99E front sight removal and installation

For many years I have been dissatisfied with the round bead front sights on my Model 99 rifles and have been wanting to change them to a setup similar to the XS sights I have on my Guide Gun. So I bought an XS Stripe Front Post. The dimensions are .375 X 60 degrees X .095 dovetail, with with another set of numbers being .100 W x .450 H, .340 Base. I was told that this sight would fit my Savage rifles and that the proper way to drive out the old sight and install the new one is from the right, as the rifle is held at the shoulder. I have the barrel braced and supported but I can not break the old sight out of the dovetail. I have applied heat from a solder iron to break any Loc-Tite that would've been used and that didn't help. I have it soaking with some Break Free but I don't know if that will help either. So, am I pushing it from the proper direction? Am I missing something? I'm afraid to hit my brass punch very hard, lest I loosen or break the front base from the barrel. And just how is that front base attached to the barrel anyway? Will I damage it or break it by hitting the blade too hard? Any advice is appreciated.

Dave Sinko

Drive it out from left to right and install from right to left.

Left to right (again, as the rifle is held at the shoulder) is what I have been doing and it will not move at all. The sight has a raised number 31 on it and that is right were I am putting the punch. I don't want to damage this rifle and I'm afraid to force it any more than I am doing now. Will a gunsmith beat on it just the same or use some kind of sight pusher? I really hate to have both of my 99s at the gunsmith at the same time but will do so if necessary.

Dave Sinko

If it isn't sliding out with some pretty firm taps, something is up. Any way to post a close up picture?

Sometimes you really gotta drift the bugger, at least on a few of the real old ones I've change.

There will be a screw underneath the bead sight once you get it off that you take out to get the ramp off.

You are hitting the dovetail and not the ramp I hope! :D

Wondering if the screw worked it's way up a bit into your dovetailed part of the sight and is holding it somehow. Giver a good drift, the gunsmith is gonna do the same. The worst you can do is bust the screw off holding the ramp on, then you'll have to drill it out but the XS will cover the old one anyways.

It's a model 99E don't worry to much, it's not a collectible or anything.

Looking at the bottom of the blade, I can see a bit of bluish green. So there is at least a bit of corrosion in there. Also, I had the metal of this rifle refinished some years ago. The ramp is refinished, but not the blade. I guess the blade would've been drifted out at the time of refinishing and then put back in. That was maybe 20 years ago. I'll try whacking it hard some more. It's good to know that it's screwed on; if I do break the screw, I'd consider putting on the same integral ramp/blade that I have on the Guide Gun.

My 99F will be the next candidate for a new front sight. I definitely want to go with the XS sight with the white stripe for this rifle too. This one definitely will be a gunsmith proposition, refinishing and all. How is the front ramp installed on a Featherweight? Is there enough steel to drill into the barrel and screw it on? If I decide to shorten the barrel, what's the best way to put on a new sight? Or the most secure?

Dave Sinko

Should be a screw holding the ramp onto your F as well, or are we talking an early T/D F?

Not sure if I'd be drilling into a featherweight barrel, not alot of meat there to be playing with.

Mad Dog, in an earlier post you had identified my 99F .308 as having been made in 1956 via the inspector's code. Since this rifle has a skinny barrel with the thick rear sight boss I presumed it is a Featherweight. I guess I could be wrong and maybe it's NOT a Featherweight? The front sights on my E and F appear to be attached the same way, but I realize the bases might be attached to the barrels in different manners.

Is there any way to Dremel the front blade out of the dovetail, or would that be a stupid thing to attempt? I have no interest in retaining the original blade so I wouldn't lose any sleep if I ruin it. But I'd rather not damage the base.

Dave Sinko

Ya, it is a featherweight, I meant I was wondering if it was a pre-war F or a post war but it's obviously a post-war. the ramp comes off exactly the same way as your E.

I wouldn't try to dremel it out, unless you've got a real steady hand you might take a chunk out of your ramp, or bugger the screw head up. I can't understand why it won't drift out???? Have you soaked it in some kind of release agent at all? Someone must have locktited that sucker in there. Wish I was near you, I'd get that friggan thing off (it's easier when it's not my gun)! ;)

I might give this one more shot. What is the best release agent? Actually, what is ANY release agent? If I can't get it out, it goes to the gunsmith next week. I have a Ruger 77 that needs to have iron sights installed, so both will go at the same time. When those are finished, I'll worry about the 99F. I'm not going to attempt to punch out the blade of the 99F until after the deer season.

Dave Sinko

Something that will eat away any rust or gunk underneath the dovetailed front sight like some WD40 or something like that. It doesn't have to soak in it, if theres a minor bit of rust underneath some WD will loosen that up in about 2 minutes.

Never heard of this before, it's a stubborn one for sure. I've taken them out with only a couple love taps.

Dave wrote: "I might give this one more shot. What is the best release agent? "

For a release agent- try PB-Blaster, or Kroil (if you can find a local automotive shop that has it)
I use it all the time to release stuck nuts/bolts on my (auto) restorations. Let it sit at least 10-minutes.

The gunsmith did this for me while I waited. Apparently after the rifle was refinished, the front blade was such a loose fit going in that it had to be re-secured with lots of epoxy. The XS front sight fit right in but I was surprised that I still had to elevate the rear aperture sight a bit to get it on target; this after I had carefully measured the flat bead front sight and thought I had carefully matched it to the sights in the catalog. The XS front sight is a huge improvement in the field in low light conditions (it's far better than cheap optics) and the flip-up rear sight can still be used in an emergency, holding the top of the front sight even with the top of the rear sight body, like with handgun sights.

Dave Sinko

Glad to see it all worked out for you in the end.