Mosin Nagant Front Sight Completely Seized...

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joe_canadian

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I'm at my wit's end. I'm trying to get my front sight loosened so when I do go shooting with it on September 13, I can easily dial in the windage. I've been following the instructions of this site and others attempting to get my front sight moving - to no avail.

Thus far, I started with dousing the sight in PB Blaster and attempting to move it with a 5/32, 7/32 and 1/4 brass punches and hammer (first a 32 oz Rubber Mallet, then a 40 oz Claw Hammer). When that didn't work, I soaked the sight in PB Blaster the past two and a bit days (from Tuesday Afternoon to about 7:30 minutes ago) first trying with the metal cold, then heating it with a butane torch to the point of being unable to touch the metal, hoping that'd loosen things up. Still nothing. I've been hitting the sight so much that my brass punch are starting to flatten out. I've also, unfortunately, marred the bluing. :mad:

It may not even need to be moved, but I'd rather have them loose and able to move than be stuck attempting to use Kentucky Windage. The Witness Mark on the sight and sight holder seem to be a 1/8-1/4" left of the centre of the barrel. It also looks like the sight was flipped around at some point.

I know September 13 seems like a ways off, but my dad broke his L2 vertebrae, so I don't know how much time I'll have between now and then to continue working on this little project.

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Also, thanks for reading. Y'all are awesome.
 
If you've got adjustment for the windage then that's all you need, you adjust for height with the rear sight, or if you still need it lower than the 100 mark you can file a little bit off the front sight post
 
dand883, I'm trying to get it moving ever so slightly in case it's off so I can easily adjust it at my camp. If it's shooting low, I'll file down the sight a bit, if it's high, I've got some 12 gauge wire I can slip over the post.
 
Are those two dimples in the first pic punch impacts to keep it from moving? If so, that might be the problem.
 
joe_canadian said:
bogusii, I'm not sure to be honest. If they are, what can I do about them, or am I buggered?
Click to expand...

If they are (have a close look to make sure) then they are a problem. If all your banging didn't move them it means they are doing the job they were intended to do. My solution would be to use a dremel tool with a fine bit to grind out the punch marks or at least remove enough material so a punch on the side can do its work.
 
desporterizer, are you sure? Looking through your posts, I can see you know way more than me about mosins. I just want to be sure of what I'm doing before I make any irreversible changes to the old girl (aside from cleaning up the shellac, which is peeling off).
 
joe_canadian said:
desporterizer, are you sure? Looking through your posts, I can see you know way more than me about mosins. I just want to be sure of what I'm doing before I make any irreversible changes to the old girl (aside from cleaning up the shellac, which is peeling off).
Click to expand...

Its no coincidence that both the sight & base have sets of two punch marks.
 
Just tuning in, have you tried moving it in both directions?
Well supported and a solid whack with a hammer and punch should move it.
It does appear that it has been "set" with the 2 dimples at the front.
 
Beermaker, I have, hitting the brass drifts I bought to the point that they're now probably 1mm shorter from new. As for well supported, I sat the barrel on two 2x4's (one at each end of the barrel) had my brother hold it in place using his full weight on top of the chest freezer and whacked the damn thing so hard that it left an indent in the wood and bronze on the dovetail. The bluing marred, and the metal flattened a tiny bit, but the sight itself still hasn't moved.
 
Those are index marks from when the rifle was zeroed at the arsenal , problem is it was zeroed with the bayonet on .. I would shoot it before messing with the sights , shooting with the bayonet off the elevation will be off too , they shoot high usually . To calibrate your elevation if its shoots high, file down the contact point on the bottom of the rear sight cursor to bring the point of impact down. Or if it shoots low file down the front sight post to bring the point of impact up ..
 
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