Sight adjustment

If its anything like the Savage I recently bought, you'll need to whack the crap out of it. The manufacturer told me a gentle tap would be needed... after an hour of trying, had to pull out a real hammer and smack it like crazy. I think mine has a manufacturer defect and Savage would not own up to making an inferior product. Just keep in mind, you could mess up the blueing in the process. Start with a wood dowel, move to brass... and if unlucky like me, try a 40 lb sledge hammer (kidding of course).
 
If its anything like the Savage I recently bought, you'll need to whack the crap out of it. The manufacturer told me a gentle tap would be needed... after an hour of trying, had to pull out a real hammer and smack it like crazy. I think mine has a manufacturer defect and Savage would not own up to making an inferior product. Just keep in mind, you could mess up the blueing in the process. Start with a wood dowel, move to brass... and if unlucky like me, try a 40 lb sledge hammer (kidding of course).

Kinda why hoping there is a tool, whaking with a hammer cant lead to fine tuning accuracy.
 
Kinda why hoping there is a tool, whaking with a hammer cant lead to fine tuning accuracy.

Youd be surprised. The dovetails are tapered, so it gets incrementally harder to drift it one way or the other. I use a vernier to measure if I'm actually drifting it, and by how much.
 
Williams makes a sight pusher for dovetail sights in a base, you could probably rig something similar or modify it it to work on a barrel cut dovetail if your handy.

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The main thing when drifting with a punch and hammer is supporting the barrel so that 100% of impact is going into the sight being drifted and not a soft surface that is supporting the barrel.
 
Williams makes a sight pusher for dovetail sights in a base, you could probably rig something similar or modify it it to work on a barrel cut dovetail if your handy.

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I own one like that shown in picture - the body is made of an aluminum. Must have dealt with some "too tight" sights - it bowed - I straightened it - it bows easier now. So, it can generate more "push" force than the body can take - I suppose something has to yield first - would have thought that would have been the sight insert in the dovetail, but not so.

If you are going to make one, the threaded part acts on a push rod - not directly on the sight insert - nothing rotates that touches the insert - the two studs on back side to hold against the sight ramp, and one push rod that pushes against the sight insert
 
The one that I have is brand "B-Square" "Front Sight Pusher #T1100". Can see the area above the push rod is much thinner than the one shown in Post #7. As I found it in my stuff - is bowed from whatever I used it on last time.

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It looks like maybe the pusher would have to be custom made and then some other shims and blocks to get things lined up.... what was the main issue?

Mainly the pusher, needs to be twice as deep on the toz I tried it on. Debating modifying it or sending it back. As it is the best it could do is bend the sight. Dont think it has enough clamping force either.
 
I might have misunderstood, but I think a pusher does it's thing against the base of the sight - not real sure I understand how the sight could get bent by a pusher, unless it was applied against the sight's stem??? The picture in Post #7 is how I thought they were to be used - against the base.
 
I might have misunderstood, but I think a pusher does it's thing against the base of the sight - not real sure I understand how the sight could get bent by a pusher, unless it was applied against the sight's stem??? The picture in Post #7 is how I thought they were to be used - against the base.

To shallow to reach the base, top of sight is against the threads of the bolt and the pusher only reaches halfway to the base.41IwD5BWrKS._AC_US40_.jpg Not the tool in post 7, that one should work. Apparently this is made for pistols, wont work on my rifles.
 

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The one from amazon is made for specific model of pistol, there are universal pistol drifters that are more expensive but made to adjust to different slide dimensions and sights. The one I posted from Williams is designed to work with driftable sights that are cut into a sight base... not so much for a sight dovetail that is cut into the barrel with no base.

At the end of the day, with a good hammer and punch (hard wood, hard plastic, brass) and with the barrel well supported by a block of wood near the dovetail so all the impact force is going into the sight, and with an understanding of which way the sights are typically installed (many dovetail cuts are tapered) if you want to remove the sight... you will be fine adjusting it the old school way.... :)
 
The Williams and B-Square shown work best on sights with ramps, not on barrel cut dovetails. I use a hockey puck with a narrow channel cut across it and a good brass punch with hammer.
 
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