Bought a Marbles full-buckhorn rear sight for my Marlin 1894CB. Finally went to remove the half-buckhorn and install the full.

The tip of the largest of the brass punches is now peened-over, I managed to ding my bluing trying to put the full-buckhorn on, and my rifle is currently sightless

Turns out what I really should have bought was the "rifle-length" full-buckhorn, anyway. So that and a 3 oz. bottle of Birchwood Casey Super Blue are on their way to me from Brownell's.

I'm guessing, by the location of the ding in the bluing, that it was from the edge of the "leaf" of the sight I briefly tried to get on the rifle.

So here's the question: How in the Lord's name do you get one of these on the rifle, when the thing is trying to exert so much downward pressure on the barrel?

I will tell you this: If I ever manage to get the new one on: 1. Adjusting for windage is going to be a bear and 2. Once I have it adjusted, it ain't never goin' nowhere!

they go in from left to right and out in the reverse

I replaced a sight on my old Marlin with a Marbles and didn't have a problem...

Although, you may have to file (lightly) the new sight's bottom to get it to fit...sometimes they come a little bigger than the standard for the dovetail and are meant to be custom fit...

I took a brass punch and filed it to match the profile of the sight I was installing so I wouldn't mar it...I also put some blue tape on it before I began tapping it in

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
they go in from left to right and out in the reverse

Of course they do, because I pushed mine out the other way

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Although, you may have to file (lightly) the new sight's bottom to get it to fit...sometimes they come a little bigger than the standard for the dovetail and are meant to be custom fit...

Noted.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I took a brass punch and filed it to match the profile of the sight I was installing so I wouldn't mar it...I also put some blue tape on it before I began tapping it in

Noted. Though, being brass, it doesn't much mar the sight or anything. What marred my bluing was, as I said, the edge of the "leaf" of the sight contacting the edge of the barrel. (I have an octagon barrel.)

I've half a mind to just let a smith finish the job, though it annoys me to think I'd have to.

Thanks for the follow-up.

I stick a credit card or something similar in between the sight leaf and barrel when installing a rear sight, to prevent marring the barrel.

I've seen recommendations for removing and installing sights in dovetails for both right to left, and left to right. I've always wondered how a manufacturer can machine a tapered dovetail. And if the dovetail is tapered, what happens if the consumer needs to adjust the rear sight farther than the tapered dovetail will allow? And what would prevent the sight from falling out if it needed to be adjusted in the opposite direction?

I'm not saying dovetails aren't tapered-I've seen that claimed many times. I'm just curious.

If the dovetail on the sight is tight, a few passes of the bottom of the dovetail on some sandpaper will help. Just a few, as it doesn't take much to make it fit. If you do remove too much metal, you can dimple the bottom of the dovetail with a punch. The displaced metal will usually make it fit tightly enough again. Some Loctite - not the forever kind - can also help.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I stick a credit card or something similar in between the sight leaf and barrel when installing a rear sight, to prevent marring the barrel.

I've seen recommendations for removing and installing sights in dovetails for both right to left, and left to right. I've always wondered how a manufacturer can machine a tapered dovetail. And if the dovetail is tapered, what happens if the consumer needs to adjust the rear sight farther than the tapered dovetail will allow? And what would prevent the sight from falling out if it needed to be adjusted in the opposite direction?

I'm not saying dovetails aren't tapered-I've seen that claimed many times. I'm just curious.

you place the sight and tap the top of the barrel at the dovetail and it will effectively close the gap and tighten up the sight w/o marking the barrel

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I stick a credit card or something similar in between the sight leaf and barrel when installing a rear sight, to prevent marring the barrel.

Yeah, if I'd been paying better attention... Or if I'd thought to ask here, first, if there was anything I should consider, hints, etc., but, I didn't. It's a very small nick in the bluing. A black permanent marker makes it essentially disappear. I'm sure a dab of that bluing will make it go away entirely.

In the meantime... a cat story

I was wondering what I could stick between that sight leaf and the barrel that would hold up and I'd have a chance of getting out of there. Then I thought "Damn! Those bits of plastic that had protected/wrapped various iThings would've been perfect." Too bad I'd just thrown them all out

One of the cats jumps up on the bed this morning, and drops something between the two of us. My wife holds it up. "What's this?"