Rear sight on oldie

[Pumper]

Hi, I have been given a Millita Junior type rifle with the press button barrel release, It also has a dovetail rear sight which can be tapped L or R for windage, but the rifle is shooting quite high, at least 8" above the bull at 10m.
I have no idea why it's doing this as all looks fine and un-damaged, so is there a way of adjusting this sight at all so I can get the POI down? Without clouting the barrel with a lump hammer I mean Thanks

[Rickyh]

Is the barrel bent? Not uncommon with older riffles

[Pumper]

It doesn't appear to be...but I can't be 100%. Saying it is....is there a way of correcting it? Thanks

[Rickyh]

It doesn't appear to be...but I can't be 100%. Saying it is....is there a way of correcting it? Thanks

If you can see a bend you can straighten it , brute force and in some cases a bit of gentle heat can help, is the rear sight the correct one, may be a replacement from a different make of gun, the
Originals were frequently lost, have you confirmed the make and model of what you have if not some photos will help

[Benelli B76]

Just made a fixed back sight for a Cadet Major, if it is shooting high all you do is file down the height till it matches the front sight to hit at point of aim. That is if you have
ruled out the any potential barrel problems mentioned above. If the barrel is bent, the rifling in the barrel will look a bit blurry when you look down it.

Baz

[Mr Pusk]

I'd say it's more likely to be a damaged foresight. Before you try bending things, take a look and compare yours with other examples in, say, The Vintage Air Guns Gallery. It may have been dropped at some point in the past or someone may have done some DIY trying to increase the range. If the front sight is shorter than it should be, the barrel will point higher when you aim. I've had exactly this problem with a Falke 70 which has lost the very top of the foresight. At the moment I have a bit of plastic rod epoxy'd on top to make it taller. Not ideal, but I can shoot it now. Depending on what your rifle is, a replacement foresight may be available from Knibbs, Protek or one of the others.

[Josie & John]

POI can vary - don't forget with many of these old airguns, waisted pellets were not always the intended projectile as slugs, ball and darts were also popular.

Maybe try one of the above?

Also worth seeing if the breech lock up is tight.

John

[Rickyh]

You currently have a dovetail fixed rear sight, you could swap it for an adjustable one, Diana have a few adjustable dovetail sights you could use, BSA have a couple. I know it won’t be original but as long as you keep the original I don’t see an issue, better to have a working functional gun over an original none functional gun

[Pumper]

They look a little worn, especially the front sight, and I can't see how it's fitted??

[Rickyh]

That picture of the rear sight/block is identical to an Ansonian I’m currently restoring

[Mr Pusk]

That picture of the rear sight/block is identical to an Ansonian I’m currently restoring

According to Dennis Hiller, Heavyweight Millitas were also sold as "The Ansonia" so you may well be right! What does the foresight profile on yours look like?


It strikes me that the OP's rifle isn't in A1 condition even bearing in mind its age. It should nevertheless still be capable of giving enjoyment. Pumper could look at the piece on rebuilding old BSA front sights on the Vintage Airguns Gallery (https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery.com/postid/498/) if you have or can find someone with the right skills to apply some of the suggestions to this. Yes you could try and replace the rearsight but replacements of a similar style aren't cheap and may not necessarily fit, or give the required elevation - and I think it would stand out like a sore thumb.

Frankly if it was mine I think I would experiment with how much height gain I needed on the foresight with a bit of blu tac and perhaps then think about building it up with araldite or something which is probably still reversable. I'm not too much of a purist about keeping things totally original but I think you'd lose some of its interest if you did too much. You may have to learn how much to aim off!

[Rickyh]

My Ansonion rear sight is missing , I’ll probably use a Diana pre war sight.
Ansonion are a difficult make to research ,they appear to have imported many different manufactures rifles and stamped the stock and in my case the top of the barrel and tweaked things such as adding checkering and sold them as their own