OK, now that we have talked about peening the rear sight base, here are a couple of ways of doing it.
I prefer to do this by removing the rear sight screw and leaves, then taking the rear sight base off the barrel. HOWEVER, some rear sight base screws don’t have screw slots, but instead have two holes that require a spanner wrench to remove them. I’m sorry I don’t remember if the Zouave Rear Sight Base Screw requires the spanner wrench “screw driver” or just has a screwdriver slot on it.
If you can take the Rear Sight Base off the barrel, here is how I do it:
With the “Naked” Rear Sight Base removed I first try to tighten it in a vise with smooth jaws or with brass/bronze jaw pads so you don’t mar the side of the Rear Sight Base. I put the RS Base upside down in the vise and tighten the rounded area on the top rear of the RS Base a bit and MAKE A POINT to notice how far I turned the Vise Handle. Let’s say the handle stopped at 2 O’clock when it was just tight, so then I turn the handle to 3 O’clock to tighten it a bit. Then take it out of the vise jaws, install the RS Leaves and Screw, and check the leaves to see they are tight enough. If not, then I strip the RS again and put it back in the vise jaws and this time turn the Vise handle to a little beyond 3 O’clock. Maybe 3:30 or 4 O’clock and see if that is tight enough. I prefer to do it this way as I can better control how much I am tightening the RS Base each time and as a way to see how much I tighten it a little more at a time, when I need to.
OK, so what happens if you can’t take the Rear Sight Base off the barrel?
This gets a bit tricky. You still need to take the Rear Sight Leaves and Screw out of the Rear Sight. Use something like a folded up towel to pad under the rifle as you lay it on the bench. Then you need something to lay under the RS Base and support it; such as a hardwood block, or lead Babbitt or even a flat piece of brass or steel.
Use a polished flat face of a hammer to gently tap the rounded portion of the RS Base on the side opposite the supported side of the RS Base. (If the face of the hammer is scarred, then it will leave scar marks on the side of the RS Base when you tap it.) At first try a gentle tap and see if that tightened the RS Base enough when you re-assemble the Sight. If not, take the RS apart again and try tapping it a little harder and try it for fit again. Keep trying a little harder taps until it tightens the RS base enough so there is friction to hold the leaves in place.
Gus