Loose rear sights in Revolver

[Dogg]

I just got a .454 Ragging Bull and found that the rear sight is very loose,side to side, in the milled slot. I really don't want to send it back to the manufacturer and have to wait several months for a questionable fix.
My question (and I am not that mechanically inclined) would it be possible to shim the sight ( which is adjustable) or Accu-glass it in the milled slot to eliminate this movement which leads to about a ten inch difference from shot to shot.
Is there something else I could do to fix this? Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket replacement? Or should I just send it back to Taurus and pray I get it back better than I sent it?
Thanks
Dogg

[deltaenterprizes]

You answered your own question when you said that you are not mechanically inclined. Why do you think that a company with access to a factory parts inventory and mechanically inclined employees do a worse job than you?
If you Accraglass the sight how do you know it will hit where you point it?
Shims would be a solution, where are you going to find them? Are you able to measure the amount of play accurately within .001"?
Taurus has done very good work and had a fast turn around time when I have sent guns back to them.
Did you buy it from an individual or a shop? If a shop have them send it back.
Where in Louisiana?

[Pepe Ray]

Hey there Dogg;
Just a little more info please.
If you have an adjustable sight mounted on the rev. mechanically (ie. screws etc.) then you have more than one place for the looseness to occur. Which is it? In the blade movement /adjustment or the body of the sight where it mounts to the frame?
Pepe Ray

[454PB]

I sent my Raging Bull in for warranty work once. It took 3 months to get it back, and cost me $53 for the shipping.

If you can't fix it yourself, either take it back to where you bought it or to a gunsmith.

[Dogg]

Pepe Ray, it isin the body of the rear adjustable sight. The whole sight body moves around. I will try contacting Taurus to see what they will do, but have read more than one comment about their slow return and not really fixing the problem. I was thinking of gettting some valve shims that would tighten it up and then epoxy them on the side of the milled sight groove. Or, put a thin layer of accuglass on the sides of the milled slot and with a lot of release agent on the sight attempt a tighter fix.

[anachronism]

Got a picture of the rear sight?

[yondering]

Do not Acra-glass the rear sight in place. The sight body needs to move for vertical adjustments.

Your on the right track with shims, but if you're not mechanically inclined, take it to a gunsmith.

For a temporary solution, if you can remove the rear sight without messing it up; take it out and put a thin strip of masking tape on one or both sides of the sight. This should tighten it up and isn't permanent. Aluminum tape would be better, if you have some.

[Windy City Kid]

Dogg,

Check the rear sight pin, it might broken.

Take a small punch and drive the pin out and check it, the pin might be in two pieces.

Sometimes under heavy recoil the rear sight pins do break.

If the pin is broken, call Taurus and they will send you a new one for free.


WCK

[wellfedirishman]

I just had the same problem with a Lyman sight where I had filed down the base (stupidly, years ago) to fit on an old rifle.

I was remounting the sight on a new rifle, and it was quite loose in the dovetail.

As the posters above mentioned, shims are the solution. Using a Coke can or similar, take a scissors and make a couple of small shims from the can, place these in the dovetail and then push the sight back in place (will take a little bit of force).

The aluminum from the can will deform since it is softer and will give you a nice tight fit for the sight, without causing any damage to the gun or sight, and it is easily reversible (just tap it out).

I did this for the Lyman sight on the new rifle and it worked great and gave a very secure fit.

You shouldn't have to do this for a new gun, but at least it is a quick solution so you can shoot now while waiting for your replacement part to come.

[beemer]

I don' know how the sight is set up on the Tarus but I had a similar problem on a Ruger BH. I removed the rear sight and bored two 1/16" about 1/8" deep on the side of the sight boby. Then I cut two little brass pins and droped in the holes and filed then down so the sight would fit in the slot, basically I just shimmed it with pins. This may or may not work depending on how the sight is set up.

This was a used revolver so I considered the problem mine, new one under warranty might be different. The last one I took back to the dealer, the one before that was bought new at a gunshow a good ways from home so I fixed it myself. The one before that was not right either.

Dave.

[Dogg]

I want to thank everyone for the help. Soda can shim was perfect tightened the sight up perfectly.
Dogg