Winchester 94 rear sight WILL NOT move

[mrz80]

I installed a Williams peep rear sight on my essentially-new (Dad had it for 30 years and never fired it) 94, and am trying to get the factory rear sight off. This thing is driving me up the wall and out across the ceiling. It just. WILL. NOT. MOVE. Everything I've seen and heard and read says just drift it left to right (standing at the stock with the barrel pointing away) with a brass drift punch or wooden dowel. I've splintered a half dozen dowels, bent at least one drift punch, nicked the barrel (punch slipped, d'oh!), soaked the sight with penetrating oil, heated it, cooled it, done everything except taken a Dremel and cut the fool dovetail in half, and it just will not move so much as a tenth of a millimeter. What the HECK is going on here?

[Edward]

Sounds like you need a bigger hammer,it will move!Make sure the gun is backed /supported solid and smack it firmly ,a little heat on the barrel helps

[Nueces]

I would suspicion the possibility of someone having pinned it in place. Can you see any evidence of a drilled and filled hole in the sight just above the dovetail? Unlikely, but the possibility has to be eliminated before you go all caveman on the sight. Also, maybe a little more heat, in case thread locker was used.

[mrz80]

Sounds like you need a bigger hammer,it will move!Make sure the gun is backed /supported solid and smack it firmly ,a little heat on the barrel helps

Well, you were right. Just gave up a bit too soon I suppose. I soaked it again with good ol' Liquid Wrench, waited a few minutes, then gritted my teeth and really whacked it hard a couple more times, and it popped right out. :mrgreen:

[OverMax]

Its a done deal so my comment is moot.

[Scharfschuetze]

You do know that your new Williams sight won't need a hammer to adjust... Right? :)

[Hick]

Would it be too trite to say "Welcome to the club"? I had the very same problem with the factory original rear sight on the 1949 Model 94 my father-in-law gave me. Same solution too. They built them solid!

[Nueces]

I bet part of the sticking is due to hardened lube/crud concrete in the dovetail.

[pietro]

.

Given enough time since it was last moved/installed, a rear sight can develop a little rust under it's male dovetail - and some are simply fitted very tightly @ the factory (T/C & Henry come to mind).

So, as referred to above:

Solidly support the barrel (a padded vise is the best practice), use a heavy hammer acting on a metal (again, brass is the best practice), and smack it like it owed you money (aka: no "love taps").

.

[Tatume]

I've had the same problem with Winchester rear sights, old and new. They seem to fit them tight!

In any case, a hard smack with a light hammer is very bad, as it tends to upset the object before it moves, making it tighter. A moderate thump with a heavy hammer is much more likely to get things moving without tightening the fit or damaging the part.

Wood is a poor choice for drifting steel, as it will almost always splinter. Brass is the material to use.

Take care, Tom