replacing an 03-A3 Front sight

todbiker · Sep 3, 2017

So I picked up a used stock on Ebay to replace a Bubba'd one and now it's time to drift out the pin for the front sight and remove it, so I can get the barrel bands on. Does anyone have any experience with this?

The new pin does not appear tapered, but the old one looks larger, possibly flattened on one side, so I'll have to drift it out from right to left. Doe this make sense?

Doco Overboard · Sep 3, 2017

Drive it out from left to right and then the reverse when installing is the right way. The original pin would have had a slight taper to it and been around .060 Hard to say what its been subjected to in the last 30 to forty years but use a short starter punch to get it started and drive the pin into a soft pine block if you want to remove it completely. Sometimes they can be hard to start but if you take a punch, chuck it in a drill press and then reduce the diameter you should be good to go.
Install the top and lower bands with the screw on the right or bolt side of the rifle. The same side as the screw for the nose cap enters from. if you have a milled lower band, the U should face the muzzle. Dont forget to install the handguard ring first!

todbiker · Sep 4, 2017

Doco Overboard said:
Drive it out from left to right and then the reverse when installing is the right way. The original pin would have had a slight taper to it and been around .060 Hard to say what its been subjected to in the last 30 to forty years but use a short starter punch to get it started and drive the pin into a soft pine block if you want to remove it completely. Sometimes they can be hard to start but if you take a punch, chuck it in a drill press and then reduce the diameter you should be good to go.
Install the top and lower bands with the screw on the right or bolt side of the rifle. The same side as the screw for the nose cap enters from. if you have a milled lower band, the U should face the muzzle. Dont forget to install the handguard ring first!

Thanks for the response and practical tips. :thumbsup:

I did bent a grace steel 1/16" punch on my last project, maybe I could dremel that into a short punch? I tried knocking it out with a 1/16" and 5/32" and it doesn't seem to be budging and I don't want another bent punch on my hands.

Doco Overboard · Sep 4, 2017

Yeah it will need to be real short to just move the pin a little bit and then switch to a longer punch. What you don't want to wind up with is a larger hole that doesn't allow the blade when replaced to move around or the pin to fall out. Support the end of the rifle so it doesn't move even if you have to place a sandbag on top of it to allow the strike to be a good hit. Less strikes that are more positive with a heavier hammer are better than a whole lot of little ones with a light hammer. Put a couple wraps of tape around the muzzle to protect the crown or a nylon cap if you have one. When you put it back together peen the hole in the blade a tad to get a good purchase on it and make sure its perfectly lined up for a good job when done.

replacing an 03-A3 Front sight

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