Qutestion about Browning (staked) Front Sight

[Walt Sherrill]

I recently picked up new sights for my BHP, and took it to my gunsmith for installation. (They were the Millett's recently offered by Gun Parts.) Nice sights.

While I ordered the sights that seemed appropriate for the gun (staked front sight, and dovetailed rear), the rear dovetail on the gun was much narrower than the sight. My gunsmith redid the dovetail to accept the new sights, with my blessing. The rear sight is now installed, and I really like it.

The front sight was also different.

My gunsmith hasn't worked on a lot of Brownings, just a couple and some Inglis' -- and he has had nothing to do with sights for any of them.

The ones he worked with had dovetailed front sights, and did not seem to have a barrel bushing. (Or, if they had a bushing, they weren't obviously removable.)

My gun, which was made in the mid '60s, seems to have a barrel bushing, and it will move a bit -- but won't come out easily. (You can't feel the end of the staked sight, so it must be a bushing.)

He's trying to find some information, and I said I'd help too, by asking here. He said he would normally break off the front sight, drive out the remaining piece, install and then stake the new one in its place, ala 1911s.

Because he had NOT seen this particular combination of parts before, he was hesitant to charge ahead without checking with someone more familiar with the particular configuration.) I applaud his caution. <grin>

Do some of these older guns have press-fit barrel bushings? If so, should he just drive the bushing out, remove and replace/stake the front sight, and reinstall the bushing? Or is there some other process that should be used?

Thanks, folks.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. No Hi Powers have removable bushings. They're permanently installed and the one in your pistol should not move at all.

As was noted by your 'smith, the dovetails on the older guns are smaller and the front sight attached with a single tenon. I believe that the Millett uses a double stake so appropriate holes would need to be drilled for the staking process. I don't have their URL at hand, but Millett could probably provide necessary information.

If the bushing in your pistol moves, I'd have that looked at and corrected. I'm not sure what 'smith to contact or whether to just go to Browning; you might check with Novak, Yost, or Alex Hamilton with Ten-Ring Precision.

I do not use Millett sights so this is just speculation: I THINK the existing sight can be broken off or milled flat and that the sight base simply covers the embedded tenon. Others will hopefully have a more definitive answer. One could also mill out a front dovetail for the myriad of existing sights for such after checking the height of the Millett front sight and getting one that would be at the same height.

Best.

 

[Jim K]

That bushing is not actually permanent, since it is screwed in. It can be removed, even though it was not intended to be.

The normal way of installing the sight post is for the hole to go right through the bushing, which has the chamfered hole for staking like the inside of the M1911 slide. Three types of installation were used for non-dovetail front sights: staked and soldered, soldered only, and staked only. Your smith will be able to tell which one is involved, but if you can feel the sight inside the bushing, it has to be the staked kind.

So your smith should be able to remove the sight just like on a 1911, but I don't know about the loose bushing. With the sight out, maybe he can unscrew the bushing and replace it with a bit of loctite to keep it in place before installing the new sight and staking it in.

Run this by your smith and see what he thinks.

Jim

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Thanks for the responses, guys. (My gunsmith's computer is giving him fits, so he was having problem accessing this location.) I printed out your comments and passed them to him this morning. I should have my gun back in a few days.

Thanks again. I think we/he knows what to do.