doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com James V. Howe

I'd be timorous to shoot a heavy recoil rifle with a cocking piece sight, especially stock crawling prone or sitting, or uphill, even tho they snap forward on shooting. Also, this may be heresy, but the 103 altho an elegant looker tends to work loose even on solid base SS rifles and wriggles even more on bolt actions. That said, I have them for Krag, 1903, High Wall and Savage 99 - the last really rare. There is a better choice if you can find one, the Parker Hale Sportarget No. 10. These also have clicking windage and elevation and are much solider than the 103, but were not made for the 1903 or the Krag. Likely a 98 Mauser or Mannlicher version could be adapted. Parker Hale offered them up through the 1950s for many American, Brit and Euro rifles.

Isn't there some modification that be done to insure a cocking piece sight is always in the same position, relative to the front sight and line of bore, for every shot? Or am I thinking of another type of moving rear sight? JD?

The cocking piece can be fitted tight into the bolt sleeve which in turn has to be tight inside the bolt body. Plugs inserted in the bottom of the bolt sleeve can be filed down to take up the slack. Rigby's solution was a V shaped cut in the sear and a matching V point on the bottom of the cocking piece, this was sufficient for the Brits. All these and other tricks worked well enough for hunting rifles until they wore loose, but were no match in precision for the Lyman 48.

Not heresy, just fact despite the dogma surrounding the 103. I've had a dozen or more 103s for various rifles, still have a couple on single shots, and all repeat all were loose to some degree except for one brand-new one and 2 that had been 'tightened'.

Kinda like an older Harley-Davidson motorcycle, lots of visual appeal and old-world mechanical intricacies and historical charisma, but if you actually use it it will start falling apart.
Regards, Joe

I've used the 103 on several rifles and never had any problems just need to remember this is a hunting sight and not a target sight. I put one on my heavy barreled Niedner 06 and it shot about a good as with the 48. For fun can you tell me who checkered the Niedner?

As a matter of fact I was so worried about my eyesight that I installed a Lyman receiver sight. The eye poking sight is in the drawer. I also have one on a Niedner Krag but that don't kick so much. .25 Krag

The scratches on the bolt look like Niedners work.

Yes, all the metal work is by Niedner.

Shellhammer?

James V. Howe.