How to remove front bead?

[Charlie Horse]

The gun is a Rossi 357 lever action. It has buckhorn sights. (You've seen them.)

Long story short - I would like to remove that front bead without ruining it. Not the whole front sight, just the brass bead.

Would I soak it in solvent? Heat it? Unscrew it? Pry it off?

I really don't want to ruin it in case I want to put it back on.

TIA.

[GregLaROCHE]

I can’t see it, but if it is what I Think, it will possibility screw off. Otherwise, it’s soldered and it will take some heat.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Hmmm...kind of a difficult operation. Not the removal, but to not damage it. If it's just the typical round (global) shotgun bead the very best way (in my experience/opinion) is to have a couple of shotgun bead installation/removal tools from Brownell's. They are made of aluminum and look like a fat ballpoint pen, black, with serrations for getting a firm grip. One end has an adjustable head somewhat like a drill chuck, inside of which is a rounded collet. You put the right sized tool onto the bead, tighten up the adjustable head, and turn counter clockwise. The bead will screw out, and usually (?!) be undamaged. You also might have some luck by selecting a pair of pliers on which the teeth have been cut widely apart, enough to span the bead with a bit of rag over it--another good reason to have more than one set of pliers. In general, beads are considered mostly expendable in gunsmithing work, and kits containing dozens of them are available in various sizes and colors. Now, if you have one of the fancy beads that is contained in an "L" shaped sight you can screw it out using parallel jaw pliers, again with a bit of padding to avoid marring it. Normally, beads aren't expensive; but it's hard to find single beads for sale.

DG

[Froogal]

I know what you are talking about, but why do you want to remove it?

I put white paint on the brass bead of both of our Rossi 92s to make them more visible.

[Patrick L]

DG he's not talking about a shotgun bead.

Hard to tell without seeing it. Typically those lever action beads are just soldered, maybe even epoxied onto the rear face of the blade. Or as Greg said, it could be screwed in, but I doubt it.

If it does not appear to be screwed into the rear face of the blade, I would be inclined to put a single edge razor blade right at the joint where the bead meets the blade, and give it a rap with a light ball peen hammer (EYE PEROTECTION, EYE PROTECTION, EYE PROTECTION!!!). If it is epoxied, it should definitely pop off, perhaps even solder. If that doesn't do it, you need to study it harder. Perhaps post us a picture??

Then, depending on what you want, you will need to dress it up. Bright paint, file clean and cold blue, etc. Whatever effect you are looking for.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Yes, you are absolutely right, Patrick. I've never seen what he's talking about, so just went with information on things I know. I could delete the entire post as being incorrect, but the information is still good for other front bead situations, so I'll leave it and hope it helps someone else with their problem.

DG

[The Kid]

It’s been a while since I’ve seen one but if I remember right the shank on the bead is inserted into the hole in the front sight and the top of the sight is crimped down onto it. Look at the top of the blade for a small indentation where it was crimped down.

[rockshooter]

not that I'd recommend it, but I've had success with that leaning it in a corner and catching it with my foot
Loren

[M-Tecs]

Not sure how to just replace the bead but here some option for different front sights. Just a guess but I would expect it's a pin that's either glued in or pressed in.

http://www.skinnersights.com/rossi_firearms_23.html

https://store.stevesgunz.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_13