K31 praise and how do I adjust the front sight?

[onlycrimson]

I took my k31 out to the range for the first time today and was thoroughly impressed. I had heard it was good, but when i shot the first six rounds in a 2" group at 100 yards I was amazed It functions so smoothly and reliably too.

My buddy also got one and the front sight is out of alignment causing it to shoot to the right. I can see the marks on the sight where they should line up, but how can this adjustment be made? Thanks

Information

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[Patrick Chadwick]

The foresight blade on the K31 is in a diagonal dovetail slot. Simply use a brass drift and a light hammer to drift the blade forwards (to move it to the right) or backwards (to move it to the left) as required. You really MUST use a brass drift, not steel (that will mar the dovetail) or aluminium (that might leave a smear of bright metal, and the oxide surface of aluminium can cause scratches).

One does sometimes see the proper screw-clamp adjusters for sale in online auctions. But the prices are at the level where you stop to think "do I really want to spend that much on something that I will only use once?"

The blade may originally have been staked by the armorer who set up the rifle. All I can say is that in this case, you will need a somewhat sharper tap with the hammer on the drift. The trick to unsticking such things is a sharp tap, not a heavy blow!

Since you say that the blade is obviously way out of position, judging by the witness marks, the grip of any staking has probably already been loosened by previous manipulation.

[Latigo]

Or, there's always this one.





Latigo

[Patrick Chadwick]

That is just the object I meant. Costs as much as a usable rifle! And a lot more difficult to find! I shall have to stick to my brass drift, tack hammer, and modelmaker's C-clamp!

Thanks for a couple of good photos showing how the things are used!

[onlycrimson]

Thank you Patrick, I can easily manage that.

Latigo, you're welcome to stop by anytime this week with that device.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Good luck with the hammer! The trick is to hold the drift against the dovetail, and then hold the hammer handle between thumb and fingers, not a closed fist, and "flick" the hammer head at the drift, so as to provide an impulse to move the dovetail in the slot.

If you hold the handle in a closed fist, as if hammering a heavy nail into a plank, you will hit the blade far too hard and drive it too far. The flicking action enables you to nudge the blade into the correct postion.

I have several cases where a sight blade was way off the witness marks. In all cases, the marks were correct, after the rifle had been checked over for correct bedding etc and the appropiate ammo was used. It seems there are clueless people out there who shift the sight blade because they have not realised that, for instance, the barrel is binding on one side of the barrel channel. Correct such matters first, and then the sights are usually on target once more.

- And how about a target photo, when you've got the riifle centered?

[Latigo]

Howzabout one for $10 bucks or so?



Your local hardware store. Its a nut-splitter. Just flatten the tip.

[Patrick Chadwick]

... Latigo!

for
a BRILLIANT tip!

If you just glue a bit of leather or plastic inside the ring to stop the foresight "ears" being marked, then that is a really neat solution!

[Latigo]

Patrick, I think those things come in brass too.

Latigo

[onlycrimson]

Wow, that's perfect for a hardware store fix. That's probably what I'll have my buddy do instead.