When did the Micro Sight Company go out of business?

[cubrock]

It is hard to find info on them and I would like to know a definitive year when they went under and what happened to them, if possible. Thanks!

PS - This is research for the Texas Longhorn Arms book. TLA used Micro sights until the mid 1980s. I've been told they started building their own sights because Micro went out of business and TLA eventually ran out of their stock of Micro sights. I'd like to nail the timeline down a bit better than that.

 

[rugerguy]

good question , as well as Accro, Elliason, King ( then King-Tappen) and on and on....... :roll:
Maybe Marbles, Lyman, or Williams bought them out to remove the competition???
I seem to recall later on, when we had the shops, a company called 'MMC'?? been a while and I lost touch with all of them, and yes, we used ALL of them to.................
the only one I never used, did not like the front sight mounting, mainly for the 1911s, was the Milletts..................

 

[JWHardin]

Cubrock,

The new 44 spcl flat tops have rear sights marked with the Micro script and is almost identical to the old model ones.

Not sure if same company or not, maybe someone else has rights to the name...

 

[45flattop]

good question , as well as Accro, Elliason, King ( then King-Tappen) and on and on....... :roll:
Maybe Marbles, Lyman, or Williams bought them out to remove the competition???
I seem to recall later on, when we had the shops, a company called 'MMC'?? been a while and I lost touch with all of them, and yes, we used ALL of them to.................
the only one I never used, did not like the front sight mounting, mainly for the 1911s, was the Milletts..................

MMC was the Miniature Machine Company, originally of Deming NM,
and I believe that the gunsmith(s) there were the ones who rebored
Skeeter Skelton's original .44 special for him, they later relocated to
the Dallas TX area, I have several of their older sight designs on
shooter RST4s and 1911s.

 

[flatgate]

I'm guessing that Ruger has simply copied the Micro sight, right down to the Markings.....

Original on the Left, 2005 vintage on the Right.

flatgate

 

[Sugar River]

After following a ponderous paper trail and much research, Ruger was able to obtain the rights to use the Micro name.
Maybe someone in Newport would know the facts behind the demise of the company.

Pete

 

[Snake45]

....King ( then King-Tappen) and on and on....... :roll:

It was never King-Tappan. That was one particular type of sight that Mel Tappan designed and King's Gun Works manufactured and marketed. And they still do:

http://www.kingsgunworks.com/newcatalog/page02.html

They're also still making and selling a target-type adjustable sight for 1911 and similar, shown on the same page.

 

[Black Dog]

In 2003 Gunblast article about old model Ruger 357 Blackhawk Flat Top, Bill Hamm writes that the sight was made by Micro Sight Company in California. http://www.gunblast.com/Hamm_357-Flattop.htm Google reveals such a company still exists -

Micro Sight Company
242 Harbor Boulevard
Belmont, CA 94002
Phone: 650-591-0769

If this is the same company, could be they never went out of business. Have you called them? Black Dog

 

[cubrock]

In 2003 Gunblast article about old model Ruger 357 Blackhawk Flat Top, Bill Hamm writes that the sight was made by Micro Sight Company in California. http://www.gunblast.com/Hamm_357-Flattop.htm Google reveals such a company still exists -

Micro Sight Company
242 Harbor Boulevard
Belmont, CA 94002
Phone: 650-591-0769

If this is the same company, could be they never went out of business. Have you called them? Black Dog

Micro did make those early Ruger sights, but that was back in the 50s and very early 60s. I checked with the California Secretary of State, which says this company is out of business. I got the same Google return that you did, but one thing is for sure - if Micro had been in business, Grover wouldn't have had to copy their sight. He would have continued to order from them.

Perhaps they have been brought back from the dead, but then the California SoS would have a record of them. Guess I'll give that number a call just for grins. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ale-8(1)]

"It was never King-Tappan."

Uh, Snake, the ad you linked calls it the Model 101 King-Tappan Combat Sight . . .

 

[Snake45]

"It was never King-Tappan."

Uh, Snake, the ad you linked calls it the Model 101 King-Tappan Combat Sight . . .

The post I referenced implied that King's became King-Tappen (sic), or that all King sights were King-Tappen (sic) sights. I pointed out that the King-Tappan was one kind of King's sights made by King's.

Get it now? :wink:

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Well, no it wasn't. Dan was merely pointing out that there had been several sights available to the firearms manufacturers and hobbyists. King was around before they came out with the King-Tappan offering, among others, and that's what Dan was pointing out.

The reason I'm aware of this is because Dan and I were discussing this just before he posted his note above. It was news to me, of course, but that's why I like it here.

 

[rugerguy]

no problemo, was only some of the sights that we were so used to using and having around our shops , some of our favorites by the way, and thats "how" they were marketed then, so I just "repeated" my thoughts, not a person to go and seek out copyrights or patent info, ( save that for the experts who get paid the BIG BUCKS, and could care less just "who now owns whom....." too many years of GE and "global BS").......they were GOOD and they worked , and they were affordable..................... :wink:

 

[dist1289]

Greetings ,
I hold the distinction of being the last Micro Sight Company employee to be hired. I will give you the low down on why the business closed after more then 50 years in business. Sad to say it was Ruger that required too large of an order at the 2004 SHOT show that forced the management to throw in the towel. They were primarily a distributor from the early 90's . All the gunsmiths and machines were retired. Micro Bed rights and name was sold to Brownells ( the largest customer for this stock bedding product) and The Sight portion just went they way of the Do-Do. George, the founder passed away around this time(2003?) after suffering from Alzheimer Disease for several years before. His sole heirs (two daughters) had no interest in the "gun industry" so they made the final decision to close shop and liquidate.
They had a "fire sale" and sold everything that Summer. Another chapter in the Bay Area Gun lore comes to a close.

 

[rugerguy]

THANK YOU 'dist' and welcome to the Forum,, anytime....good info, and I recall buying a bunch of the "Micro " sights, still have some that were NEVER "finished" let alone stamped "Micro", got them from a gunsmith in Penna, who worked with and for MehovskysMetalife, and Jonathon bought LOTS of these sights "parts" blades and sight bodies, some stamped some not.............here's a picture of some of the stamped ones......

 

[cubrock]

Dist,

Thank you for that information! I hadn't realized that Micro held on as a distributor that long. Good to know!

 

[WIL TERRY]

I was at TLA when a shipment of frames came in from Pine Tree Castings. In that box was another small box full of rear sights for which Grover exclaimed " OH MY SIGHTS!! "

 

[flatgate]

Small stash squirreled away by some old Geezer in Wyoming......... :roll:

flatgate

 

[T.A. WORKMAN]

Nice Stash Flatgate, :wink: I am always looking at the gunshows and flea markets for those,,never found any ,,but still lookin!
Good Post! Interesting info for sure.
Terry

Snag these off of ebay awhile back.

 

[americal]

Well YA"LL drew me out of the sink hole here is one of my RSS4 pre-fix microed single sixes this is a late gun and I think maybe Micro Sight Co. may have put the sights on this gun,they did it on the 1950 RSS guns.