M94 Williams 5D mount hole location

[zoner]

I want to install a 5D to my Winchester M94. The rifle was made before Winchester started drilling and tapping holes for the side mount peep. I have already been successful locating,drilling, and tapping a Rossi R92 for a 5D. On the Rossi I pretty much located the holes where I thought they should go and it worked out well. I'd like to take a slightly different route that being locating the mount holes exactly where Winchester did i on the M94. Can somebody that owns a M94 drilled and tapped by the factory give me a measurement from the front edge of the receiver(where the receiver meets the wood forend) back to the forward hole that mounts the peep mount to the receiver. I realize that drilling and tapping those holes devalues an original gun but don't care about that because the rifle is not 100% original. My Grandfather installed a recoil pad to the buttstock years ago and the wood was refinished and the gun was re-blued so like I said the don't drill and tap an original M94 ship has long sailed. Hoping somebody can help me out with this......Mike

[Walt]

Zoner, on my Trapper the distance to the first screw is 3.880" plus maybe a thousandth because I didn't perfectly center the screw head.

[zoner]

Thanks Walt…..that’s exactly the info i was after

[FLINT]

I have three 94s that are DT'd

Both post 64s measure 3.855" from front end of receiver to middle of first screw hole - so similar to Walt's measurement.

However a 40's flat band measures 3.658"

[Malamute]

I believe the simplest way to get them exact is to get a post-64 Weaver side mount scope base and use it as a template to drill. They are shipped with the thicker screw for the lever pin plug screw, post-64s were thicker. You may be able to use your existing screw just to center it, though I had a gunsmith make me a couple screws that fit the post-64 base and the pre-64 receivers (fatter head, skinnier threads) to mount the bases and use scopes on a couple guns.

This is the correct base to use as a drilling template if you were to choose that route.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009219288?pid=410124

The several later pre-64s Ive tried them with fit perfectly, so it seems they were using the same numbers since they started drilling and tapping for receiver sights.