Mike's approach can work well.
The first thing I try before drilling is to clear the slot in the nut. Most of the 'staking' to lock the nut on is the metal that 'upsets' into the inner ends of the slot. With a very small screwdriver or punch with the tip ground square to fit the slot in the nut and very small hammer, I clean the 'staked' metal from the slots. This does most of the locking of the nut in place. Then I try turning the screw.
Be sure to use some lubrication like Breakfree when attempting to screw the nut off, it makes a big difference in being successful.
If the nut still doesn't budge I drill it slightly and try again. The more metal you leave on the staked end of the adjustment screw, the better it will look when reassembled.
The peening of the lock nut varies quite a bit from gun to gun. Some are much easier to remove and re-use than others.
The other method is to file the head of the replacement screw flat, polish it, and then re-blue it.
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Jim
S&WCA #819
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