no windage adjustment on oldie

[hwtyger]

How do you cope with oldies with a rear sight leaking windage adjustment?
I like shooting belltarget with my webley mk3 but aiming off about 3cm is not practical nor precise.
I know I can file out the rear sight on 1 side, or widen the front on 1 side..
It has got a new, aftermarket rear sight fitted, original was broken.

What method do you use?

[webman]

You can often "drift" (gently knock sideways) the front sight in its dovetail slot. If the gun is shooting left, move the front sight to the left. Try not to use a steel punch as it will damage the sight. Both front and rear original Webley MK 3 sights are in dovetail slots, but I would avoid hitting the rear sight in case it is damaged in the process.

[Geezer]

You can often "drift" (gently knock sideways) the front sight in its dovetail slot. If the gun is shooting left, move the front sight to the left. Try not to use a steel punch as it will damage the sight.

What he said. And sometimes (more often on old firearms with simple dovetailed rear sights) you can do the same for the rear sight. A brass punch is what you need, with gentle taps from a light hammer/mallet, and a bit of cold blue handy as you usually will mar the finish a tiny bit. Sometimes a hard plastic ended punch will be enough (though not often in my experience).

[deejayuu]

This usually sorts it.

[hwtyger]

I already have a Supertarget, I want to keep this mk3 original.
Ok, so you drift the front sight..
Isnt that stuck as hell after all those years???

[edbear2]

I already have a Supertarget, I want to keep this mk3 original.
Ok, so you drift the front sight..
Isnt that stuck as hell after all those years???

The front sights on Webleys are sometimes soldered in I have found..so have a really.really close look at the joint with a glass before trying to move it.

Generally though, even after 100 years the sights (if not messed with) move easily on most guns I have needed to remove them from / adjust them.

If loose, some ideas here;

http://www.network54.com/Forum/67044...g+loose+sights

I use a hardwood drift and hammer, or small nylon mallet depending...but the main thing is to rigidly hold the barrel where, or as close to as you can to the sights, with the barrel protected...lead vise jaw protectors are very good for this.

The sight is a purely mechanical fit in the dovetail, and should be removed and replaced left to right as looking down the barrel. ie. remove to the right, replace in the same direction, ie. from the right.

Nearly all guns up to the 1950's, especially small bore sporting types (rook rifles / rimfires etc.) as well as air guns had ''fixed'', ie. non windage adjustable sights, and this form of adjustment was the norm...All guns would have been adjusted at the factory, but obviously may shoot differently with a different hold for another person, so the old BSA books and manuals would explain how to adjust the sights, and also why it sometimes needed to be done.

This is another reason why using the same hold, or experimenting before adjusting is important as sometimes the gun will group differently with a simple change of hold. (normally elevation only but worth a try!).

ATB, Ed