An old .22

[Jay2125]

Hello everyone I have an old .22 bolt action rifle it is made by Western Arms I cant remember the model number right now but where the front site used to be it has a notch in it its kinda like a dove tail. I wanted to redo this old gun and I was wondering what I could fill that dove tail in with. I am not concerned with the value of the gun I would never sell it but I would just like to spruce it up a bit. I was thinking of melting some lead in the dove tail and the just gently sanding to make smooth and uniform with the barrel. If you have any ideas it would be much appreciated

[bloomautomatic]

Why not just get another front sight and pop it in there. It will fill the void and look natural.

Lead could work. Lead used to be used for filling dents in body work before Bondo came along. You could also use an epoxy.

vince

[Whiskey Delta]

Find another sight * which should be less of a problem than you believe* or let it be.

Filling a dovetail will leave a spot as unsightly as the original dovetail slot.

Lead, putty, whatever will not take blueing.

Unless you want to paint the entire gun or do it the 'right' way and fill it with steel (MIG or TIG) you are kidding yourself and

A: wasting money and time

B: Spoiling whatever utility one might get out of that dovetail.

Let it be or fix it.

Anything else is going to be expensive and half assed, or more expensive and less half assed.

[Jay2125]

ok thanks it has a really big barrel like its really thick and I dont know I thought it would just look better with a smooth barrel.

[Chazman321]

Lead will not take bluing, however, there is a chemical stained glass makers use to turn the grey lead black. If the original bluing or the bluing you're replacing down the line is going to be nearly black itself, go for it... The chemical is cheap and won't hurt your gun... Do whatever you feel is best.


Chazalwaysanotherchoiceman321

[deth502]

either midway or brownells sells dovetail blanks.

you get one the right size, knock it in, and file to match the contour of the bbl. it will blue to match the bbl.

[P-11 shooter]

Originally Posted by deth502

either midway or brownells sells dovetail blanks.

you get one the right size, knock it in, and file to match the contour of the bbl. it will blue to match the bbl.

That's a good idea.

[Xringshooter]

deth, you beat me to it. If you don't want a sight get the dovetail blank. Myself, I would put in a ne front sight. Go online to egunparts.com (the old Numrich Arms) you will be able to cross reference your model number to see who actually made it and probably be able to get a replacement sight also. The cost probably wouldn't be anymore than for the blank.

[Jay2125]

Thanks for the reply guys. The gun is a WesternField M842A I did a search online and it say that the gun is a Mossberg 346K I did a search for that gun and they look pretty close but all the pictures I found of the Mossberg it looks like the sites are part of the barrels I went to the Midway Usa Site and found the blanks but I am not sure what size to get? Can anybody help me out since I added a little more info Thanks