Rifle sight pusher

[gunpoorboy1]

Trying to push the rear dove tailed sight off my Rossi to replace it but cannot get it to move using the normal brass punch and hammer. Simply will not move.

Looking for suggestions or may the name of a sight pusher that will work on lever action rifles. Most of what I see are for pistols.

 

[BigNate]

I bought one of these a while ago - and it worked well on pistol stuff. Not sure if your Rossi would fit in here - or not - but if it is a little breach break rifle like the one that I bought for the kiddos years ago - it might. What model Rossi?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VBB1LRQ/?tag=azs08d-20

 

[gunpoorboy1]

It's a Rossi mode 92, Lever action rifle.
Not sure how your's would work on a lever action.

 

[watchthewind]

Would this suit your needs; https://www.wyomingsightdrifter.com

 

[blasternaz]

Essentially, a magnum spring loaded center punch. Most people have trouble adjusting tight sights by using to small a hammer. Sounds silly, I know, but I've gotten some things to move when I finally remembered that....

 

[QuietM4]

Would this suit your needs; https://www.wyomingsightdrifter.com

Those only work for dovetails that are loose to begin with, and only allow micro adjustments. If the dovetail won't move with a traditional hammer & punch method, that spring loaded sight drifter certainly won't budge it.

I haven't worked on a Rossi lever action in a long while, and I can't remember if the dovetails are directional, but it certainly could be. Majority of dovetails should be removed right to left, muzzle pointing away from you.

Soft jaws (rubber or leather) in a solid mounted bench vice to grab the barrel securely at the rear sight location, brass hammer with a delrin block as a punch are my daily go-to for sight install/drifting. Move onto brass or steel punches if that won't move it, and hit harder. Physics will win eventually.

 

[RandyTF]

Boils down to "Get a bigger hammer".
I've run into some sights that you'd think were welded. You have to be especially careful with the placement of the punch and give it hell. Those sight pushers have their limits, unlike a big hammer!

 

[BigNate]

It's a Rossi mode 92, Lever action rifle.
Not sure how your's would work on a lever action.

Yeah - probably not going to happen - although as I look at the photo, if I'm reading this right and the rear sight dove sits under the red arrow - it might be possible to get that whole front end of the gun through the site pusher if you remove the fore-grip. Remove that... clamp down on the tube and barrel (drop the "floor" of the pusher as far down as you need to to let the barrel and tube through). If you want to the hand grip off and measure from the bottom of the tube to the base of the sight - and the width of the tube and barrel - and post those measurements here - I can tell you whether it will fit. If it will - and you want to try - I'm happy to meet up and loan the tool.



I've also got some nylon drifts ( Nylon Drifts ). If the pusher can't work - these, a bench block, and an appropriately sized hammer might...

 

[gunpoorboy1]

I've got a Birchwood Casey gun vice coming in this Saturday. ( I don't have a very good bench vice).
I'm going to give it another try with a nylon or brass punch and a heavier hammer and see how that goes. (I've got an 8 lb sledge. I'm pretty sure something will move with that. Ha, just kidding)

 

[QuietM4]

Trying to use tools that were not designed to complete the job you are attempting to do will cause damage to the firearm. That Birchwood Casey gun vise you ordered will not help you. That is a gun holder, not a vise.

Do not use a sight pusher (nothing exists for that type of firearm). Do not use that Birchwood Casey "gun vise". I cannot tell you how many times customers bring me broken guns because they attempted do things they have no business trying to do. It is far more expensive to fix a mistake than to just pay a professional gunsmith do it correctly the first time.

There is a proper way to do this; nothing you have suggested previously will accomplish this task. If you insist on doing this yourself, you need a SOLID bench with a STEEL bench vise. You will need to remove the barrel band, the forend, and potentially the magazine tube. Using a SOLID STEEL punch and a brass hammer, you can can start to tap out the rear sight in a right-to-left direction.

I don't mean to sound rude or offend your skill level; but if you are not 100% sure you have the tools and skill to do this, you will damage your firearm and/or yourself.

 

[gunpoorboy1]

Mr. QuietM4,
Thanks for your input. I am taking your sound advice and taking the gun to Wrights at C2 tomorrow. I can use the Birchwood Casey for cleaning and mounting scopes. I knew I should have taken that gun smith course that Hickok45 keeps talking about. Ha

 

[BigNate]

There is a proper way to do this; nothing you have suggested previously will accomplish this task. If you insist on doing this yourself, you need a SOLID bench with a STEEL bench vise. You will need to remove the barrel band, the forend, and potentially the magazine tube. Using a SOLID STEEL punch and a brass hammer, you can can start to tap out the rear sight in a right-to-left direction.

Thanks @QuietM4. A follow up question or two - if I may (I very much appreciate - and accept - the advice - but I'm a guy who always wants to understand the "why" of things)...
1) Why a steel punch and a brass hammer? I'd have thought that using a brass punch and hammer (or even brass punch and steel hammer) would do more to protect the gun parts - so that if something is going to deform it would be the brass not the steel site or barrel or whatever is getting struck? Am I worrying about the wrong thing?

