Garand Rear Sight Issue

mmattockx

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So I got my new National Match sights in the mail yesterday and went to install them last night. The front was no problem, but the rear is too wide to fit into the standard Garand housing by around 0.020". The sight is just the replacement hooded aperture that installs in place of the battle aperture, not the whole NM base.

Is this normal and it needs to be fitted, or should I be calling Creedmore sports to explain my problem? I don't have a problem with removing the material to fit it properly but it will screw up the parkerising on the piece and seems a bit like a bubba job to me.

Thanks,
Mark
 
The Creedmore sight was too tight for the Garand piece that I installed on my m14 as well. I seem to recall having to remove only a tiny bit from the machined surface edge near the start of it. It didn't affect the looks as that part remains in the housing.
 
I had to fit my National Match sights into my Garand as well.. just a tad to take off there and there and flatten the base. Made for a nice tight fit. I think the instructions mention where and what to take off inorder to make it work?

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I had to fit my National Match sights into my Garand as well.. just a tad to take off there and there and flatten the base. Made for a nice tight fit. I think the instructions mention where and what to take off inorder to make it work?

The instructions might, but I didn't get any with the order. The front sight was in a regular package with a label, but the rear was simply on its own in a plastic bag.

Thanks for the advice, I will do a bit of fitting and get it nice and snug in the track.

While I am asking, the rear sight is gunked up pretty good with a very stiff, sticky grease. Is this by design or simply the result of years of use and sitting? I could clean it up while I have everything apart and put a dab of lithium grease on everything before reassembly if that would be a good idea.

Mark
 
Take a look at the finish wear patterns and you will see where to apply a bit of grease. Put some under the forward part of the base where it bears on the receiver and along the tracks where the aperture moves in the base. Also grease the pinion teeth and the face of the pinion where it contacts the receiver. Put some grease on the bottom toe of the aperture and on the teeth where it engages the pinion. Also grease the windage knob contact points where it bears against the receiver and apply some grease inside the receiver ears where the elevation and windage knobs rotate. Also put some grease on the inside rib of the rear sight cover where it bears against the aperture.This is a wear point and I find many sight covers where the rib has worn down from lack of grease.
 
There is some variation in the internal dimension of the base and the external dimension of the aperture slide due to manufacturing tolerances and wear. When assembling rear sights I trial fit the 2 pieces to find a combination with minimal side play.
 
Grease inside the rear sight has been standard for a very long time. The grease reduces wear and protects against rust. It never hurts to use plenty ( coat all internal surfaces ). Assemble and wipe off the excess on the outside.
 
Bumping this to update. I finally got to fitting the rear sight tonight. Everything went well with no issues. Took about an hour to take it apart, clean the old grease up and fit the new sight. It now slides freely with maybe 0.002-0.003" clearance side to side, which is a vast improvment over the incredibly sloppy fit of the battle sight. I will be heading out to the range to try out some handloads and get the new sights dialed in.

Thanks to all for the help,
Mark
 
Well done for a first time fitting the NM rear aperture to the base. That's all part of the tweaking that is so much fun with the M1 Garands and the Kommunist Zhinese M14's... :D

It's all good!!

:cheers:
Barney
 
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