Winchester 94 front sight replacement

[jtcarm]

I’m trying to replace the sights on a Model 94 Canadian Centennial.

Instead of a ramp, the front sight is dovetailed directly into the octagonal barrel.

I assumed it drifted out left-to-right, but had a go at it with a brass punch and no luck, even after multiple hosings of Kroil.

I thought I’d better ask before going trying the opposite way? Does anyone happen to know how they’re installed?

I sure hate to buy a sight pusher that’ll get used once.

 

[Denverd0n]

Have a Winchester '94 carbine and the front sight removes left to right. Did you give it a good whack with a heavy hammer? Sometimes it just takes a bit of heavy-handed force.

 

[2152hq]

Clamp the bbl right up at the muzzle in a bench vise.
Use wooden jaws to protect the bbl from damage. Don't use rubber padding or cloth as that will allow vibration.
The bbl should be contained right in the vise jaws with the just the sight itself peeking out over the top of the jaws. Enough clearance to be able to get your punch onto the edge of it plus enough room of the off side for it to run out of the dovetail when it does move.

Don't leave the bbl hanging out from the vise jaws,,that will invite vibration and failure to knock the sight free. You will end up battering the edge of the sight itself up in the process though.

A brass punch as large as possible to fit the sight base. Use a punch with some mass to it so that doesn't vibrate either. No little 1/4" round dia thing. Use a 1/2" dia piece and taper the striking edge with a file to fit the sight base if needed.

Use enough hammer. You need a dead blow to unseat the sight. No little bench hammer. Use something substantial so it again doesn't vibrate. You don't need to use hammer of Thor type strikes on the punch, start easy and see if the sight starts to move.

Tighten the vise again if you feel any vibration.
A couple good wacks well stuck will generally dislodge even the most stubborn sight.

 

[Denverd0n]

Use a 1/2" dia piece and taper the striking edge with a file to fit the sight base if needed.

I forgot to mention this. I have a brass punch that I filed down so that it is now specifically for adjusting sights. Flat on one side so that it fits right against the sight base. Using a dead-blow hammer is a good idea, also.

 

[Cal44]

How about putting a drop of penetrating oil like Kroil on the front sight first before taking the hammer to it? Might come off easier.

Clamp the bbl right up at the muzzle in a bench vise.
Use wooden jaws to protect the bbl from damage. Don't use rubber padding or cloth as that will allow vibration.
The bbl should be contained right in the vise jaws with the just the sight itself peeking out over the top of the jaws. Enough clearance to be able to get your punch onto the edge of it plus enough room of the off side for it to run out of the dovetail when it does move.

Don't leave the bbl hanging out from the vise jaws,,that will invite vibration and failure to knock the sight free. You will end up battering the edge of the sight itself up in the process though.

A brass punch as large as possible to fit the sight base. Use a punch with some mass to it so that doesn't vibrate either. No little 1/4" round dia thing. Use a 1/2" dia piece and taper the striking edge with a file to fit the sight base if needed.

Use enough hammer. You need a dead blow to unseat the sight. No little bench hammer. Use something substantial so it again doesn't vibrate. You don't need to use hammer of Thor type strikes on the punch, start easy and see if the sight starts to move.

Tighten the vise again if you feel any vibration.
A couple good wacks well stuck will generally dislodge even the most stubborn sight.

 

[chief38]

When drifting dovetail sights a few things are most important. First off, make sure the barrel is held down tight on a piece of hardwood so it doesn't bounce. A helper is sometimes a big help in holding things down. If soft wood is uses, the barrel will transmit some of the blow into the wood and will not get the full pressure of the impact. Secondly, use a punch that makes good contact and is a descent size in relationship to the area of the sight you want to move. Also use an appropriate sized hammer. I like a dead blow Ball Peen model as it transmits more of the force and will not bounce back.

I have found that of you have a really tight dovetailed sight that has been in place for a while, sometimes they seem like they are "welded" in place. Kroil, WD-40, Liquid Wrench, etc. doesn't really do much. One of the reasons I purchased a quality sight mover tool is to avoid beating the daylights out of a dovetailed sight. I recently moved a few sights on Sig Pistols and a hammer and punch just wasn't cutting it - had to use the sight pusher which did work remarkably better. I know it is an expense that won't get used often, but sometimes the old hammer and punch just isn't the way to go. Most modern guns have a much tighter fit than I have seen in the past. I guess tolerances have tightened up with the use of CNC machinery.

I do not like using a hammer and punch on any sight that has vials of Tritium in them or other glow in the dark chemicals. A sight pusher tool not only works much better, it won't over drift causing you to have to move it back! I use a piece of masking take at the very edge of the sight as a reference point so I can see exactly how much the sight has moved. I've gotten pretty good at judging how much to move it by how much the POA-POI varies.

 

[2152hq]

How about putting a drop of penetrating oil like Kroil on the front sight first before taking the hammer to it? Might come off easier.

Sure, you can always do that.
If it looks like it's rusted in place,I usually give the sight a little oil and let it migrate around the dovetail.
I've found most don't need or really make much difference in removing them though if they are just very tightly fitted.

It's good to carefully inspect as once in a great while on older guns you can run accross dovetailed sights that are sweat soldered in place. Not so much anymore though.

SuperGlued in place is more likely to be found these days. The stuff does make a good cheap LocTite. It takes about 350F to break the bond of even cheap SG if applied to clean reasonably close fitting surfaces like this.
Assembly must be done very quickly though as the stuff will seize the parts in place with any hesitation during that assembly.

Going further back it was common to rust them into place by swiping the sight dovetail with a very slight trace of common (then) med iodine.
Run the sight back into place with perhaps a couple stab burrs in the bottom of the dovetail as well to temp hold it kind of tight.
In a day or two the sight will be rusted in place quite tightly.
Keep some oil on the blued surfaces around the assembly & wipe off any Iodine off after assembly. That'll keep any rust issues off of that.
Tuff to adj the thing after that though!..