inexpensive, they used existing Krag receiver holes and surfaces, thus, not requiring skilled Gun-Smithing services for installation.
(Collectors have long appreciated that the 'No-Drill' sights saved many a U.S. Krag from being drilled & tapped)!
Simple 'peep' sights when coupled with replacement front-sights, offered advantages over original military sights, especially when adjusted for 50-to-100-yard Woods Hunting.
Redfield (originally 'Western'), Pacific, and Leroy Rice were the main producers of these sights. Production of the "Pacific" models started in the 1920's and ended around 1953.
Rice and Redfield sights were produced by 1930 and still available into the 1960's.
Many 'altered' Krag rifles & carbines will be found to still have these sights (or parts of them) installed.
This past January (2022), I finally added a Leroy Rice 'peep sight' to my collection.
The Rice Sight, frugally made from sheet-metal stampings in Elyria, Ohio, is often seen on Krag rifles that were altered for Hunting.
It was available via 'mail-order' advertisements, that appeared in the back pages of "The American Rifleman", for generations.
Looking kind of 'home-made', the Rice-sight seems to have been "the red-haired step-child" of Krag receiver-sights, but its simplicity and low price got it out there!
Nowadays, they are getting listed for $250 on eBay.
I don't know what they actually sell for. (?)
IMHO - For Hunting and 'Aging Eyes' the "No-Drill" Krag sights still offer viable choices.
If there is any interest, I can test these various sight models against each other and see how they 'stack up'.
I am puzzling how best to pull this off and come up with a 'trial' that will be a fair test of their relative merits.
Any ideas, feedback, and expressed interest are appreciated.