Kar98k Front Sight Hood Installation

Donster 125

Donster 125

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Title says it all. I ordered one because my mauser didn't come with one. Now that i have it, how do i put it on? It doesn't seem to slide right on or anything. Any help would be much appreciated!

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Get a set of internal/external Snap Ring Pliers. Use it to spread the sight hood and position on the base. Wear safety glasses!
 
Coyote Ugly said:
Get a set of internal/external Snap Ring Pliers. Use it to spread the sight hood and position on the base. Wear safety glasses!
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thanks for the input! ill ask around at my range today if they have any. if so, ill bring my gun in there.

I just wanted the cleaning rod and front hood for aesthetic purposes.

The 6 stripper clips... now those were a gift to myself :D
 
Deltasilver said:
I have a small scar under my lower lip that's exactly the shape of the bottom corner of the hood I installed on one of my R/Cs... Spring steel? Check. I used needle-nose pliers and pulled the handles open.
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I did mine that way, what a work out it was to install not to forget quite frustrating.

I highly recommend the snap ring pliers that you can close with your hand and the needle nose spreads open. I have heard these are at Canadian tire and I aim on picking myself up one very soon as I to adjust the front sight blade on my Kar98k.
 
External snap ring pliers work best. After a few failed attempts I tied about a 12 inch string on the hood and tied the other end to the end of the barrel. Saves getting it in the face or having it fly away and land somewhere it is hard to retrieve.
 
I picked up a really heavy set of snap ring plier at Princess Auto a few months back and they work fine. The puny ones with all the attachments don't work as well as what I call the Russian over built solid ones that I bought from PA. But like the others said, be careful and wear eye protection.
 
Forget the pliers. Take two pieces of para-cord and make several wraps on each side of the sight hood, large enough to get your hands around. Hold close to your chest and pull, the hood will open up enough to be pushed on.

This works to remove or install the hood. This is also how it was done in the field when needed to adjust the front sight over. Soldiers didn't carry pliers, but they carried string.
 
When the sight hood fell off in the field, it was lost for good and stayed off. It's not like you are going to look for it at night on the Battlefield with a flashlight!

That's why you see so many Mausers and G43's without them.

Today, Real Men carry Snap Ring Pliers, Caveman uses his teeth. The End.
 
If the hood is wrapped with string it can't fly off anywhere, but snap pliers are good for other things too if you really want to buy them.
 
I think the main reason the hood was removed is function. Same as Winchester 94 carbines, you can see the sights so much better in poor light without the hood. Mauser battle sights are not the best military sight to begin with and I think most soldiers would remove it themselves, especially if your life depended on your rifle.
 
The string idea is interesting.

I always used a set of needle nose pliers to get the sight hood started and then I used a rubber mallet to set the hood home.

I know the sight hoods, bayonets and catch screws from all RC's were removed and smeltered down for scrap metal.

More than likely your SKS is 10% K98.
 
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Having the right tool and the knowledge for the job not only makes it easier, but prevents damage as well.
How many firearms have you seen where a mechanically declined person worked on it and it has OOPS written all over it!
Always use Gunsmith Screwdrivers (straight wall) as the regular screwdriver (tapered) in your tool kit will bugger the screws up and burr the screw heads. This applies to any firearm. Think before you Destroy it!
 
First off: What year is your rifle? The ones made from 1943 onward were fitted with sight hoods. The earlier ones did not have such features.
 
UCSPanther said:
First off: What year is your rifle? The ones made from 1943 onward were fitted with sight hoods. The earlier ones did not have such features.
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The most obvious way to tell is to look at the grooves on each side on the sight base and see if the grooves are present or absent.

In the event of rebarrelling or rearsenal, year alone will not tell. Do a visual check.
 
Nabs said:
I always wondered how they did it in the field.
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Well, its always nice to have the right tool. I suspect that they may have been few and far between on the battle front, so a string or a bootlace would have been used more times than not. Who knows for sure? I learned the string trick from an old guy lots of years ago who claimed thats how it was done. And it does work.


I have a 2-story shop loaded with hand tools, power tools, and machinery,but the reality is that you can't take it everywhere you go. Sometimes a string is quicker and faster.

I'm quite sure that many sight hoods had been removed or lost in the field, but you also have to remember that many these rifles have been in civilian hands for over 60 years since the war. I wouldn't blame all the losses on careless infantry men.
 
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