1886 Browning Hi Grade SRC Sights Project

[SJPrice]

I really liked this gun except for three items. The first was the glossy Browning finish. It has been stripped and the figured walnut has a nice warm Tru Oil finish now. The second was the trigger and action were heavy and rough. Steve Young worked some nice magic on those and they are great now. The last problem was my ability to see the front sight and now I am pleased to say I have found a solution to turn this carbine into a real favorite. I added a Smith full buckhorn ladder rear and a green fiber optic front blade/bead. I now have a great looking set of sights and I can see them as well. The full buckhorn works very much like a peep sight for me and is fast to acquire. The front blade/bead was the challenge as I was unable to find a fiber optic front that would replace the pinned blade on my 1886. I ordered a front sight from Freedom Arms in green fiber. I then milled the sides of the sight to the proper thickness to fit the saddle on the front of my 86 and milled a notch to allow it to fit flush to the barrel. The final step was to use a wire drill also called a hole popper to bore a .0625 hole for the pin to hold the sight in place. I think the final result looks and works very well. The height of the front blade is dead on for a 420 grain hard cast Keith style bullet at 1950 fps at 150 yards. This gives me a +/- 3 inch shot all the way out to 175 yards. I just thought I would share some of my joy over this one.

[kimwcook]

Nice job. Something to think about doing to my '86. The small brass bead front is really hard to see.

[salvo]

Yep, nice work!
I have not got to changing sights on my SRC either, more ideas the better.

[Grizz]

SJPrice,

Nice job. I'm liking those fiber sights for the same reason. Do you happen to know how that front sight block is attached to the barrel?

What's the secret to getting the Browning Bowling Alley finish off the wood ? I'd do it this year if I thought I could avoid damaging the stocks...

thanks,
Grizz

[SJPrice]

I appears to me that the front sight block is welded or soldered on the barrel on the SRC's. On the rifles with the octagon barrels it is a dovetailed grove which would have been easier to deal with. A word of warning about the Freedom Arms fiber optic sight blades. Just like the Freedom Arms guns the sight blades are as hard as a diamond. It was without a doubt the hardest steel I have ever machined. Carbide tools would barely mark it. I used diamond impregnated tools to machine it. As for the "bowling alley" finish I took the stock and forearm to a commercial furniture refinishing shop in my area. They soaked them in some solution that they had. I am not sure what it was but they pulled all the finish off to bare wood without any sanding so the checkering remained sharp and clean, but the wood was clean enough for a nice Tru Oil finish to be built up. I did use some 0000 steel wool to rub out the early coats as the finish was built up. All in all I am please with the outcome and am looking forward to using her on an upcoming Texas hog hunt.