Suggestions for bead install?

[JonathanE]

I'd like to put a tritium bead on an 18.5" barrel for a Mossberg 500 (it's actually a New Haven 600 AT, but I don't think it matters for this question). When I got this barrel, it had already had the choke & bead hacked off, I just cut it back further (and nicer).

This gun shoots spot on for me with its original 28" barrel with a bead in a rib, so when I sight down the new, unribbed barrel, it naturally hits high. As such, I assume that tapping the barrel for a tritium bead will yield a high POI.

I'm willing to sweat on some new rib to tap for the tritium bead, but I can't find the raw materials for a rib. It looks like it's constructed of simple spacers and a rail... where to buy these?

I would alternately consider sweating on a ramp, but I can't find a ramp whose dovetail matches an available tritium front sight.

Any suggestions? Am I considering the whole thing incorrectly? Is there a simpler answer? I can drill/ tap or solder, but I can't (I think) mill a dovetail slot.

As always, thanks so much for your help,
Jonathan

 

[LAGS]

Check on Brownell's for all the stuff you will need.
I think you can get the stuff for the rib, and they sell Dovetail Files and file guides if you choose to use one.
Plus all the goodies like Drills , Taps, and different solders for gun work.

But , Have you thought about not using a Rib, and just go with a front sight Ramp ?
That is what I did on my plain Barreled Mossberg and used a fire site blade.

 

[JonathanE]

Thanks, LAGS,

I checked Brownells (and Midway and Natchez and Ebay and Amazon) and couldn't find components for ribs. Maybe I just didn't see them or know what to look for.
I think the ramp is a great idea, but I can't find a tritium sight to fit any of the shotgun sized ramps... plenty of fiber optic blades, but nothing radioactive!

 

[LAGS]

On my shotgun I just used a William's Shorty Rifle ramp that was 1/8" high at the dovetail.
I attached it to the barrel with a 6/48 screw and used a rifle sight in the dovetail.
But you can also put a Dovetail Filler blank in the dovetail, and drill and tap what ever kind of shotgun bead you want into the filler piece.
You need to come up with a little Creative Engineering to make what you want.

 

[rcmodel]

You don't want a rib.

You want a shotgun ramp.

http://www.brownells.com/shotgun-pa...ght-parts/shotgun-shorty-ramps-prod16150.aspx

The 'plain barrel' XS big dot is another option.
http://www.brownells.com/shotgun-pa...un-big-dot-tritium-front-sight-prod24532.aspx

rc

 

[Kp321]

If you do want a rib, try Poly-Choke. They sell nice looking aluminum ribs for most shotguns. Brownells used to carry them but now you have to go directly to the manufacturer.
Personally, I would go with a ramp front sight.

 

[JonathanE]

Thanks for the replies. I spent quite a bit of time, before I posted, looking for a tritium to fit the dovetail in that very same ramp; couldn't seem to find one. All the dovetail tritiums seem to be for handguns, and they seem to have different dovetail dimensions.

As LAGS said, I could fill the dovetail with a blank, and then tap the blank to take a tritium bead, but that seemed like an unnecessary extra step. Perhaps that's the route I'll take, however.

Thanks for the lead on the tritium which epoxies over a bead, RC.

 

[bainter1212]

Wow.....good links RC. I have been looking at sighting systems for my Mossy 500 HD gun and was all set to spend $150 + for a red dot. I think that XS big dot will work just fine.