39A GOLDEN SIGHT HOODS

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vegasbob
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39A GOLDEN SIGHT HOODS

Post by vegasbob »

Gentleman and Ladies too!

I have a 1965 production Marlin 39A GOLDEN. Serial # begins with AA...a dating website told me this. So, I ordered a front sight hood from Dick William's Gun Parts in Saginaw, MI. They sent me what turned out to be an "old style" round spring steel hood with gently scalloped ends which was nearly impossible to get installed on to the ramp. When I did, I immediately noticed how it had widened out so much that the clearance above the brass bead was around 1/8 inch...not too much. The bead was not centered inside the hood.

I did some research trying to find this configuration on rifles near the age of mine and kept seeing the taller wide scan hood that was supposedly introduced in 1975 according to an older archived post on this forum.

Also odd to me was that the front sight ramp on my rifle is shorter from front to back than any other hood I saw on the selling websites like Gunbroker. There are some taller ramps too. The very long ones are on much older rifles.

I don't know if the ramp on my rifle was changed before I bought it in the 90s. However, it is about twice as long as the hood is. Its my belief that regardless of the 1975 change mentioned above, a wide scan hood belongs on my rifle with this ramp.

If anyone wants to see 2 pix I shot, send me an e-mail....not set up to post pix here!

I'm getting ready to exchange the hood I was sent to Dick's, but if somebody wants to stop me...act fast!

Thanks,

Bob Marshall
http://www.bobsleatherworks.com
Thank God for our U.S. Constitution and the NRA
www.bobsleatherworks.com
GOD BLESS OUR U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE NRA
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
Regnier (gunrunner)
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Re: 39A GOLDEN SIGHT HOODS

Post by Regnier (gunrunner) »

Bob;

Chances are that the sight hood that Williams sent to you is not an original Marlin sight hood, but a reproduction that is used on other guns as well. There is a real shortage for the original Marlin, rounded sight hood, so someone is making a reproduction that may or may not be correct.
The Wide-Scan sight is NOT for a 1965 vintage gun. You should be able to tell if your ramp base has been changed or not by the way it fits the barrel. You may have to remove it to see if it is correct.
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vegasbob
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Re: 39A GOLDEN SIGHT HOODS

Post by vegasbob »

Regnier,

Thanks...at last...for your reply! I'm still holding on to the envelope before mailing the round sight hood back to Williams.

When I got it, I examined it to the point where I could see it had been used before...it didn't look like a reproduction and snapped back into shape after I took it back off the ramp on my rifle.

When it was installed the hood flattened out. Installing it on the ramp involved spreading it by twisting in a flat screwdriver blade from my Wheeler set, putting the rifle in a vise with leather pieces for protection, and then using another piece of leather to protect the hood from a small tacking hammer.

The ramp on my rifle is 1 7/8 inches long and held in place by 2 slotted screws with 1/4 inch wide flat heads. The front of the ramp is beveled to rear, the space between the screws is 3/4 inches on center, the 1/4 inch wide dovetailed in sight is a brass bead tipped post. The rear of the ramp tapers dowward and is finely ridged. The 1 1/8" long slots on the sides run down the middle of its sides. This ramp fits the rifle well.

Soooo...from this description, can you determine if in fact I have the correct or wrong sight style ramp on my rifle and the hood Williams sent me is in fact correct as you stated. OR, regardless of how I described the hood, it is a bad reproduction that's not springy enough or not properly shaped?

Said another way, should this round hood be so hard to install and then become oval afterwards?

BTW...if I could figure out how to post images here I wouldn't have had to write such detailed descriptions!

Thanks!
www.bobsleatherworks.com
GOD BLESS OUR U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE NRA
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
vegasbob
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Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2004 4:05 pm
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Re: 39A GOLDEN SIGHT HOODS

Post by vegasbob »

Regnier,

Your expertise has proven to be right on! I just found 2 of the original NOS old style hoods for sale on Ebay...the photos clearly detail of slight outward shoulders at the base of the rounded hood just before the steel turns right angle for attachment into the sight ramp grooves.

The hood I bought from Williams does NOT have this shape. I'm going to request a refund or a proper replacement.

Stay tuned...
www.bobsleatherworks.com
GOD BLESS OUR U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE NRA
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
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