From your description, I'm thinking it might be either a carbine or an older octagonal barrel rifle, either of which has the dovetail closer to the receiver than current rifles and so a regular semibuckhorn won't fit unless put in backwards. My own '66, made in 2000, is like this (came with a ladder sight). I think Track of the Wolf has a short-shank buckhorn that fits. I put a Ruger 10-22 folding leaf sight for the rear, and when I was picking it up from a 'smith who had a drawer full of them he asked if I wanted the front sight as well, so I said sure. It is a very small brass bead sight, but my eyes see it well.