Help with rear 03A3 sight

[Calfed]

I've discovered that the rear sight of a S-C 03A3 that I recently glommed has an "issue".

The windage knob turns freely with out any "stops". The sight moves left and right, but there is nothing to hold the knob in place when you set it.

Any ideas?

Information

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[Mike D]

Sounds like the "spring" could be worn. When you remove the very small set screw from the windage knob, you can remove it, and there is the "spring", a stamped piece of metal, underneath. It should have a notch or detent that makes the "click".

[Calfed]

I'll check it out. Are these springs commonly available?

[Harlan (Deceased)]

Hi Calfed,

Mike's correct. They're pretty easy to take apart and straight forward.
I had one doing the same thing and I think everything mostly only needed to be cleaned and lubed and it worked great with a nice secure 'click'.

I'm not sure how hard it will be to find a windage spring alone, but if needed rear sight assemblies aren't too difficult to come by, or terribly expensive.

If you do need the windage spring, I'd try Bill Ricca first.
He's is a very good person to check with when you need authentic 1903A3 parts for a fair price.
His email address is bill@billricca.com and he usually answers quickly. He's very honest and he'll tell you if a part he has is authentic or a reproduction.
His web site is Bill Ricca's Home Page
I just checked his web sight and there weren't 'A3' rear sites or parts listed, but he has a lot of parts that aren't listed.

Sarco lists all the rear sight parts and a complete sight is listed, but I've never dealt with them.

Springfield Rifle Parts

I hope this helps,
~ Harlan

[firstflabn]

Good advice above. The spring (which looks like a washer with a detent stamped in) could have been reinstalled backwards by a previous owner, so pay attention when you dissassemble. Of course do the disassembly/inspection before you order a new one. It shoud be obvious which way the detent needs to face for proper operation (that's another way of saying I don't remember at the monent). The convex side of the detent drops into slots in the knob - I think there are four of these?

If this still doesn't work, you can try slightly bending the spring away from the detent projection side. This will take up excessive slack in the assembly - but this is not usually needed. Clean and oil and you should shortly be clicking away to your heart's content.

[musketshooter]

Quite often the ears are bent inward from being dropped and they will not allow the tension spring to function. If the spring is there, you may have to bend the ears outward. They are not tempered and can be carefully bent.