Gunsmithing question re: 03a3

[usmartial1950]

I'm looking at a pretty nice Remington 4M range 03a3 barreled action that was the basis for a thrown-together bubba special. Fortunately, the receiver has not been drilled and tapped and the metal finish appears to be original and in very good condition. The problem is that the goober who made the BR into a "finished" rifle put a mismatched front sight base on BACKWARDS! Can someone tell me what diameter size punches I will need to remove the sight blade from the base, and then remove the base from the barrel. I'm fresh out of '03 literate gunsmiths in my area and would prefer to fix the problem myself if possible. I haven't bought the rifle yet, but if I can rescue it without spending more than it's worth, I will. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Richard H Brown Jr]

If it's an original 03/03a3 sight base it's press fitted on till the holes int the bottom mate with a groove on the barrel so that a piece of piano wire approx 0.087in dia can be hammered thru and ground down and buffed to hide the metal differences. IIRC. Some sort of metal marking dye should be able to show you were the wire is, and drive it out with a small punch and hammer. The sight base should be able to be driven off the front of the barrel with a block of wood and a hammer.

R Brown.

[98src]

Don't mess with the sight blade. They can be difficult to remove and replace. Instead, just drive out the pin that holds the complete sight base on and then reverse it . You will need to make sure you have the base pin hole correctly aligned with the groove in the piece that fits in the groove on the barrel.

[milboltnut]

Use a "starter punch"

https://bhspringsolutions.com/552-large_default/116-starter-punch.jpg

then finish it with a pin punch....

https://images.homedepot-static.com/productImages/7cccf9c0-cafa-484b-ad9f-7f9cfc5fe3d9/svn/tekton-punches-nail-setters-66063-64_1000.jpg

[usmartial1950]

Thanks for the help guys, if the price stays right and I get the piece, I'll share the results of the "rescue operation." Thanks again.