I have been working on replacing the rear sight blade on my Model 19. When I picked up the revolver, the rear sight blade had been broken off. I ordered a replacement blade kit from Brownells and started my research on the correct way to replace it. Turned the windage screw until it snapped and pulled the head out which had actually snapped flush with the bottom of the head. I tried everything I could to get the broken blade out without any luck.So after more research, I drilled out the nut and was able to drive the old blade out. I was very careful in this step placing the firearm into a plastic bag to catch the plunger and spring. Finally got the old blade out but never saw the spring and plunger. Going back to the research, I discovered that the spring and plunger were actually in the head of the screw and not under the screw which is what I had been thinking. Went back to the head of the screw and found that the spring and plunger were still stuck in the screw head and the plunger still compresses. Any suggestions for getting them out or should I just order out replacements from S&W? It has been fun so far, Thanks

You can try working the spring and plunger in combination with some Kroil, WD-40, or what ever penetrating oil you have around - let it soak fora few hours. Try using a tweezer after soaking the part. They usually just pop out, but yours may be rusted in or jammed with gunk - but it should still come out eventually.

Thanks chief38. I will give that a try. I just wasn't sure if there was something else I needed to do. I appreciate it. Bob

I think that may work too, but keep it in a baggie while it's soaking. The plunger may pop out on it's own when you're not around. If it's in a baggie, all you have to do is pick up the bag and look along the bottom to find the parts.

Well, I have it soaking inside of a bag and I am going down every hour or so and working the plunger in and out, hoping that it'll come loose. I appreciate the help. Bob

Well, after soaking for nearly a month and pushing the plunger in and out including using a small dental pick to scrape around the hole, I gave up today and called S&W. They were very nice and tossed one in the mail for me. He stated that a week to ten days, I will have a new one to install and then it's back to the range. Love their customer service.

When order the blade you should also order a new spring & plunger, just to be safe.

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Bob L, I've never heard of such a thing. Most of the time its the opposite the plunger and spring go flying off into parts unknown. I wonder if there were after market kits that retained them to make assembly easier.

There is probably a small burr around the top of the hole. Deburring the inside of the hole would probably release the parts. Alternately, one could put a small ding on the edge of the hole with a center punch to retain the parts.

I have looked at the hole while depressing the plunger and can't see anything. I also took a dental tool and tried to scrape around the inside without any luck. There isn't enough material there to grab a hold of so I'll jut wait for the new one. I have left it on top of my bench and every time I go by I expect to see that it finally released and disappeared.

Lesson learned for next time, order all of the parts. Thanks AZretired!