Can't budge Renegade front sight

I'm wanting to change the front sight on my 1980s T/C .50 Renegade, but try as I might, I can't seem to get it to budge even a little bit, punching left to right. I soaked it in penetrating oil but no luck. I don't want to beat the tar out of it and booger it up. Maybe soak it a day or two in penetrating oil? Any suggestions? Anyone else had a problem removing Renegade front sight?

Has it been staked in any way?

The tiniest amount of heat may get her break loose. TINY.

And I wouldn't get hung up on the drive it from the right vs the left thing.

Try it from both sides.

SgtMaj65 said:

I'm wanting to change the front sight on my 1980s T/C .50 Renegade, but try as I might, I can't seem to get it to budge even a little bit, punching left to right. I soaked it in penetrating oil but no luck. I don't want to beat the tar out of it and booger it up. Maybe soak it a day or two in penetrating oil? Any suggestions? Anyone else had a problem removing Renegade front sight?

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It’s good that you’ve soaked it. Probably just a little crusty from age. The sight should be knocked out left to right and installed right to left. This is the drift tool I use for that purpose. It’s 3/8” brass rod, about 4” long. I filed it down so that the extended ledge sits on top of the sight base to stabilize it. As long as you have anything like this, put the barrel in a padded vise with the sight centered and use your drift, left to right, with firm but controlled hammer taps.

TDM said:

put the barrel in a padded vise with the sight

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Do what TDM said. If the barrel is not rigidly held all the engery from your efforts just goes to moving the whole gun, not the sight.

Are you looking down the bore for right and left?

Like TDM says , make a set of non marking metal vise jaw covers. Brass or aluminum sheet metal , will work fine. Don't squeeze the barrel too tight in the vise jaws , you might kink it . Been there , done that.

I have removed a bunch of TC front sights, every one was in so tight I ended up deforming the base getting them out.

If it is already beat up, you can hacksaw a vertical slot from top to bottom. It will nearly fall out after. Be careful not to muck up the barrel.

Scota@4570 said:

If it is already beat up, you can hacksaw a vertical slot from top to bottom. It will nearly fall out after. Be careful not to muck up the barrel.

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Good idea, I may try that. Going to heat the barrel first when I get a chance. Looking at the sight base it almost appears that it should come out right to left and not the other way around like I've read over the years. I've hammered on the left side and it may just be an optical illusion.

SgtMaj65 said:

I'm wanting to change the front sight on my 1980s T/C .50 Renegade, but try as I might, I can't seem to get it to budge even a little bit, punching left to right. I soaked it in penetrating oil but no luck. I don't want to beat the tar out of it and booger it up. Maybe soak it a day or two in penetrating oil? Any suggestions? Anyone else had a problem removing Renegade front sight?

Click to expand...

Put some heat to it with a propane torch as it probably has lock-tite under it and if Red Loc-tite will need about 500 degrees F. to loosen. Don't worry about heat from a regular hand held propane torch as rifle barrels are normalized at 900-1200 degrees F. when button rifled. Heat enough to loosen the loc-tite or soft solder will not ruin the blue or brown either.
I have done this many times as I like to use Loc-tite under sights I have installed to make them stay put and water proof them.
One cannot generate enough heat with a regular hand held propane torch to change the heat treat (anneal) in barrel steel. Barrel steel is fully annealed or "normalized" before rifling wither cut or buttoned.

SgtMaj65 said:

Good idea, I may try that. Going to heat the barrel first when I get a chance. Looking at the sight base it almost appears that it should come out right to left and not the other way around like I've read over the years. I've hammered on the left side and it may just be an optical illusion.

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Now days it rarely makes any difference as most commercial sight dovetail females are cut on a mill and have no taper to them. Often times the male (sight base) will have a bit of taper which can make a difference in which side they are removed. Taper is good for tightening a sight but not very good when windage adjustment is needed. Better to have a snug parallel fit and once centered a drop of loc-tite underneath to make them stay put and seal them from moisture.
I really don't like staking marks in sight fitting wither above or below to tighten them. A properly cut dovetail will allow windage adjustment sight fit with no movement until drifted.

