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N/A Williams Peep Sight Modification & other Peep Sight options

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MDriskill said:
Thanks! Very interesting - I'd love to know more about all the different 311 variants. I think the early 311 I had used P-H inserts, but could be well be mistaken...it's been a long time. They at least closely resembled P-H ones.

I also briefly owned a very late-model 311, which had a much bigger front sight that used Anschutz inserts, believe it or not (I remember actually swapping those out to verify). I really wish I'd kept that one, it was a complete, as-new boxed set that a veteran had brought back. It had the multi-opening diopter sight, open rear sight, and a complete set of front inserts. The coolest bit was a running target front sight, with two posts whose spacing could be adjusted! I had no idea such a thing existed, it's the only non-scoped RT setup I've ever seen.

I'd also like to have back the Haenel 312 I once owned! The Rube Goldberg breech holds its own with the 311 in the overall wackiness department, LOL.
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Your rifle was called Haenel 311-4, with two rear sights (diopter and micrometer) and a match stock with an adjustable recoil pad. This is a late model very rare, was produced for only 2 years (1989-91). I have it and I will take pictures of it. You probably won’t find pictures of 311-4 on the Internet. Haenel 312 also exists in several versions. I'll probably open a separate topic dedicated to such rifles.
 
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Ievgen721 said:
Your rifle was called Haenel 311-4, with two rear sights (diopter and micrometer) and a match stock with an adjustable recoil pad. This is a late model very rare, was produced for only 2 years (1989-91). I have it and I will take pictures of it. You probably won’t find pictures of 311-4 on the Internet. Haenel 312 also exists in several versions. I'll probably open a separate topic dedicated to such rifles.
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Thanks, that would be GREAT - I will look forward to it! It's hard to find out much about those interesting rifles here in the US.

I do recall my 311-4 boxed set had a bunch of buttplate spacers, now that you mention it.

If my shaky memory is correct, the 312 I had came direct from some small dealer (in Florida maybe?), who imported a batch of Haenels in the late 80's or early 90's.
 
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MDriskill said:
Thanks, that would be GREAT - I will look forward to it! It's hard to find out much about those interesting rifles here in the US.

I do recall the 311-4 boxed set had a bunch of buttplate spacers, now that you mention it.

If my shaky memory is correct, the 312 I had came direct from some small dealer (in Florida maybe?), who imported a batch of Haenels in the late 80's or early 90's.
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You were right, the 311 has only two types of inserts in the front sight, the old small one and the new large one. Three main modifications of the Haenel 311: 311-2, 311-Q1 (the rarest) and 311-4 also very rare, produced approximately 1990-1992.Haenel rifles came to the USA in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall. They were imported by US Army veterans in large quantities. These rifles were in service with the NVA army and after its liquidation they were removed from service and transferred (sold) mostly new from storage to US military personnel. Rifles of the 300-303 series are entry-level rifles, similar to the Weihrauch-30 or Diana-24.The rifles 310 (49а) series are army simulators for shooting at a distance of 7m, inherited from the Wehrmacht (Haenel-33). The 311 and 312 are old match rifles for domestic competitions at the Olympic distance of 10m. The MLG 550 is a serious Olympic-level sports rifle. P.S. I'm from the USA, North Carolina.
 
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cjtamu said:
MDriskill, levgen721 et al, does anyone know if the Gehmann front sight unit that accepts the adjustable iris will fit on HW?
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Iris Gehmann 520 will probably suit you, but it’s better to wait for someone else to answer. I don’t see the point in spending money on Gehmann iris, it’s easier and cheaper to buy OEM Weihrauch inserts for the front sight.
 
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Ievgen721 said:
Gahmann 520 will probably suit you, but it’s better to wait for someone else to answer. I don’t see the point in spending money on Gehmann iris, it’s easier and cheaper to buy OEM Weihrauch inserts for the front sight.
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Thanks. I have a NIB 520 18mm and the front globe it threads into. I’m wondering whether the front globe will fit the HW front dovetail.
 
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cjtamu said:
Спасибо. У меня есть NIB 520 18 мм и передняя часть, в которую он ввинчивается. Мне интересно, подойдет ли передний глобус к переднему ласточкину хвосту HW.
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Понятия не имею, но тогда уж точно лучше перенести диафрагму Gehmann 520 m18 на мушку Weihrauch.
 
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I don't have a Gehmann 520 so this is a pure guess! But most newer aftermarket front sights have 11mm spacing on the rails - works better with the chunky barrels, weights, etc., on current match rifles. The HW's, and many other older match guns and current sporters, have 9mm front rail spacing.

A reasonable way to get a sight with 9mm rails and M18 securing sleeve is older Anschutz units. These show up a lot on auction sites, etc., for reasonable prices. Nice sights too, with a ton of different OEM inserts in addition to all the M18 accessories out there, as mentioned above.

Here's an Anschutz sight on an HW barrel, it fits the rails and centers up perfectly.

 
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Not all front sights with the same 9mm mount are interchangeable! For example, the HW front sight will not work on Diana with the same 9mm mount! That’s why I’m always against non-original front sights. I installed a new Gehmann 598+iris566+iris522 on my FWB, only because my original rear diopter was lost when moving , only the original FWB front sight remained. Also, the 598 is much better than the original FWB rear diopter, and the AOA ridiculous price left me no choice. For the whole set I paid $250 with delivery, the MSRP of this set is about $700.
 
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I have actually swapped vintage Diana and HW sights, but you are correct - it's a VERY rough fit! Won't do it again, and don't recommend it.

The nice thing about the Anschutz unit is they clamp by means of a small movable steel "foot." IMHO a much better design than the old Diana, HW, and Walther sights, which work by flexing the sight base itself. This makes them tolerant of slight variations in groove spacing, and an easy "tip-off" fit for Diana or HW grooves. Plus, as already noted moving up to the Anschutz's M18 sleeve thread has many benefits.

IMG_2101.jpeg


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To be clear, this particular model has no advantage over FWB's match front sights, and does NOT fit their wider groove spacing. But I really like them on Weihrauchs especially.
 
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MDriskill said:
I have actually swapped vintage Diana and HW sights, but you are correct - it's a VERY rough fit! Won't do it again, and don't recommend it.

The nice thing about the Anschutz unit is they clamp by means of a small movable steel "foot." IMHO a much better design than the old Diana, HW, and Walther sights, which work by flexing the sight base itself. This makes them tolerant of slight variations in groove spacing, and an easy "tip-off" fit for Diana or HW grooves. Plus, as already noted moving up to the Anschutz's M18 sleeve thread has many benefits.

View attachment 388562

View attachment 388563

To be clear, this particular model has no advantage over FWB's match front sights, and does NOT fit their wider groove spacing. But I really like them on Weihrauchs especially.
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Meant to show you this a few days ago. This is my Gehmann M18 front. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that I guess ha ha.

20230917_085917_resized.jpeg
 
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OK, with the giant caveat that I don't have a 124 (!), I would guess they are the same inserts used in FWB's match rifles of the day. Which, happily, interchange with old Walther inserts, and the Diana inserts that are still available new today. But not Anschutz.

This may help. In the next few days I'll see if I can do something similar that includes dimensions and more notes. But you can see that the Anschutz ones are bigger in diameter, with a distinctly asymmetric tab pattern, compared to the FWB/Diana/Walther ones.

 
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