2) I have a solid bench and bench vice - and any time I use the vice on something that I care about I either pad with soft wood - or use a set of plastic / nylon jaw pads - or use a platform specific jig (e.g. for AR platform stuff)... Is there a preferred "buffer material" for things like gun barrels - to prevent marring the surface of the gun part? In one case for a barrel I used a couple of chunks of 2X4 stud that I'd run over a router bit to create a "v" channel in each - and let them deform around the barrel when I tightened the vise... good? not good? other suggestions?

Thanks in advance....

 

[RandyTF]

There is a proper way to do this; nothing you have suggested previously will accomplish this task. If you insist on doing this yourself, you need a SOLID bench with a STEEL bench vise. You will need to remove the barrel band, the forend, and potentially the magazine tube. Using a SOLID STEEL punch and a brass hammer, you can can start to tap out the rear sight in a right-to-left direction.

Thanks @QuietM4. A follow up question or two - if I may (I very much appreciate - and accept - the advice - but I'm a guy who always wants to understand the "why" of things)...
1) Why a steel punch and a brass hammer? I'd have thought that using a brass punch and hammer (or even brass punch and steel hammer) would do more to protect the gun parts - so that if something is going to deform it would be the brass not the steel site or barrel or whatever is getting struck? Am I worrying about the wrong thing?

2) I have a solid bench and bench vice - and any time I use the vice on something that I care about I either pad with soft wood - or use a set of plastic / nylon jaw pads - or use a platform specific jig (e.g. for AR platform stuff)... Is there a preferred "buffer material" for things like gun barrels - to prevent marring the surface of the gun part? In one case for a barrel I used a couple of chunks of 2X4 stud that I'd run over a router bit to create a "v" channel in each - and let them deform around the barrel when I tightened the vise... good? not good? other suggestions?

Thanks in advance....

There isn't only one way to do this stuff. Example: I had a Wheeler barrel vise that came with oak bushings in various diameters to hold the barrels in the vise while using a wrench to turn the receiver. Some barrels would simply spin in those oak bushings no matter how tight the vise. I made up some aluminum bushings from 1 1/2" thick stock. They did the trick.
I agree that when using a punch and hammer the punch should be brass and the hammer could be whatever material so long as it is big enough to do the job at hand. However, the brass punch can sometimes be too soft and can be destroyed if pushed too far.

A professional gunsmith is a guy who spent time learning what will work and what will not. Best take the advice he is willing to give when you can get it!

 

[QuietM4]

Steel punches will allow for more energy to be transferred into the workpiece, e.g the dovetail sight. Brass hammer because that's just what most gunsmith hammers are made of....brass on one side, delrin on the other. Brass is a little softer, and won't damage steel firearms (as much vs steel) if the hammer accidentally hits something important. You can find aluminum punches, brass, steel, etc. Ideally, the punch will deform before the workpiece does.

Solid bench vise and bench are due to physics....a solid hammer blow does nothing if the piece just moves away from it. I have soft vice jaws in a variety of materials. Delrin, aluminum, brass, leather. I generally prefer a thick strap of leather to hold items. The leather will mold around most surface deformities, e.g. slide serrations....just gives a nice holding surface. It really depends on the job at hand.

 

[BigNate]

Steel punches will allow for more energy to be transferred into the workpiece, e.g the dovetail sight. Brass hammer because that's just what most gunsmith hammers are made of....brass on one side, delrin on the other. Brass is a little softer, and won't damage steel firearms (as much vs steel) if the hammer accidentally hits something important. You can find aluminum punches, brass, steel, etc. Ideally, the punch will deform before the workpiece does."

Thanks... that helps. I've always used a punch that is softer than the material I'm trying to move... usually brass or delrin for gun stuff... If I can't get it to move with the softer drift - and brass hammer, I'll escalate to a bigger hammer (maybe steel) - but I've never used a steel drift on a gun... I want the drift to bend - not the gun...

If I still can't get it to move, I'll take it to someone else and pay them to do it so that if it gets damaged, they can fix it. That might sound terrible - but in that case - I'm paying them to do it because I decided that I was going to make it worse / break it further if I kept trying - and I like to think that they've got more experience / know how to apply more force without damaging the gun.

 

[Excmelin]

I’m new to this forum and just diving into some gunsmithing fun. I completely get what you’re saying about the challenges with dovetail sights. A while back, I was trying to drift some sights on my old Rossi lever action, and let me tell you, it was a battle! I ended up using a brass hammer and some soft jaws in the vice, just like you mentioned. It was the only way to get it to budge. While we’re on the topic, I’ve been looking into shotgun parts kits lately. It’s interesting how much you can upgrade and customize. Those kits can really breathe new life into older shotguns.