Adding iron sights

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Wisco

Wisco

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The scout rifle discussion got me wondering, how hard is it to attach basic iron sights to a rifle without them?

Sights are cheap enough, but the skilled labor may kill this idea.

Front sight only. Ramp with dovetail to pick the right height sight.

Screw or Solder?

How much screw depth do you need and is it possible on a lightweight barrel? I.E. Kimber Adirondack, Barrett Fieldcraft, etc.

Solder pros? Cons?

Any other methods?
 
I prefer soldered on banded front sights, if I'm adding them and have such an option. NECG makes some which are quite nice.

Sights are cheap. Adding sights to a rifle typically ends up not so cheap. But all in all, it's not a bad investment.
 
I checked into getting iron sights added to my CZ 550 American around five or six years ago. The CZ Custom Shop quoted me $200.00 labor plus the cost of the sights.
 
I've added sights to a few rifles. I've gone the least expensive route with Marbles front and rear sights and of course Williams rear apertures.

The hardest part for a home gun "mechanic" is mounting sights on a gun with no pre-existing mounts. I've done screw on mounts due to my lack of other tools. Drilling or tapping isn't itself so hard, picking front sight height isn't too much harder, but getting those dang sights on top of the barrel without being canted? Well, I think I'm going to let a gunsmith do it for me from here on out. It can be quite the PITA for someone without basic machine shop tools.
 
Speaking of screw on front sight ramps with dovetailed front blades, you don't have room for a lot of screw depth on a tapered sporter barrel. You may only get 3/32" and you'll need two taps to tap the hole, IMO. A pointed tap to start the hole and a flat tipped tap to finish the hole to get the threads as deep as possible.

Even then you would want to epoxy (JB Weld) the ramp to the barrel to strengthen the mount, if the mounting hole is shallow.

The benefit of the screw on mount is you don't have to refinish the barrel of the gun.
 
@chicharrones made a couple good points worth repeating.

I use all 3 taps to cut sight threads, taper, plug, then bottoming. The holes are small, and shallow, and the consequence of a mis-tap is pretty expensive. An extra 20min and an extra $5 tap is well worth it.

Now, the real pain, as chic mentioned, is finding top dead center with "hobby smith" equipment. I "ruined" exactly one barrel, cost me enough to repair that I broke down and bought the Forster jig. If you don't have about 20 sight installs to do, it doesn't pay back, and dropping it off at a smith is a much cheaper opportunity cost.
 
Thanks for the info guys.

I think on a pencil thin barrel, soldering would be preferred. How much refinishing is necessary to the area that is heated?

What do smiths in your area charge to solder a banded sight? I like the NECG stuff...

Assuming I want to do this to a lightweight $1500-2000 rifle, I don't want to ruin anything...tapping is beyond my ability and frankly the abilities of any local "gunsmith". I'd honestly cry if I ended up with any cant to tapped sights on a spendy rifle.
 
A guy can cold blue after a band install, but it's better to reblue. There isn't typically much difference in cost for a "small parts" reblue vs. a barreled action reblue for many smiths - only the guys who can throw small parts in with someone else's full blue job can really offset the cost. The salts are cheap, the gear and time are expensive, and that hardly changes between parts. Partial reblues don't come out even.

I'm sure there are smiths out there which would do a hot/cold press fit with an epoxy chaser, which might be a valid option for some usages.

Way, way, WAY more smiths will be capable of a D&T job than a proper silver solder job. It's easy to D&T, a guy just needs a mill/drill and fixtures, or a jig. Then the work is nearly daft. Silver soldering isn't the art form some might try to make a guy believe it to be, but it's a far less common skill set in smiths than it used to be. Especially when you consider rebluing after - many don't even blue themselves any more, and just send bluing work out to contract companies (saves cost). So it's kinda like comparing an "almost anybody can do it" job to TWO "not many folks do it" job.
 
Assuming a stainless barrel - how does solder come out?
 
"...Solder pros?..." Absolutely must be silver solder, not just any cheap solder. Has to be done by somebody who knows what they're doing to get the sight exactly top dead centre. It's easy to get 'em on off centre. Also requires the bluing be removed first. Isn't really a big deal otherwise. Mind you, a screw will be stronger, but that requires drilling and tapping a blind hole(usually 6-48) in exactly the right spot, exactly top dead centre and the exact correct distance apart. A dove tail requires a milling machine and the skill to use it.
"...possible on a lightweight barrel..." Probably not enough steel. Way easier to silver solder.
 
I'm doing the math on D&T.

With barrels that are .550 and .580 at the muzzle, there's not much left for a good screw.

.550 minus .30 bore diameter divided by 2 equals .125 inches of wall. And if a safe stand off from bore is .050 to .100, that's pretty short.

Seating a screw that holds in .050ish of barrel...I don't have calipers, but that seems very small.
 
Wisco said:
I'm doing the math on D&T.

With barrels that are .550 and .580 at the muzzle, there's not much left for a good screw.

.550 minus .30 bore diameter divided by 2 equals .125 inches of wall. And if a safe stand off from bore is .050 to .100, that's pretty short.

Seating a screw that holds in .050ish of barrel...I don't have calipers, but that seems very small.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's why I mentioned some form of epoxy to strengthen it. Zastava rifles have screw(s) mounted rear sights and hidden dovetail mounted front ramps. In both cases Zastava uses an epoxy to make sure those screws and dovetail have some added support.
 
You can buy the stuff you need for around $100, but I'm betting you could find someone that had taken irons off a rifle that would either give them to you or sell them at a nominal cost if you ask around. A you should be able to get a gunsmith to drill and tap the holes for $50-100.

I just linked to some stuff on Midway's website for a rough idea of the cost.


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/7...t-375-dovetail-slot-for-875-barrel-steel-blue

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2...fiber-optic-with-6-interchangeable-lite-pipes

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/6...-rear-sight-16aml-for-360-dovetail-steel-blue

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...justment-and-1-2-to-1-hole-spacing-steel-blue
 
jmr40 said:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...justment-and-1-2-to-1-hole-spacing-steel-blue
Click to expand...

Don't purchase that last item. It's an under engineered pile o' junk. I bought one for a .308 rifle and the quick adjust elevation piece couldn't handle recoil at all. 3 or 5 shots and it was trying to leap off the front of the base.

I sent it back to Marbles for a replacement and the replacement is no better.

At best, it is a rimfire duty rear sight.

If the adjustable rear leaf were made to clamp on like the Remington Model 7 Laminate has, then it would be okay.
 
Last edited:
In general, I plan for 3 threads, at 6-48, you're talking a bit over 60thou in threads, plus clearance.
 
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