removing Ruger 10/22 front sight...WTF

[DrNVP]

I am trying to install Tech-Sights and this mother F-er will not budge. I have been hitting it with a punch and hammer for the past hour.

I am starting to consider using a Dremel tool to cut the front sight in half in order to remove it...anybody have some advice?

 

[Sprocket]

Yes - calm down

first - is the barrel in a vise? If not, start there - you can do it without a vise but correctly supporting the barrel makes it easier

B - line your punch up at the center of the dovetail right where it meets the barrel - where you hit can be as important as how hard...

3rd - tap, tap, tap-a-roo

Also, I use a small hammer - like 3 or 4 oz - if things are stubborn I use an 8oz hammer

Some liquid wrench or PB Blaster may help - give it about 15 minutes before hammer time

 

[atmay]

Aren't the dovetails also tapered? I seem to remember looking it up when I removed my front sight, and somewhere said you had to do it L->R
I could be wrong, two years ago is a little fuzzy

 

[Knob Creek]

It takes a bit. When I did mine I found a couple really hard blows finally did it. Which way are you driving it?

I laid the barrel on a piece of wood, put the punch on the left side of the sight down on the dovetail part of the front sight blade (not the base) and smacked it with a hammer quite a few times. When installing sights, install from right to left. When uninstalling(removing) sights, remove from left to right.

 

[DrNVP]

I am driving from left to right (i.e. pushing the sight towards the ejection port side)

 

[Sprocket]

If you're worried about damage, stop

Otherwise the above advise from all still applies

WRT striking - sometimes using a smaller punch will put more PSI at the joint. You want the punch to be as close to the seam between the sight and barrel band. Sometimes you can wedge it by being less than centered on the front post. Don't be afraid to give a couple taps from the right/opposite side either - kinda jar everything loose. Lube or penetrating juice will help but makes the barrel hard to grab if you aren't using a vise.

Think "Sharp smack" when you hit the punch. Slowly increase your pressure and move to a bigger hammer

There really is something of a trick to doing this job so if yo ucan find experienced hands to help it may be worth the beverage you pay in return.

Keep at it - let us know when you get it free. If you damage the original sight post and want a replacement I may have 3 or 4 here somewhere.

Barring all that - put it back on the gun and go sight it in - leave all your tool at home - and the further away from your house to the range the better your chances are it'll fall off after the 4th round or so...

 

[atmay]

Slightly OT, but important note here too (from personal experience);

THOROUGHLY degrease EVERYTHING when you are done removing the front sight, the barrel, new sight, old sight, hands, dog, EVERYTHING. The Tech-Sight front sight will slip right into the dovetail, with only a loctite'd set screw holding it in place. If it's the least bit greasy, IT WILL NOT STAY.

Ask me how I know.

 

[DrNVP]

I already scratched the metal below the sight, so I'm going to stop. I don't want to cause major damage to the barrel by beating the sight more and more.

I have been supporting the end of the barrel against a wood block, which is a solid base. It's still not budging at all.

The Dremel tool is looking more and more attractive. Anybody want to meet up and let me borrow theirs ? I will buy a six pack of your favorite adult beverage

 

[e2lt]

I already scratched the metal below the sight, so I'm going to stop. I don't want to cause major damage to the barrel by beating the sight more and more.

I have been supporting the end of the barrel against a wood block, which is a solid base. It's still not budging at all.

The Dremel tool is looking more and more attractive. Anybody want to meet up and let me borrow theirs ? I will buy a six pack of your favorite adult beverage

I did one recently and its a real pain in the a$$. After a little online research, I ended up using the dremel. I simply worked s-l-o-w-l-y, cutting a notch out of the sight. After I completed said notch, the remainder of the sight simply fell out. Out of curiousity, are you installing an Archangel kit? That was the reason for my modification.

 

[Royal]

Had the same issue... I dripped Mpro7 (LPX) oil down into the groove where it slides and left it for about 10 minutes... it took all of 3 minutes to gently tap it from left to right.

 

[daveyburt]

let it soak in PBblaster overnight and tap again in the morning?
-maybe some corrosion in there?

good luck!

 

[ochmude]

I had the exact same problem and ended up using my dremel. Took the cutting disk and basically sawed the front sight in half from left to right. Saved me a lot of headache and the tech sights went in like buttah.

 

[dwarven1]

Odd... I just used a 1/4 pin punch (flat end) and an 8oz ballpeen hammer. Gave it a few sharp blows and it went right out. The key being, I think, that the punch I used is a good strong one - not a small one. Look at the bottom of the page here: http://www.starrett.com/download/326_p416_420.pdf.