Ruger Mark IV, rear sight removal, DON'T!

Prof Young · March 24, 2021, 03:55 PM

I got a hankering to put a scope on the Ruger Mark IV. This arose from having everything I needed save the picatinny rail which can be had from Ruger for about $10. Rail arrived with only three screws but four screw holes. Before I called Ruger to complain I thought I'd see if it actually need four screws, and tried to take the rear sight off. HUGE MISTAKE. The thing is dovetailed in there TIGHTLY. I put a double layer of thick duct tape on the right side and used a brass punch. Couldn't get thing to budge and managed to scar the surface of the gun anyway. (DANG!) Looked for help on line and that's when I realized it only needs three screws and you DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE REAR SIGHT OFF. Geez-ma-kneez!

Got it all mounted. (pic below) Took it to the range and was getting three inch groups resting my hand on the gun bag.

Life is good.
Prof Young

p.s. Was shooting about ten yards.

HighValleyRanch · March 24, 2021, 04:07 PM

3" groups at 100 yards?

1911_Hardball · March 24, 2021, 04:51 PM

Out of curiosity, which direction were you trying to drift it out?
Dovetails are deliberately out of parallel. Sights are meant to be installed from right to left and removed from left to right. i.e. you should have been striking from the left side.

tangolima · March 24, 2021, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1911_Hardball

Out of curiosity, which direction were you trying to drift it out?
Dovetails are deliberately out of parallel. Sights are meant to be installed from right to left and removed from left to right. i.e. you should have been striking from the left side.

How do you adjust windage then?

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

HighValleyRanch · March 24, 2021, 04:56 PM

Quote:

How do you adjust windage then?

You can drift it left, but not take it out through the left.

kell · March 24, 2021, 05:08 PM

Is that pretty much standard?

HighValleyRanch · March 24, 2021, 05:14 PM

Believe it is.

AzShooter · March 24, 2021, 09:10 PM

There is also a set screw on the sight that you have to loosen before you try to drift it out.

HighValleyRanch · March 24, 2021, 09:37 PM

And sometimes set screws are lock tite in so you sometimes have to heat the sight to free the locktite.
This was the case with my Shield.

Prof Young · March 25, 2021, 12:00 AM

Yep. I was trying to drift it right to left. No wonder it wouldn't budge.
I don't think I'll be doing three inch groups at 100 yards. Gun might be that good, but I'm not . . . at least not yet.

Life is good.
Prof Young

T. O'Heir · March 25, 2021, 01:10 PM

"...adjust windage..." The rear sights are adjustable.
Generally, Ruger .22's aren't designed to have anything removed or added by the owner. They're well known nightmares to work on.
"...I'm not..." I think you'll find that great big scope to be awkward and heavy at the very least.

railroader · March 26, 2021, 09:12 AM

Isn't that a rifle scope? Isn't the eye relief going to be all wrong for a handgun?

2wheelwander · March 26, 2021, 10:29 AM

I just changed out the factory black notched sights for a set of adjustable fiber optics on my M4. I didn't realize the whole left to right, right to left thing, maybe I just got lucky, but I got it done. Only thing I marred up was the old sight. Used a gunsmith block to hold things semi steady.

Nanuk · March 26, 2021, 11:23 AM

The Ruger is an adjustable sight. No need to drift it to adjust.

I put a RDS on my MKIII. It is a pest sniping machine.......

Prof Young · March 27, 2021, 01:47 AM

Railroader: Looking at the pic I can see why you'd ask. It's an adjustable long eye relief scope. Goes from 4-6 magnification if I'm remembering correctly.

Life is good
Prof Young

ThomasT · March 27, 2021, 07:33 PM

Looking at you picture with the damage on the ejection port side tells me you were driving the sight the wrong direction. Thats the side that sights are commonly driven in. To remove go to the other side of the gun. And use a sight pusher tool.

And what were you using to beat on the sight with? I have a 3/8ths brass rod I use.

Prof Young · March 29, 2021, 07:25 PM

ThomasT:
Yeah the guys above helped me figure that out. I too was using a brass rod. It occurs to me that I've always assumed it was brass from the color. Maybe it's not.

Any suggestions on how to repair the damage?

Life is good
Prof Young

HighValleyRanch · March 29, 2021, 07:54 PM

If it's carbon steel, not stainless, you could file and sand off the punch mark and reblue with Super Blue. Use sandpaper rolled on a thin dowel or small files.

By the way, after the Op posted this thread, I had to remove the fronts of a Kahr K40 slide and a Kahr p45 slide. The Kahr k40 front sight came off without a hitch drifting from left to right. The sight base is beveled so I used a covered punch at the base of the blade and it came off smoothly.
But the P45 front sight was an entirely different miserable story.

The sight is MIM so the blade broke right off. Now I was stuck with a bevel sided base tight in the dovetails. I started with an aluminum rod. No go, it was too soft. Then I tried a brass punch. The punch took the brunt of the force and dinged. Then I tried mild steel rod. No, the steel rod dinged. Then a hardened steel punch and all it did was ding the base even more. So now I had a stuck, broken dinged up bevel sided base that would not budge.

I read about a gun that used his milling machine to take down the base to almost zero and punched it out. He suggested using a small square file to do the same if you didn't have a milling machine.

So for three hours I used a chainsaw file to cut a round notch into the base being careful not to go near the slide dovetail sides. Finally got it down to pretty thin, used a screwdriver are the punch and got the sight base to slide out. The moral of the story is that you have to believe that you will get it out!

ThomasT · March 30, 2021, 10:50 AM

You did good on finding a fix. While reading what you did I was thinking that using a hacksaw and cutting a slot would also work once the sight was cut all the way through. The cut would relieve the pressure. I don't know why some sights are installed so tightly.

HighValleyRanch · March 30, 2021, 11:25 AM

I did consider using a hack saw which would have worked, but felt it was too risky because the sight base smaller than the slide dovetail, and one could easily slip and saw a groove on either side of the sight base. Keeping the saw perfectly level for that many cuts would have taken courage. The file was the slow but steady way!LOL

1911_Hardball · March 30, 2021, 07:46 PM

If anyone is planning on trying to re-cut a dovetail with a hacksaw I suggest keeping some JB weld on hand.
There's a reason dovetails in steel are generally made with milling machines costing thousands of dollars rather than twenty dollar hacksaws.

HighValleyRanch · March 30, 2021, 08:53 PM

LOL! No one was suggesting recutting the slide dovetail with a hacksaw. The suggestion was to use a hacksaw instead of a file to cut the old sight base stuck in the slide dovetail. You don't have to cut all the way through, just thin enough so that the base can be removed or thin enough that it has more give to slide out.

Since we were talking about hard to remove sights, this was revelant. Someday someone will find themselves in the same shoes I was in a couple of days ago, faced with the choice of finding a gunsmith, or sending off the slide for sight removal.
Here is a photo of the filed sight base after the blade broke off. The slide dovetail was in perfect condition after I removed the old broken sight base.

rep1954 · April 1, 2021, 05:36 AM

I’m all for doing your own work on guns, I do it all the time. The time to get online about it is before you screw up your gun. To many videos out there to watch the whole process being done before you start on yours. Not only to keep you from screwing up your own gun but they are great time savers to.

darkgael · April 3, 2021, 07:37 AM

Ask before you have a problem. Good advice indeed.

March 24, 2021, 04:07 PM	#2
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,129	3" groups at 100 yards? __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"

March 24, 2021, 04:51 PM	#3
1911_Hardball Senior Member Join Date: September 25, 2009 Location: SD Posts: 198	Out of curiosity, which direction were you trying to drift it out? Dovetails are deliberately out of parallel. Sights are meant to be installed from right to left and removed from left to right. i.e. you should have been striking from the left side. __________________ Shot placement is King, penetration is Queen. Everything else is faeries dancing on the heads of pins.

March 24, 2021, 05:14 PM	#7
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,129	Believe it is. __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"

March 24, 2021, 09:37 PM	#9
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,129	And sometimes set screws are lock tite in so you sometimes have to heat the sight to free the locktite. This was the case with my Shield. __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"

March 25, 2021, 12:00 AM	#10
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,508	Wow. Good to know. Yep. I was trying to drift it right to left. No wonder it wouldn't budge. I don't think I'll be doing three inch groups at 100 yards. Gun might be that good, but I'm not . . . at least not yet. Life is good. Prof Young

March 24, 2021, 05:08 PM	#6
kell Member Join Date: August 8, 2020 Location: DFW Texas Posts: 43	Is that pretty much standard?

March 24, 2021, 09:10 PM	#8
AzShooter Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2006 Location: Surprise, Az. Posts: 766	There is also a set screw on the sight that you have to loosen before you try to drift it out.

March 25, 2021, 01:10 PM	#11
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...adjust windage..." The rear sights are adjustable. Generally, Ruger .22's aren't designed to have anything removed or added by the owner. They're well known nightmares to work on. "...I'm not..." I think you'll find that great big scope to be awkward and heavy at the very least.

March 26, 2021, 09:12 AM	#12
railroader Senior Member Join Date: February 8, 2000 Location: Tucson Arizona Posts: 1,756	Isn't that a rifle scope? Isn't the eye relief going to be all wrong for a handgun?

