The Winchester 21 and 79 series front sights supplied by WRA for the 1885 SingleShot rifles normally had a german silver insert. The common 21 series was also less commonly produced as a one-piece all steel sight. The 79 Rocky Mountain front sight series has an almost 1" long blade. You could special order the 79 sight with a steel, copper, brass, or ivory blade, and it was available in two base widths, one for #1 thru #3 barrels, which had radiused sides, and one for #4 and #5 weight barrels which had the wider base to completely fill the front barrel dovetail, and which had squared sides like the 71A Beach front sight. The 79 with a steel blade is pictured on page 185 of Campbell's first singleshot book. Note that the base junction with the blade is radiused, which is correct for a WRA sight. Winchester did not square the top of the base where it joins the blade. Ebay buyer's beware! The 79 is similiar to the special order 73 series Knife Blade front sight, having the same bases, but with different blade profiles. Among the 22 series rear dovetail sights, the 22A Sporting Rear sight and the 22D Rocky Mountain Rear sight both were the same sight except that the 22D base was wider to completely fill the dovetail of the #4 and #5 weight barrels, the other measurements being the same. The 22 series rear dovetail sights with the cloverleaf, semi-buckhorn, California buckhorn, etc, were usually found on the earler rifles, with the flat-top becoming the factory supplied standard as the singleshot approached the smokeless era. Interesting thing about sights is that they are usually the first thing on a firearm to get messed with, altered, and changed out, and swapped by shooters and sellers behind the show tables. They have a history and evolution that is intriguing as a subcategory of firearms history, and you can accumulate a number of books and documents that are strictly sight related, if you have the inclination.
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