The Sins of Bubba

conor_90

conor_90

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I have acquired a very nice rifle.

Sadly bübba had his way with it.

The front sight blade was replaced and it involved some creative filing. There is now a gap between the base of the blade and the homebrew dovetail.

The blade can be pushed out by hand. If the dovetail was reformed the front sight would no longer fit. Weirdly 3/8th dovetail blades do not quiet fit so maybe this is the solution? Have a skilled smith recut it and fit a new 3/8th sight blade in there? The sight is very tall but skinner may have an option.

But the temptation for homebrew solution is strong. To outbubba the Bubba. At the very least, secure it somehow to ensure the sight height is right before having a professional attack it permanently somehow.

Some (bad) ideas:

JB weld: a Bubba classic, but how to remove that which leaks from the side? Masking tape and a solvent soaked rag standing by?

Super glue for a temp fix? This is easier to remove (I think at least?)

Solder? But how to get it under the blade or keep it from hardening or smearing out when I slide the sight in? ( :dancingbanana: )

Wrapping it in gorilla tape so I can at least shoot the gun before getting someone to fix it?

Also, the horn butt pad is very worn down/decaying. I see a US sight makes replicas, anyone order one?

Some pictures:

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Most 3/8 dovetail sights will require slight filing with a safe file to fit. One trick i have used to tighten up loose sights is using an automatic center punch to raise a bur on the bottom of the sight insert. Google tightening up dovetails with punches and you might find some workable solutions.
 
I would be inclined to clean up the dovetail and make a new front sight to fit, or alter a replacement to fit properly. If you want to secure the existing sight pending a permanent repair you could use JB Weld; just wipe any excess off before it cures.

Are you thinking about a replacement buttplate from NC Ordnance? I bought one of their reproductions for an 1886 Winchester. Very high quality repro.
 
Can you tell if the ramp is screwed or soldered on?
When you go for a more permanent repair start over with a new ramp and put a lyman globe front sight on to make the best use of the rear aperture. Might not be what you would wamt for hunting but is a big improvement for target.
 
The original cut has been deepened and widened. The 3/8th sights that do not fit are from a commercially cut dovetail and not oversized.

https://homesteadparts.com/shop/buttplate-mauser-p-1653.html is the buttplate I was thinking of. But I will have to check out the other site, thanks.

Is JB weld not a very permanent solution?

I will not be removing the ramp and installing a marbles front sight on a pre war oberndorf sporter thanks, but excellent job channeling the "Bubba solution" energy
 
JB Weld is an epoxy with metal powder. It is strong, but not indestructible and permanent. It would keep a loose sight from shifting.
I would be inclined to clean up the dovetail and make a sight to fit. Style can be appropriate.
I, too, have an original Mauser sporting rifle from the 1920s. I wouldn't be removing the original ramp and replacing it either.
 
I’d recommend cutting the barrel back behind the sight and having the receiver drilled and tapped for weaver bases. Take same hacksaw to the butt to be square it up and attach an oversized ventilated butt pad.
 
Not real sure, but I think many European dovetails are NOT 3/8" - but North American typically are - for example, I think Brownells sells or used to sell a front sight insert that was much taller than normal, for Mauser military rifles - yet they had the appropriate sized male dovetail for a Euro rifle, but often not for a North American made ramp - need to do some filing to make them fit together. You can smear a release agent - like shoe polish - where you do not want epoxy like JB Weld to stick. You can often grind off one face of a "three square" triangular file to make that face safe - then you have a reasonably sharp edge, to a 60 degree slope, to work on the dovetail without making it deeper.
 
Drilling and tapping would then require bolt bending this specific original dove was 3/8”
The correct fix if you actually don’t want it look like a bubba remake would be cut the bbl back behind the ramp and install a new ramp or cut a dovetail into the bbl
The cost factor would be high so then I would just go to intersurplus and buy a new gun for 295$
 
conor_90 said:
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But the temptation for homebrew solution is strong. To outbubba the Bubba. At the very least, secure it somehow to ensure the sight height is right before having a professional attack it permanently somehow.
...
Click to expand...

I think there is an XS sight kit here - they had a plastic thing included - you installed the rear aperture sight more or less permanently - then inserted that plastic thing in the front dovetail - went to the range with a side-cutter - snipped off height on that plastic to get the front sight height where you wanted it - then measure and order the appropriate "permanent" front sight.
 
^ if you really want to embrace the bubba you can do this with a zip tie.

I would just go to intersurplus and buy a new gun for 295$
Click to expand...

Oh nice, do they have lots of oberndorf sporters for 300 bucks these days?

Nothing is getting cut, removed or replaced...
 
File a new sight blade to fit. I always have to file a new sight blade. New sight blades shouldn't fit just like that. It would be easier to file the ramp than the blade but then you would have a ramp that wouldn't necessarily fit a new blade. If you have to use that blade you can punch down the lip of the dovetail a bit. It doesn't matter if the bottom of the blade doesn't touch the bottom of the dovetail
 
Butcherbill said:
Are you handy with a welder or brazing torch? Adding metal to the bottom of the front sight base and filing to fit would be an option as well.
Click to expand...

The degree to which you want to fix the front sight (i.e. just hold the blade in place or actually restore the factory look) will dictate the fixing method. I am personally a bit found of the out-budda-ing the Bubba.

I think Mr. Butcherbill has the correct way to deal with lost metal. A good welder and a good hand with a file and touch-up bluing could probably fix your sight pretty seamlessly.

If I was in your shoes, I would probably put a tiny bit of splatter with a welder on the base of the blade and give it a light file until it movable with a bit of friction. If I didn't have a welder, I would be tempted to use a little Loctite 480

https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/au/en/product/instant-adhesives/loctite_4800.html

Depending on the actual gap between the blade and the front sight base, there might be better Loctite products (they have spec sheets that specify fill space) but people have been know to use Loctite Max Black, 480 and 380 for all sorts of good Bubba gun fixes. The best part about the Loctite is that you can remove it with heat so your not permanently bubba-ing it.
 
I like that solution, because it allows me to send it to a pro to be refinished totally at some point and get a more professional fix.

Though apparently jb is not as permanent as I thought? I know from non gun bubbaing that it fills gaps in metal well.
 
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I would also vote for Loctite for an almost permanent fix, the one I have used is #380 possibly 480 is a better grade, 380 is black and cures very fast. Downside is it's about $70 for a tiny bottle. Supposedly used for bead sights on shotguns
 
As a second Bubba approach, a little Aluminum tape works real well for making shims. A couple strips of Aluminum tape in the dovetail might be the fasted least permanent approach (a similar to the shim stock approach). You could probably use this method in conjunction with the JB or Loctite fixes.

It is my very rudimentary understand, but I thought a lot of replacement dovetail blades were suppose to come semi-loose and once you got the one you wanted you "staked" them in place by forcing a little bur up on the blade bottom with cold chisel or punch. Maybe try that.
 
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