Front sight help

So I finally found the single six that I had been looking for.

4 5/8 barrel, both cylinders, and just so happens to be a bicentennial.

Took it to the range this evening, and it worked great.

Until, on the 27th round, the front sight fell off.

It is apparent that at some time in the past, the screw either broke, or stripped, and somebody did a poor job of soldering it back on.

Should I clean, cold blue, and epoxy, or just take it to a gunsmith, or what?

I am open to ideas, and why or why not they would work.

Brandon

Ask Ruger to replace the front sight. If you are the original purchaser, they will do it free.

I am not, the gun is 5 years older than me.

But I suppose that I could give them a call.

I suspect they would want to replace the barrel, and that would mean losing its bicentennial marking.

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Originally Posted by Sweetpea

So I finally found the single six that I had been looking for.

4 5/8 barrel, both cylinders, and just so happens to be a bicentennial.

Until, on the 27th round, the front sight fell off.

It is apparent that at some time in the past, the screw either broke, or stripped, and somebody did a poor job of soldering it back on.

Should I clean, cold blue, and epoxy, or just take it to a gunsmith, or what?

I am open to ideas, and why or why not they would work.

Brandon

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Brandon, That's one gun that I would NEVER let out of my hands, even never sending it back to the factory...…………..:awesome:


I would clean & degrease both the barrel top and the sight base underside, and carefully either solder or epoxy it back into place.


With care, the repair should be invisible - and will last a looooong time (I've had epoxied-on sights that stayed put for over 20 years).


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I agree with pietro. I has the same thing happen with my 1964 3 screw single six, and the epoxy did the trick. I wouldn't send it back to factory either.

Ive seen sights epoxied back on and its also invisible when done right. The tricky part with epoxy is leaving enough for a good bond but not so much to change sight height. Rough up both surfaces good removing old solder or glues. nice bright metal. clean several times with actetone or other thinner. You want no oils greases dust or waxs on these surfaces. There are some industrial epoxies that have a "bonding" grit in them it set the bond thickness not allowing the epoxy to be completely clamped out. These are desireable for a couple reasons, 1) work time is usually an hour or better. 2) the grit sets bond thickness for max strength. 3) They have a working temp of 600*+.
If you use a off the shelf epoxy like JB weld a small amount of steel or aluminum filling from a 6" fine file and rinsed clean added will help with strength and setting bond thickness.

Thanks for the tips.

I've got it clamped and curing now.

What confuses me, is that there was no sign of an original hole for the sight screw.

Maybe the barrel was originally longer?

I doubt the gun has its original finish, it is a very dark matte black, with polished aluminum grip frame and ejector housing, with nice walnut grips.

I personally don't care, as it's what I've wanted for a long time, and jackrabbits won't know the difference!

I believe they came both 4 5/8 and 7 1/2 so it may be the longer cut down

I got it back to the range today, and it shoots better than I do.

The epoxy is completely invisible, and looks flawless.

Thanks for the help!

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I luv it, when a plan comes together - Nice work ! . :D


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