M. De Land said:

Put some heat to it with a propane torch as it probably has lock-tite under it and if Red Loc-tite will need about 500 degrees F. to loosen. Don't worry about heat from a regular hand held propane torch as rifle barrels are normalized at 900-1200 degrees F. when button rifled. Heat enough to loosen the loc-tite or soft solder will not ruin the blue or brown either.
I have done this many times as I like to use Loc-tite under sights I have installed to make them stay put and water proof them.
One cannot generate enough heat with a regular hand held propane torch to change the heat treat (anneal) in barrel steel. Barrel steel is fully annealed or "normalized" before rifling wither cut or buttoned.

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Interesting. Would T/C have used red Loctite on a new Renegade? I bought it new.

SgtMaj65 said:

Interesting. Would T/C have used red Loctite on a new Renegade? I bought it new.

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Not likely. Someone later could have. I would say it is a very tight fit with possibly a little rust under the sight.

seems t/c sights are like their breech plugs

Put it in a solid vise (padded with leather or cloth) close to the sight. It has to come out left to right. If it doesn't, get a bigger hammer! Seriously. You won't hurt the barrel as long as you keep the punch on the sight only.

FINALLY got it out!! That was ridiculous, much harder than it should have been but with a bigger hammer and a brass punch I got it out. Oddly, no rust whatsoever. Had to use triangular file quite a while to even get it to start with new dovetail Lyman globe front sight. But … voila! Thanks to everyone for help and various ideas. Used a combination of several.
Now, to the range to get it zeroed-in with Williams rear peep.

SgtMaj65 said:

FINALLY got it out!! That was ridiculous, much harder than it should have been but with I bigger hammer and a brass punch I got it out. Oddly, no rust whatsoever. Had to use triangular file quite a while to even get it to start with new dovetail Lyman globe front sight. But … voila! Thanks to everyone for help and various ideas. Used a combination of several.
Now, to the range to get it zeroed-in with Williams rear peep.

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Good for you and I'm glad you succeeded. I use a lot of those Lyman front sights on muzzle loading match rifles as well as BP cartridge guns.
Heat on a front sight helps even if there is no loc-tite or solder holding it as the expansion and contraction will break up corrosion scale or bluing lock just as it does on a stuck bolt or screw.
One point I will make not in criticism but for information is the correct fitting of a 17-A is for the underside of the ledges (sight bottom minus male) need to make a brush contact with the top barrel flat. When fit correctly no day light should show from a side ways view any where in or above the female dovetail cut and bottom of the sight, in the barrel.
This usually means making the female deeper and shimming the undersides to draw the sight down further or shimming the ledge gaps. Typically the females need to be cut about .090 deep for a 17-A but I always actually depth measure the sight male and mill the female accordingly. Good work is done routinely with files and chisels so a mill is not a necessity but convenient.

M. De Land said:

Good for you and I'm glad you succeeded. I use a lot of those Lyman front sights on muzzle loading match rifles as well as BP cartridge guns.
Heat on a front sight helps even if there is no loc-tite or solder holding it as the expansion and contraction will break up corrosion scale or bluing lock just as it does on a stuck bolt or screw.
One point I will make not in criticism but for information is the correct fitting of a 17-A is for the underside of the ledges (sight bottom minus male) need to make a brush contact with the top barrel flat. When fit correctly no day light should show from a side ways view any where in or above the female dovetail cut and bottom of the sight, in the barrel.
This usually means making the female deeper and shimming the undersides to draw the sight down further or shimming the ledge gaps. Typically the females need to be cut about .090 deep for a 17-A but I always actually depth measure the sight male and mill the female accordingly. Good work is done routinely with files and chisels so a mill is not a necessity but convenient.

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I noticed the gap too, but I had another ML that I sold that had same gap on factory front sight so I didn’t think it was critical. Learned something new. But then again, I’m 73 and seem to learn something new every day

A while ago I ran into the same problem, a very tight front sight. I used my air hammer with a staight steel bit with a brass cap on the end so as not to mark up the barrel should I slip. Worked slick as owl poop.

SgtMaj65 said:

I noticed the gap too, but I had another ML that I sold that had same gap on factory front sight so I didn’t think it was critical. Learned something new. But then again, I’m 73 and seem to learn something new every day

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I'm 73 as well and I like to say, "Why there ain't no end to the things I don't know " !