sight removal???

wisconsinteacher · Feb 29, 2016

I need to remove the rear sight on a rifle that has 2 screws. They are in tight and I know that if I put too much pressure on them I will mess up the slot of the flat screw. How do I remove them correctly?????

35 Whelen · Feb 29, 2016

Well the correct way to remove them would be to hollow grind a screwdriver in a jig, to fit the screws EXACTLY, not only in slot width, but in length as well , however most folks would probably not be likely to do that , so the next option is to try some of the tips from a screw driver kit; like Brownells sells or Wheeler ??? And get the closest one that's in that kit . Last but not least is if the screws where really locked in big time [and I doubt those sight screws are] then I would put the gun into a vise with padded jaws so I could really leaning it and I would place the screwdriver bit into a BRACE lean right into it with your chest so it cant lift out of the slot, it will come then. On a 6/48 or an 8/40 with the brace leverage it generates, you could easily twist the heads right off the screws so 99% of the time that will bring any screw!
For the other 1% we soak them for a day or two in Chemsearch "Yeild" and then again lock the barrel down in the table vise on a Bridgeport and put a wrench onto the spindle and lower the spindle with a proper sized bit squarely into the screw slot and apply down preasure to the spindle at the same time as you apply preasure to the wrench on the chuck, because it cant back out or up as you are apply hundreds of lbs of down preasure , and because you are apply hundreds of pounds more force pull on the lever counterclock wise , NO screw can withstand the preasure you can apply directly to the slot, if it is so corroded or bonded to the threads that will not break it free , it will tear the head of the screw right off the shaft without damaging the slot whatso ever! lol. So there you have it. If you don't know how to hollow grind a screwdriver correctly , don't own a brace, or have access to a milling machine, Then probably you need to take it to someone that does? :mrgreen:

wisconsinteacher · Feb 29, 2016

Thanks, I got the screws out now to figure out how to remove the front dovetail sight of the rifle without damaging anything.

filmjunkie4ever · Mar 1, 2016

WT - For the front sight, anchor your rifle in a gun vise, get a plastic punch and a small plastic or brass hammer and slowly drift it out of the dovetail. Avoid heavy blows with the hammer.

The plastic punch with not damage barrel or sight. I have also seen guys get a penny and hold it with needle nose pliers (using the penny as the punch) while applying blows from a small hammer to drift out front and rear sights over the years. It is quicker but the copper will cause surface scratches to whatever it comes into contact with.

Good luck -

Dale