I have been eyeing a Maynard rifle for sale on a website. I know next to nothing about Maynard rifles. It is listed as a model 1882, and I am guessing from Grant's book that it is a No. 1. It has fixed sights and is chambered in 22 long. One thing holding me back on this rifle is that I prefer aperture or tang sights, and I can not see any screw plugs or holes in the tang from the photos. I know higher end models came with tang sites. Were all 1882 Maynard rifles tapped for such sights, or only the rifles that came equipped from the factory?

I suppose an equally important question would be whether anyone is making a tang sight with the proper hole spacing to mount on a Maynard rifle?

Cheers,
Frosty

Not all of them were drilled and tapped for the tang sight. It could be special ordered on any of them. S&S Firearms has repro sights but if the rifle is not drilled and tapped it doesn't have the spring and plunger that holds the sight in the upright position. This is under the tang and protrudes up thru the tang to engage the sight staff.

The tang sight in the image above was the most basic (and lowest priced) of the Maynard tang sights.  Next up the ladder was a similar unit with a screw in sight disc that locked the plate in place when tightened.  The top-of-the-line tang sight (standard only on the top few grades or special orders) was pretty distinctive as it used a rack and pinion vertical adjustment.  That’s the one I dream of finding! 

Froggie

Yes, "frosty_bacon" that 1882 Maynard in .22 Long has been tempting me too, but I just have too many other "irons in the fire" to buy it right now.  Hopefully you will buy it and remove the temptation!



(Plus I already have a Maynard in .22 Long that needs a few repairs and a little bit of "love" that I haven't got to yet ...)

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There are other sight manufacturers who can make a base for the Maynard.  I have put tangs on a couple.  Deadeye Bly is correct tho, a standard sight won't fit on ones that do not have the spring assembly installed.  I have a couple of Maynard 22's which need those.  There are drilled holes, however you would need to either modify or make a base on which to mount the sight.   
Some of the old Lyman sights will fit on these, as I have one with a period Lyman installed.
Maynard had a wide variety of sights on their arms, I don't know how many variations of sights are on my Maynards.

That is a beautiful looking Maynard!  I love the colour cased action colours.  Nice to see what some of my Maynards might have looked like when they were new ...

I just picked up another Maynard, and it came with a Lyman sight in place. It was full of dried oil and dust, so I pulled it off for a good soak in kerosene. I was pleased to see it was the correct "Y" code base, and that no other holes had been drilled in the tang. 

(not my photo)
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My No. 16 has one of the "Parts Unknown" repro rack and pinion sights. It's very satisfactory, although of course I wish it were the correct original sight.