I have posted more than one question about the 85 low wall which I have converted from 32 rimfire to 32wcf. I just got the thing shooting and decided to mount a tang sight to aid my aging eyesight. I have sights made by Lyman, Marbles, and MVA, and I decided to use one I took off another rifle. I just assumed the tang screw from a mod 94 (12-28) would work in the low wall. I took the screw out of my pre 64 lever gun and it will not screw into the low wall tang. The low wall seems to have a coarser pitch. I tried a few other 12-28 screws--none of them work. The original low wall tang screw goes easily into the low wall tang, and there is no sign of any alteration or damage on the rifle or screw.
I called the folks at MVA and talked to a couple of folks who said their tang screw for the mod 85 is 12-28, the same as a mod 94. They make a high wall action with parts that interchange with the original, and the tang screw is a 12-28.
I have looked all over the net for something that will shed light on this problem, and the only thing I have found is that Marble's makes a screw set for its mod 85 sight (out of stock, no backorder) which has a different stock number than for a mod 94. I have seen a bunch of adds for tang sights which fit mod 92's, mod 94's and other lever actions, but none which also fit a mod 85.
Once again, if any of you have any insight on this mystery, I sure would appreciate your enlightenment.
Steve K