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loose dovetail solution

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Hawk78

Southern Pride
Joined
Jul 28, 2020
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Location
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I bought a set of Lyman hunting sights a little less than a year ago. I really love these sights because the front bead sight completely fills the rear sights circler notch. I shot very well with it until I noticed they kept moving. I tried all of the suggestions from you fellows on this forum without success. Now it was not your suggestions, rather operator failure.
Yesterday I got to looking at an empty percussion cap container. I created shims from the can using a pair of snips and a file. I carefully fitted the shims (tightly) inside the dovetails on the gun. Then used my punch to drive them in. I could finger start them about a quarter of the way in, but had to drive them in the rest of the way. The rear ight is definitely tight enough and I believe the front is as well, but it was easier to tap in, but not too easy. Anyways, If I need to, I will simply add a shim to the front dove tail. The trick is to make the shim to where you have to really push it in with your fingers.
I hope this can help anyone who has issues like I did.
 
If you cut a BCS (beer can shim) that fits the floor of the female sight dovetail in the barrel, and slide it in with the sight, it should raise the sight blade in the dovetail enough to tighten it to the insides of the angles dovetail cuts.

Any expose shim edge is easily camo's with a black Sharpie.
 
Years ago I bought a 1916 Lee Enfield, South African, and the front sight was shimmed like this with flattened .303 brass.
 
Another method of tightening a sight is to take a center punch and put one, or two, punch marks on the floor of the dovetail. This will raise enough metal to push the angled sections tight against the dovetail, and is invisible.
 
I bought a set of Lyman hunting sights a little less than a year ago. I really love these sights because the front bead sight completely fills the rear sights circler notch. I shot very well with it until I noticed they kept moving. I tried all of the suggestions from you fellows on this forum without success. Now it was not your suggestions, rather operator failure.
Yesterday I got to looking at an empty percussion cap container. I created shims from the can using a pair of snips and a file. I carefully fitted the shims (tightly) inside the dovetails on the gun. Then used my punch to drive them in. I could finger start them about a quarter of the way in, but had to drive them in the rest of the way. The rear ight is definitely tight enough and I believe the front is as well, but it was easier to tap in, but not too easy. Anyways, If I need to, I will simply add a shim to the front dove tail. The trick is to make the shim to where you have to really push it in with your fingers.
I hope this can help anyone who has issues like I did.
I mill a lot of dove tails in gun barrels and of course the best thing is to fit the dovetail to the sight base and shoulder in the first place but have also used mild steel shim stock and on occasion even welded up a sight base and recut the female angle. When using shim stock I like to shim the shoulder rather than the base to push the sight to the bottom of the dove tail and then seal with blue loc-tite to keep the water and fouling out from under it causing corrosion. It is poor practice to punch divots especially in the bottom of the dove tail cut on thin barrels as you can actually impress them into the bore with to heavy a hand.
A properly fit dovetail will lightly contact the bottom and underside of the shoulder ledge showing no light on either from a side view. They should also be sealed up with some blue loc-tite or equivalent to keep moisture and fouling out from under neath them.
 

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