March 26, 2021, 10:29 AM	#13
2wheelwander Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2018 Posts: 626	I just changed out the factory black notched sights for a set of adjustable fiber optics on my M4. I didn't realize the whole left to right, right to left thing, maybe I just got lucky, but I got it done. Only thing I marred up was the old sight. Used a gunsmith block to hold things semi steady.

March 26, 2021, 11:23 AM	#14
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	The Ruger is an adjustable sight. No need to drift it to adjust. I put a RDS on my MKIII. It is a pest sniping machine....... __________________ Retired Law Enforcement U. S. Army Veteran Armorer My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.

March 27, 2021, 01:47 AM	#15
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,508	Nope, it's a pistol long eye relief. Railroader: Looking at the pic I can see why you'd ask. It's an adjustable long eye relief scope. Goes from 4-6 magnification if I'm remembering correctly. Life is good Prof Young

March 27, 2021, 07:33 PM	#16
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,773	Looking at you picture with the damage on the ejection port side tells me you were driving the sight the wrong direction. Thats the side that sights are commonly driven in. To remove go to the other side of the gun. And use a sight pusher tool. And what were you using to beat on the sight with? I have a 3/8ths brass rod I use.

March 29, 2021, 07:25 PM	#17
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 22, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,508	ThomasT yeah . . . . ThomasT: Yeah the guys above helped me figure that out. I too was using a brass rod. It occurs to me that I've always assumed it was brass from the color. Maybe it's not. Any suggestions on how to repair the damage? Life is good Prof Young

March 29, 2021, 07:54 PM	#18
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,129	If it's carbon steel, not stainless, you could file and sand off the punch mark and reblue with Super Blue. Use sandpaper rolled on a thin dowel or small files. By the way, after the Op posted this thread, I had to remove the fronts of a Kahr K40 slide and a Kahr p45 slide. The Kahr k40 front sight came off without a hitch drifting from left to right. The sight base is beveled so I used a covered punch at the base of the blade and it came off smoothly. But the P45 front sight was an entirely different miserable story. The sight is MIM so the blade broke right off. Now I was stuck with a bevel sided base tight in the dovetails. I started with an aluminum rod. No go, it was too soft. Then I tried a brass punch. The punch took the brunt of the force and dinged. Then I tried mild steel rod. No, the steel rod dinged. Then a hardened steel punch and all it did was ding the base even more. So now I had a stuck, broken dinged up bevel sided base that would not budge. I read about a gun that used his milling machine to take down the base to almost zero and punched it out. He suggested using a small square file to do the same if you didn't have a milling machine. So for three hours I used a chainsaw file to cut a round notch into the base being careful not to go near the slide dovetail sides. Finally got it down to pretty thin, used a screwdriver are the punch and got the sight base to slide out. The moral of the story is that you have to believe that you will get it out! __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail" Last edited by HighValleyRanch; March 29, 2021 at 09:17 PM.

March 30, 2021, 10:50 AM	#19
ThomasT Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 2,773	You did good on finding a fix. While reading what you did I was thinking that using a hacksaw and cutting a slot would also work once the sight was cut all the way through. The cut would relieve the pressure. I don't know why some sights are installed so tightly.

March 30, 2021, 11:25 AM	#20
HighValleyRanch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2005 Posts: 4,129	I did consider using a hack saw which would have worked, but felt it was too risky because the sight base smaller than the slide dovetail, and one could easily slip and saw a groove on either side of the sight base. Keeping the saw perfectly level for that many cuts would have taken courage. The file was the slow but steady way!LOL __________________ From the sweet grass to the slaughter house; From birth until death; We travel between these two eternities........from 'Broken Trail"

March 30, 2021, 07:46 PM	#21
1911_Hardball Senior Member Join Date: September 25, 2009 Location: SD Posts: 198	If anyone is planning on trying to re-cut a dovetail with a hacksaw I suggest keeping some JB weld on hand. There's a reason dovetails in steel are generally made with milling machines costing thousands of dollars rather than twenty dollar hacksaws. __________________ Shot placement is King, penetration is Queen. Everything else is faeries dancing on the heads of pins.

April 1, 2021, 05:36 AM	#23
rep1954 Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2009 Location: Mid Western Michigan Posts: 1,187	I’m all for doing your own work on guns, I do it all the time. The time to get online about it is before you screw up your gun. To many videos out there to watch the whole process being done before you start on yours. Not only to keep you from screwing up your own gun but they are great time savers to.

April 3, 2021, 07:37 AM	#24
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Ask before you have a problem. Good advice indeed. __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member