Rear sight loose in dovetail

[Sid]

I took my Blue Sky carbine to the range today to try out some of the Aquila ammo I had received from CMP. I soon found the shots were going all over the place. When I checked the rear sight I found it had gone completely loose. It was literally sliding from side to side in the dovetail, but neither would it come off. This is a brand new development because I have shot this carbine before without any such problem. I thought the rear sight was staked in place to prevent this sort of thing. Anyway, is there something I can do to correct this without going to a gunsmith? TIA

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[us019255]

Remove the sight, use a center punch to tighten the dovetail, reinstall.

Just don't get to heavy with the center punches. It is better to try a couple of times than to chip the dove tail.

The Technical manual for the carbine shows how to do this, not a big deal. Someplace on the web you can down load, but I can't remember where.

A sight pusher tool makes this easy, but I have successfully done it multiple times with brass drift. You do leave a brass mark on the sight. Copper remover bore cleaner removes the brass mark.

[LittleCrane]

You can also use loctite or a similar thread locker (instead of using a center punch to tighten the dovetail), but you still need to remove the rear sight to get the loctite into the dovetail if you want a reliable result. Be prepared to wipe off any excess promptly. I have never had any sight or receiver damage using a brass drift to remove and install the rear sight, but a sight removal/installation tool makes it easier and allows for more accurate adjustment, so I now use one.

[Jim Lee]

I'd want to know if the dovetail is oversize or the sight is undersize before I did too much heavy staking.

[LittleCrane]

I agree Jim, my advice for a newbie would be to use loctite and not risk buggering up the receiver.

[us019255]

"...I'd want to know if the dovetail is oversize or the sight is undersize ..."

Why? That receiver will never have another sight put onto it. Any interchangeability issues, that an armorer may have faced, do not exist. Besides, the official, endorsed by the US Army, fix is to tighten the dovetail with a punch.

[LittleCrane]

I agree that the proper fix is to tighten the dovetail, but that was supposed to be done by an armorer who had training and the right tools and wouldn't be out $600 if he dorked up the carbine. I was just saying that for a newbie the best advice might be loctite. Someone with knowledge, tools, and experience might do it the way the TM says.

[Sid]

Reading these posts gave me another idea. How about using a high strength epoxy to glue the base of the sight in the dovetail? Is this feasible or just stupid? I don't intend to sell this carbine; it is strictly for my own shooting pleasure.

[LittleCrane]

Never tried it for a rear sight, but I don't see why epoxy would not work, assuming you remove and re-install the sight to get a good bond. Would use slow-setting epoxy to ensure you can get the sight positioned to your liking before it starts to set.

[AzTrooper]

Howdy, I dont know if this will be of any help to you or not but I had this exact problem with my Inland. I was lucky enough to have a spare rear sight on hand and it fit the dovetail perfectly. I dont know if this is the case with yours but if you have access to a different sight, it might just do the trick without having to use a adhesive.
John