Remington 03A3 front sight blade dilemma!

Hello all,

Please excuse me if I'm beating a dead horse, but I checked back 20 pages, could not find an answer, so please indulge me!

I've recently acquired a very nice 03A3 which appears to be of the correct historical configuration; the fly in the ointment is that the front sight blade is bent. I've found a NOS replacement, ready to go, but I CANNOT GET THE PIN TO BUDGE. I've destroyed two 1/16" punches - I would almost swear that the pin is a bit smaller - the punch will not go through the hole in the new blade either.

The punch measures .060", now that's slightly less than 1/16" so it certainly seems that it should work. I've considered trying a 1.5mm punch, but cannot find one anywhere in the US, don't want to buy a complete (expensive) set just for one punch. Some guys in the UK have them, but I'd have to pay three times the cost of the punch to ship it here (yep, I'm a cheapskate allrighty).

Any suggestions? Thank you very much! :madsmile:

How about a pointed nail?

Carefully (without overheating ) shorten your 1/16 punch to just what is needed to push pin out and you'll be able to move the stubborn pin

George

The pin and the 1/16 punch are basically the same size, so you need to polish the punch down slightly, after you have shortened it. The 1/16 punch is springy, and you need it just long enough to get the pin past the sight notch in the base. Drive the pin into a soft pine board to help keep up with it in case you drive it all the way through. By not driving it all the way out, you don't have the problems of getting it started again.

I believe the pin diameter is .050"

I will start off by saying I have never tried to use one out of this batch, but these pins came from a package with something like: Pin, Front Sight, .......

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...03/x7uva-1.jpg

I always start with a tapered starter punch. You won't move the pin much 'cause of the taper, but that punch won't bend, neither. Finish it off with the smaller one.

I always remove the pin from left to right, right being the side the bolt handle is on.

When in doubt, always remove from left to right and install right to left, as some parts are tapered.

I had the same trouble a while back. We finally got the pin out and it was busted into 3-4 bits. Tough pin to find!

Attachment 32341

I stand corrected, it is .060" Sorry

Try a carbide end mill in a hand drill . Take your time it will work.

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. Mike D, your starter punch suggestion was the ticket. First, I chucked the pin punch into my cordless drill and used a file to turn it down to .055". Then I heated the sight block with a propane torch and gave the pin a healthy SCHMACK with the solid punch, which loosened it enough to complete the task with the pin punch.

Thanks, again! :dancingbanana: