So after I lost my mind and shelled out big bucks for a new mini 14 with the protected front sight I bought a Flash supressor/Muzzle brake with Bayonet lug (the 'pin behind' front sight will not fit). The destructions said to remove the pin holding front sight, remove front sight and install Muzzle brake with lug and front sight included and reinstall pin. No Problem. Removed pin and tried to remove sight. Holly Sh!t how did they get that on there? a twenty ton press? My question is, Is there a secret to removing this sight, should I take it to my local Gunsmith or just forget the hole mess? I would be grateful for any help. Thanks.
Use cold to "shrink" the steel. Spray with cold spray or put in deep freeze and it will lighten the amount of force required to remove it. It you're SURE you'll never reuse the front sight, you can use Vice-Grips on it.
Thanks, Had not thought about using cold. I have plenty of liquid refrigerant, should be ablr to cause enough contraction of the metal that way. thanks again.
Cooling down the whole thing won't help that much. You should heat up the barrel, and cool down the sight. I would use a heat gun on the hole thing. When it is good and hot, I would spray some coolant on JUST the sight to shrink it. A good way to get the sight cool would be to take one of those cans of duster spray--like they have for blowing dust off of camera lenses or keyboards. If you hold the can upside down, the spray that comes out is liquid solvent, which cools down anything very quickly as it evaporates. Spray carefully so you do not cool down the barrel around the sight. Then maybe a small block of wood and a hammer!
Im thinking that the front sight would have to be heated (use a electric heat gun) to expand the metal relieving its grip minutely and give it several stout raps with a brass drift and a good size hammer it should come off. chilling the sight would only tighten it on even worse (cold shrinks steel/heat expands steel) If you dont want to save the OEM sight slit it with a dremel tool/ cutoff wheel (not all the way thru to barrel metal) then give the slit a goodly rap with a cold chisel and appropriate size hammer to open it slightly and will relieve its grasp on the barrel.
