How to remove older S & W Bull Barrel Front Sight?
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Jim Watson
Member
What are you going to do when it is gone?
Most applications, my gunsmith would probably just mill it away.
Most applications, my gunsmith would probably just mill it away.
MMCSRET
Member
That is a good question and it was working its way around, thru, over, and under my puny brain just the other day. I've got a 65-1, 4" I was thinking about shortening to 3". Looked at the front sight and it looked pressed in. I know, I could buy a factory 3" but this 65-1 is P&R and I've never seen a P&R factory 3".
kaferhaus
Member
Most are silver soldered on......
On a number of occasions I have shortened the ribbed/heavy barrels used on fixed-sight, K-frame revolvers from 4 to 3 inches; And then milled a dovetail in the barrel rib to take a new front sight. After installing the sight I would zero the revolver to shoot point-of-impact to point-of-aim. Then file the dovetail down to match the rib's profile. Some refinishing is necessary, especially on blued guns, but it's one way to put a blued sight on a stainless barrei.
Smith &Wesson's Performance Center has done much the same on certain models that had a muzzle compensator.
Another practice that occasionally shows up is a model 14 (target) Masterpiece that has had the barrel shortened from 6-inches to whatever, and then a high blade front sight mounted as described above with no ramp.
Why? So that the front sight can be elevated in the rear notch when shooting at long distances.
Do not try to shorten barrels on recent or current two-piece barrels that have a tube and shroud style construction.
Shortened barrels are usually easy to identify because the markings will no longer be centered,
Smith &Wesson's Performance Center has done much the same on certain models that had a muzzle compensator.
Another practice that occasionally shows up is a model 14 (target) Masterpiece that has had the barrel shortened from 6-inches to whatever, and then a high blade front sight mounted as described above with no ramp.
Why? So that the front sight can be elevated in the rear notch when shooting at long distances.
Do not try to shorten barrels on recent or current two-piece barrels that have a tube and shroud style construction.
Shortened barrels are usually easy to identify because the markings will no longer be centered,
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
The front sight and rib on older S&W's was not silver soldered on.
They were machined as part of the barrel.
They don't come off, as they are part of the barrel rib & ramp.
If it has a removable front sight at all, there will be a small pin visible on both sides that pins it in the ramp.
rc
They were machined as part of the barrel.
They don't come off, as they are part of the barrel rib & ramp.
If it has a removable front sight at all, there will be a small pin visible on both sides that pins it in the ramp.
rc
Well, for example, if one wanted to make and fit a 'Half Round' front sight to a Model 10 Bull Barrel, ( in emulation of the silohuette and shape of the older Standard Sight used on the Pencil Barrels from 1899 to what, around 1953 or so? , if shorter and wider for the Bull Barrel, of course ) a nice way to do it would be to remove the pressed in Factory Ramp Sight, and, insert a press fit 'Half Round' one, which of course one could make fairly easily with a little patience and finesse.
rcmodel -
There are no Pins on the Model 10 ( Model 13, Model 58, or the likes ) Bull Barrel front sights, far as I have seen. And, I do not believe that S & W intended these Sights to ever be removed or exchanged to other forms.
I guess one could grasp the Revolver Barrel between Copper Strips, in a heavy Bench Vice, heat the Barrel maybe, and, with a flat nose Drift and large Hammer, try drifting the Sight forward or backward and see what luck one has...that, or drill it out quite a bit and with a narrow Cape Chisel, try and get the rest of it out.
I was hoping there might be some elegant method which would not need so much brutality!
Lol
rcmodel -
There are no Pins on the Model 10 ( Model 13, Model 58, or the likes ) Bull Barrel front sights, far as I have seen. And, I do not believe that S & W intended these Sights to ever be removed or exchanged to other forms.
I guess one could grasp the Revolver Barrel between Copper Strips, in a heavy Bench Vice, heat the Barrel maybe, and, with a flat nose Drift and large Hammer, try drifting the Sight forward or backward and see what luck one has...that, or drill it out quite a bit and with a narrow Cape Chisel, try and get the rest of it out.
I was hoping there might be some elegant method which would not need so much brutality!
Lol
Changes sometimes happen without notice, but in the back of my head I seem to remember that at some point the front sight became part of the barrel forging. Before doing anything be sure that this isn't what you are dealing with.
MMCSRET
Member
On my 65-1 there is an obvious, even to the most casual observer, gap between the front sight blade and the rib it is mounted in. The rib is machined as part of the barrel and then a slot is cut to mount a blade in. No silver solder is visible on this S&W as there is sometimes on Ruger front sight mounting, and there is no cross pin to hold the blade in place. Must be cleanly soldered, which I would expect or it it a press fit. It is low profile so I expect that a finely fitted blade could be pressed in and expected to survive.
AH!!! I love the sound of a speculating mind!!!!
AH!!! I love the sound of a speculating mind!!!!
Last year June or so, I undertook to modify an S & W Model 10-6, 4 inch Bull Barrel, Square Butt, to be a 3 inch Barrel, Round Butt, Bobbed Hammer, and, to do the Barrel shortening, I simply cut off an inch or so of the Barrel with a Hack Saw, then tidied things up and made and soldered on a new 'Half Round' Front Sight.
In doing so, my cut was just barely onto the rearmost portion of the riginal front Sight.
It was then that I realized the front Sight was an interference 'Press Fit'.
I had assumed previously, that it was integral with the Barrel Forging and had been Machined to form, rather than that it was a seperate entity.
I was able to pry out the Front Sight from the inch of Sawn-off Barrel, and to examine the aperature it was pressed into.
There was no trace of Solder or adhesive.
By looking at these, one would assume the Front Sight was part of the Barrel Forging, and, merely machined to form, but, this is not so.
Wheter some were a press fit, and, others, intregal with the Barrel Forging itself, or whether all were press fit, I do not know.
Bear in mind please, I am only addressing the Bull Barrel Model 10, Model 13, and probably also the Model 58, and no high-ribbed or pencil Barrel ones.
In doing so, my cut was just barely onto the rearmost portion of the riginal front Sight.
It was then that I realized the front Sight was an interference 'Press Fit'.
I had assumed previously, that it was integral with the Barrel Forging and had been Machined to form, rather than that it was a seperate entity.
I was able to pry out the Front Sight from the inch of Sawn-off Barrel, and to examine the aperature it was pressed into.
There was no trace of Solder or adhesive.
By looking at these, one would assume the Front Sight was part of the Barrel Forging, and, merely machined to form, but, this is not so.
Wheter some were a press fit, and, others, intregal with the Barrel Forging itself, or whether all were press fit, I do not know.
Bear in mind please, I am only addressing the Bull Barrel Model 10, Model 13, and probably also the Model 58, and no high-ribbed or pencil Barrel ones.
I have a 4" HB 10-6 and the front sight is indeed a separate piece. Don't know about other "dash" model 10's. My couple of older S&W revolvers have the sight as part of the barrel, including the 10-5 pencil barrel I traded.
MMCSRET
Member
OK, got serious!! Got me a bright light and a magnifier and sure enough there is a pin thru the rib holding the front sight on my Model 65-1, 4" HB S&W. It has been polished very nearly invisible, but its there. Maybe not the same on every model, but mine has the retaining pin.
Now I'm even more highly educated than ever before; yay me!!!
Now I'm even more highly educated than ever before; yay me!!!
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