1862 Colt Front Sight Removal?

[AZbpBurner]

Got the Uberti 1862 Colt a few years ago. It had all the problems Uberti was afraid to put into their more popular guns: Nipples too short for the hammer to strike the primers - new nipples solved the problem. Bolt was stamped, but not finished. One spot on the cylinder dragged against the frame. The wedge was too loose to stay in place on its' own.

Mechanically it's functional now, but it shoots about 20" high at 50'.

Has anyone replaced their front sight? Is it press fit, or actually threaded? I tried to lightly twist it, but it appears soft enough that any force would simply twist it off flush to the barrel.

I'm trying to avoid having to drill out a broken off sight if at all possible.

 

[robert bw]

it sounds like you want to avoid filing.is this a possible option?

 

[hawkeye2]

Put some masking tape around it on the barrel and clamp down hard with a pair of Visegrips. Turn counterclockwise, if it unscrews (metric) you can make a taller one. If it shears off you can drill and tap the barrel and make a new sight to suit or dovetail in a different type of sight.

What does the cylinder to barrel gap look like? Often (almost always) the arbor hole in the barrel is too deep resulting in the barrel being pushed back too far by the wedge raising the muzzle end causing the gun to shoot high. Even with the latter problem solved it will probably still shoot higher than you want.

 

[M. De Land]

I have a dovetail cut in mine that I made a new front sight for. It allows adjustment for windage which is a real bonus for a revolver.

 

[m-g willy]

Another thing you could do is what I did to my 1851 navy,,Cut down the rear sight on the hammer ,,,go slow..

 

[AZbpBurner]

Filing the front sight will make it shorter and raise the POI even more.

I tried unscrewing the front sight with a pair of flatnose pliers - good grip, since the brass is extremely soft. Looks like it will twist off without unscrewing.

I tossed it back up on the shelf & will drill out the old & fit a new sometime this winter when the shop temp drops under 110º during the day. I'll go for a press fit, so I can remove and fit other sights as needed.

 

[robert bw]

Yeah, good point.I allways seem to have a dyslexic moment when im thinking about sights.

I'll get it right one of these days :grin: