Front sight Problem

[mebailj]

Purchased a 91/30. Evidently I didn't see it, but when I pulled it out of the box, I noticed that the front sight was bent toward the rear. It was bent in the base. I gently tapped it with a plastic hammer, and it came loose in the base. It wobbles front rear and slides out easily. Are there sights with larger bases or is there another fix? The rifle is a 1939 Izhevsk refurb from Century.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Yes, some front sights do have slightly larger bases, but if this issue is the mount on the barrel has become damaged due to the rifle maybe being dropped causing the "jaw's" in that mount to spread open then maybe a new sight will not do it. You could try cutting a small shim out of beer can metal and see if that will tighten it up, or bring it to a gunsmith to see about repairing the damage. Do not start banging away with a hammer on the lower mount, it's braised on there at the arsenal and it can be broken.

[mebailj]

I'll try the shim. I don't want to screw anything up.

[WeldonHunter]

If it's possible to take some clear close-ups of the dovetail on both the sight and the sight base of the rifle and post them that would help a lot. From the side would probably be best.

[mogunner]

If you need to close the dovetail on the sight base, do it using a C-clamp, not banging away on it. It really doesn't take a lot so go slow and careful, trying the sight often as it's difficult to widen it if you go too far. I've had a few that I had to do this on.

[zeebill]

Start the sight into the base and with it in maybe a 1/8 inch or so close the C clamp till it won't slide around much and stop. Pop the sight blade the rest of the way in till its centered. Take it to the range and se how it shoots and adjust accordingly. I have only broke one in many years of doing it that way as the bases are pretty tough usually. I have a very special Dragoon that I chickened out doing it that way and I super glued it in place. The base was eroded from corrosion and I just didn't have the nerve to do it any other way. It shoots just fine in that condition too. Bill

[bunkysdad]

Am I correct in saying that the sight should be started from the left side first (opposite the bolt knob)? It has been my belief that this is right but I have only removed one front sight, the one on my 91/59 and it seemed to be true.

[RickW]

Every front sight that I've worked with, it slid in from the right to the left(from the bolt handle side to the other side).

[mogunner]

The dovetail on both the base and the sight SHOULD be exactly the same width. HOWEVER, we have to keep in mind the history and age of these and your experience may vary widely. For a while I looked into manufacturing new steel replacement sights but there was just too wide a range of sizes amongst all the ones that I measured to be able to make a sight that "fit", and too many people own these that have little to no mechanical ability so I put that project on a back burner for the foreseeable future.

[Joeinthehills]

Did you think of contacting Century about the problem or filing a claim with the shipper?

I'd done both before attempting a repair myself.

[zeebill]

Am I correct in saying that the sight should be started from the left side first (opposite the bolt knob)? It has been my belief that this is right but I have only removed one front sight, the one on my 91/59 and it seemed to be true.

You know I have heard this in the past and frankly I have never had a problem starting the sight in from either side? I just try from either side to start it and whichever side it goes or starts from is where I go in from. I have no idea whether that is correct or not but just that it has worked for me. Bill

[mebailj]

I used the beer can shim under the front sight. There was so much play and space that it would slide in from either side and you could see plenty of daylight. The sight is firm, I.e. No wobble now. But there still is day light under the front of the sight, if you understand what I mean. The dovetail was evidently too large from the beginning. Or in possibly dropping the rifle, the dovetail was"opened up." Is the steel that elastic? I tried the c clamp technique, but it didn't seem to close the dovetail. I didn't try to force anything for fear of damage. The sight still slipped in and out as easy as you please. Should I have tried to put more pressure on it? I appreciate everyone's help.

[WeldonHunter]

If it's possible to take some clear close-ups of the dovetail on both the sight and the sight base of the rifle and post them that would help a lot. From the side would probably be best.

This

[mebailj]

I tried. I'm on the road and used my cell phone camera. Message said the file was too large. At 65, i hardly know how to use this cell, much less file sizes. Thanks.

[WeldonHunter]

I tried. I'm on the road and used my cell phone camera. Message said the file was too large. At 65, i hardly know how to use this cell, much less file sizes. Thanks.

Hey I understand. If at some point you can get a few pictures up someone might see something in them that might better help with this. It's also entirely possible the sight you have is just to small to fit in the dovetail. Looking at the condition of rifles sight base and dovetail might show it's spread or distorted in some way. We're talking about small clearances here and there's no standard measurements to go by because they vary so much. You might be able to just get another sight and it'll fix the problem. If the problem is the sight base that won't necessarily fix it though.