how to remove dovetail sight

[DeadWood]

i want to replace the buckhorn rearsight on my Win 94 with the Marbles bullseye sight.

What tools do i need?
Best way to hold weapon if vise?
Does it matter direction to take out and put in?

Did i miss anything?

I thought i tried this on another weapon a few yrs back with out success of even moveing it. i needed change the P.O.I.

[dubber123]

Brass punch and a hammer. Sometimes a big hammer. a gun vise, and someone to hold the gun is handy. All the 94's I have done I removed from the non-loading port side, towards the loading port side. If the new sight doesn't start freely, (good chance), you may have to file on the sight a bit. Don't hammer it in if it's unduly hard. A safe sided dovetail file is invaluable in that case.

[pietro]

BTW - IF the sight's male dovetail is too large to fit the barrel, file on the sight, NOT the barrel, with the file.

.

[Shiloh]

BTW - IF the sight's male dovetail is too large to fit the barrel, file on the sight, NOT the barrel, with the file.

.

Sage Advice!!

You can buy a new site. You foul up the barrel dovetail and you're hosed.
I drifted one out with a punch ground to fit the project. Another lesson, punches are cheap. make sure it fits. Be a bummer to gouge a barrel because the punch didn't fit.


SHiloh

[DeadWood]

safe sided file? looked at the one at Midway, i understand the file sides, but what does the "safe" side look like or do?

[Lee]

Usually triangular, but I've seen 'em on some rectangular cross section files also. Safe side has no teeth, it is smooth. So it won't cut. If you need to "widen" or "clean up"a dovetail on a barrel, you place the smooth side down on the bottom of the dovetail, push sideways to cut the groove wider. That way, you don't cut the groove deeper at the same time.
I "think" it would be of little use or advantage if you are working on the sight.
In any case, go very slow, try the fit often. It's hard to put back on what you so enthusiastically just took off.....Lee

[KCSO]

To narrow the male dovetail you file material off the bottom of the dovetail not the sides. A safe file can be easily made from a standard file by wet grinding, but a safe file is for cutting dovetails in the barrel not for fitting a male dovetail, since you don't cut on the sides. When I build a rifle I usually give the new owner an instruction sheet with the dovetail directions, in my case drive out from the left to the right.

[yondering]

I really like that Marbles Bullseye sight, I recently put one on my Mossberg 500 slug barrel (maybe you saw my post?).

I did have to file my sight base a little, but my gun may have had a tight dovetail. I did have to file the side of the dovetail, as filing the bottom wasn't getting it done.

If you have a vice mounted solid to a good workbench, remove the forend from your gun and clamp the barrel in the vise between two pieces of leather. Clamp it right below the sight. Punch the sight out with a brass punch and a large hammer. It's not complicated, but sometimes they take a little extra "oomph". Make sure to push on the dovetail of the sight, the ears will break off easily if you hit them.

[yondering]

safe sided file? looked at the one at Midway, i understand the file sides, but what does the "safe" side look like or do?

If you have a belt grinder, you can take a normal triangular file and grind the teeth off one side to get a "safe" edge.

[BD]

Are there dovetails that do not drive out from left to right? (looking down the barrel)
BD