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ar-15 type, front sight removal?

MIKE WISKEY
customer brought in a cheap (sportsmans whare house) ar-15 that 'short cycles'. checked all the usual culprits and concluded that either the hole in the barrel under the sight base is plugged or misalined. the pins holding the sight base on are $%&%^# tight, I ground off one head (looks like they were 'riveted' some what) and tried heat and kroil. still no/go; any suggestions?
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8 comments

Date Votes
  • shoff14
    The pins are tapered, you only hit them one way. I big hammer, aka 4 pounder and the correct punch with a solid base should get them out.
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  • armilite
    I had a similar problem recently with a CMMG upper that no hammer or punch in the world could get off. I was up to a 6 lb dead blow hammer and went through 4 punches later and none of those punches were cheap (Brownells) I also had this in a previous ask the experts thread. I was also using the AR sight fixture tool.
    I took the easy way out and drilled them out.


    Just do a search in the ask the experts entitled ar 15 front sight removal and enter my name as the author. I was able to bring it up but was unable to post it here.
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  • tsr1965
    quote:Originally posted by MIKE WISKEY
    customer brought in a cheap (sportsmans whare house) ar-15 that 'short cycles'. checked all the usual culprits and concluded that either the hole in the barrel under the sight base is plugged or misalined. the pins holding the sight base on are $%&%^# tight, I ground off one head (looks like they were 'riveted' some what) and tried heat and kroil. still no/go; any suggestions?


    With as many Remington 742's that you do, this should be a cake walk for you. Spray brake cleaner in the gas tube from the reciever end, and look to see if it comes out of the muzzle...then resort to the hammer. Or better yet, do you have drills?

    Best
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    "Or better yet, do you have drills?"............yes, but the pins are hardened and my carbide drill is broke[:(]
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  • sandwarrior
    You will have to knock them out the way they are tapered. Even if you peened the head. The taper is big enough that you will have to move a bunch of material to get it through. The peened head will cause some damage on the way out but it will get knocked down as it goes out the taper.

    And as far as drilling good luck. The pins are very hard and the front sight much softer. You will go into the front sight often and have a really hard time with it. If you have enough of the original holes to measure, find which end is the small end and knock the pins out that way.
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  • tsr1965
    MW,

    Try some heat. It could be that the pins were loc-tited in too. Those pins should come out just like a dovetail, left to right. Also, if it short cycles, you might have a full length buffer and spring in a carbine length buffer tube, could be the gas rings around the bolt, and a host of other stuff.

    Best
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  • dfletcher
    If all else fails, how about dremel through the barrel bands of the sight base? The material is soft as heck, the pins do not go through the barrel entirely they engage a cut - slice one side & peel the bands. I did that to remove a base on a 14.5" with permanently attached FH.

    The sight metal is very, very soft - keep an eye on depth. Go almost through then set a screwdriver in the cut & twist. It will tear the remaining metal and you're done.
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  • v35
    Sight ass'y pins are mostly tapered though I have come across some straight pins. I have one such barrel apart on my bench now.
    Sight pins go in one way and out the opposite way.
    Pin taper is enough that you can see the big end visually.
    Tapered pins have to be driven out from LEFT to RIGHT and in from RIGHT to LEFT.
    Use a short tapered punch (not a straight pin punch) and grind a flat slightly smaller than the small end of the pin.
    Use this with a short handled, heavy hammer to start the pin moving.
    It will take some solid blows.
    Once the pin moves, use a pin punch to drive the pin out. Forget oil, these are force fits.
    If the pins' left ends are mangled, grind them flush with the sight base using a Dremel. Then use your modified taper punch.
    Factory pins are hardened and shouldn't be peened, riveted or mangled.
    Even if some butcher riveted in some soft pins, you should be able remove them using these methods.
    If you intend to salvage the sight don't try to drill them out. You'll make a mess of it.
    If you are replacing the gas block anyway and the above doesn't work, you can use a Dremel cutoff wheel till you're almost through the body then split the body with a chisel.
    Report back how you made out.
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