1903a3 remington 1942

[rich v]

ok fellas need some help here, young guy i know asked me to do a thorough full dissambly cleaning of a pretty nice 1903A3 that was given to him by a relitive; the rifle had no front sight on it so i orderered and received the following > front sight blade and drift pin, front sight base with key but no drift pin [i was told i could use a finishing nail and just cut it to size with a dremel] there is a place in the barrel that is milled out so my question to you is this: how do these parts install and in what order? Thank you for any help you can give me so i can get this fine warhorse back into action.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Rick the Librarian]

What's the serial number? 3,380,000 or less? Anything more is 1943.

[rich v]

RICK, Your right 1943 [ aging eyes ] ser# 3746xxx > so can you help walking me thru the front sight installation?

[John Beard]

The key notch in the front sight is seldom symmetrical. You will, therefore, need to line up the notch with the pin hole in the sight to identify which end of the key is front. Once you have identified the front of the key, you may tap it into the keyway in the barrel.

Put a little oil on the barrel. Then using a plastic mallet, tap the front sight onto the barrel until the pin hole aligns with the notch in the key.

Get an oversize finishing nail, chuck it up in your drill, and use a file to dress it down to the correct diameter (poor man's lathe). I recommend dressing it down with a very slight taper. Then you can slide the tapered nail into the hole until the taper wedges tight, then remove it and cut it off at that point. Once you have made the pin and cut it to the correct length, you can install it. The pin should fit flush on both sides and not protrude.

Slide the front sight blade into the front sight and line up the pin holes. Once the pin holes have been aligned, you can then install the pin and tap it in with a hammer. You will need to rest the sight against a solid surface when installing the pin.

Hope this helps.

J.B.

[rich v]

J.B. > Thanks much, will get to installing this weekend. thanks for responding.