Front sight problem

[RayRoyboy]

Hello everyone, I own a 1896 Krag rifle cut down to a carbine. I picked up the gun recently from an acquaintance after it had been in a fire and been left to rust. It looked hopeless but I got it cheap and decided to see if I could bring it back from the grave. I’ve cleaned it up and it does shoot. It had a junky old rear sight so I bought an 1898 rear sight for it. The front sight is a 1903 (I’ve been told) and now with an original rear sight the front sight needs to be raised. I am looking for advise on the best way to do this job. I enjoy shooting it and would like to actually shoot something with it.the front sight has a 7/16 dovetail. Any and all advise is appreciated. I have included a couple of pics. Ray

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.

[RayRoyboy]

Hello everyone, I own a 1896 Krag that was cut down to carbine length. The original rear sight was gone so I bought a 1898 rear sight. I’ve been told the front sight is from a 1903. Anyway the front sight needs to be raised and I am looking for advise on the best way to do it. I have included a couple of photos. Any and all advise is appreciated. Thanks. Ray

[ssgross]

front sight needs to be raised

Do you have the rest of the front sight? if not, they are cheap. I am assuming you mean you need a taller blade? There are many different 1903 standard blade heights. If one of iis then not high enough, go the make one by hand. SS Firearms sells replacement (krag) blades. They sell a large square one https://www.ssfirearms.com/proddetail.asp?prod=K527A. The blade will be slightly thicker than the 1903 one, but just fit by rubbing it on a stone - like one you would sharpen something on. In fact, it's too wide even for their replacement krag base and must be carefully stoned to to the correct thickness ...ask how I know. Shape it to your desired dimensions

[RayRoyboy]

SSGROSS, thanks for replying. I have the top of the sight but it’s too short. I am hoping to find a base that will slide into the 7/16 dovetail on the gun that will accept a blade I can cut down but I can’t find one in the wide dovetail. Any other solution is ok too. I will look at eBay to see if I can find a tall 1903 sight. Thanks, Ray

[mark1]

You can remove the sight from the top portion. Than get a piece of metal that is the correct thickness and make your own sight. Any sheet metal or welding shop should have a piece of scrap they could give you. That way you can start with a tall sight and slowly file it down.

[ssgross]

That way you can start with a tall sight and slowly file it down.

What I was thinking...but he needs the other part of the base.
To my knowledge, only one size front sight dovetail was ever made, even though some are tighter/looser than others. I had one that was pretty loose. I squeezed it in a bench vise with hard plastic jaw pads.
If you get one that is loose on your sight, you can do as I did, or peen it, or drop a tiny shot in the hole before the set screw....all of these I saw here
http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=150087
I did the latter solution first, worked fine but after 3 months I got tired of seeing the gap and squeezed it.

When you purchase the rest of your sight, don't forget to buy the set screw too!

I found a reference to the various issued sight blade height:
A .537
B .522
C .507
D .492
E .477

Also the pin hole is not in the same place for -03 and -03A3 blades. you want an 03 A blade you can file down to whatever height you like. If that doesn't work, you can make your own as suggested.

[butlersrangers]

Here is a schematic and some photos of 1903 Springfield front-sight and parts.

Blades can be military, old commercial, or homemade.

[Merle]

Hope this isn't too paranoid, but that part about being in a fire bothers me. How sure are you that the metal temper hadn't been damaged?