[quelebu]

I have been rebuilding my Remington Model Seven 7mm-08, bought NEW last year here in France. The stock was pretty poor (inletting atrocious, checkering badly executed, finish poor, etc) - anyhow stock is now rebuilt, barrel floated, action glass bedded and it looks ace. I thought to remove the iron sights, the rear one came off easy, but as far as I could see the front sight was all cast in a single piece. So I undid the rear visible screw and off it came. To my dismay the barrel below is tapped for the normal two screw mounted front iron sight and the front tapped hole has a sheared off screw in it. The underside of the iron sight (which I'm sure is one piece) still has the hole for a front screw but it has been filled with a piece of steel and neatly ground off flush so that the iron sight can sit snugly on the barrel. I can't get the sheared off screw out so I've ended up re-fixing the sights. Although the iron sight sits on the curve of the barrel I don't think a single screw seems very robust/accurate.

My question is, why is there a sheared off screw in that front tapped hole in the barrel? Have Remington changed their iron sight design and this crude 'bodge' is their solution at dealing with the hole? Is the gun some kind of 'second' so has been shipped for the European market? Has Rivolier (the European distributor) sold me something they shouldn't have. Anybody ever come across this before?

The gun shoots fine and I have changed it beyond recognition (photo ) so no chance of any investigation/return...but hey something ain't right.

[stalkingbear]

The sheared off screw is forward of the visable 1 and sits directly under the removable dovetailed in bead. The bead sits in the base covering up the screw & screwhole. It sounds like you neglected to remove the bead from it's base and screw under it before attempting to remove the ramp by force. It will require the services of a gunsmith to get the sheared off screw out of the barrel.

[divinginn]

The model 7 is my all time favorite rifle,nice job on the stock. Mine could use some redoing after 20+ years of stomping around the woods with it.but I think it adds character.

[quelebu]

Thanks 'Stalking Bear' but there is definitely no dovetailed bead on the front sight, it's all one piece. When I undid the rear screw the front sight fell off and it's the evidence that the part of the sheared off screw (or filled hole) in the underside of the sight assembly has been filed or ground smooth, that makes me smell a rat!