Looking for a really good gunsmith to add a sight on my 1885 HiWall, .405 win. caliber. Gun has an octagon barrel (28"), I was thinking about shortening the barrel to 26", and also about putting a fiber optic sight on a ramp, on the muzzle end; and a Williams reciever sight on the back, that I can install myself.

Knocking 2" off the bbl is going to give you velocity losses, especially if you're running BP loads.

Think long and hard about the f/o front sight choice, I strongly suggest you try one in actual application before you go installing it. There are very few f/o sights I can stand, most have too large of a cross section or are too bright causing them to overpower the visibility of the target. In my opinion, most are far too bright and far too big in diameter causing target visibility washout and a lot of sighting errors. Not saying don't do it, just be absolutely sure it's what you want.

Your gun and you can (obviously) do whatever you want with it. IMO, those sights on that rifle would be an abomination. If it is an American made Winchester 1885, an abomination times ten.

Lucky13:

Would you take a nice 1955 T-bird in showroom shape and put a Mack truck emblem on the hood?