Hawken sight screw thread..

[Bill M.]

What size and thread are the sight screws in the barrel for a TC Hawken? I have a .45 cal kit barrel I purchased used and the sight was soldered on. I have taken it off and wish to try to chase the threads a little. Any tips for how to remove the solder from the screw holes? And what size and thread should they be? I would like to mount some sort of optic temporarily for load testing. I also wanted to check to make sure nobody had drilled the holes through the barrel before they soldered. If the threads are gone is it practical to plug tap them to a larger size? Or glue on a mount and take it off later?

 

[Greg Y]

6-48 can be opened to 8-48. Tapping a blind hole that small isn't fun. To get the solder out you can machine it for best results.

 

[Bill M.]

Thank you for your prompt reply. Not sure what I am going to do next but I have the information I need. Will grind a tap flat and try to clean up what is there first. The holes are shallow. Ugly spot on the barrel. Fall back is to just solder it back down.

 

[Greg Y]

Brownells sells a good bottoming tap....I would have a spare....they break easy.