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rear sight busted?

1K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  SixTGunr 
#1 ·
Hi all, I just got my first M1A, a Springfield Armory Loaded, synthetic stock. I love it! However, the rear sight aperture is loose and wobbles quite a bit, even with both the windage and elevation screws tightened down. This doesn't seem normal. Any hints on whether I should disassemble it and look for missing parts/springs? Or do I just not have the screws on both sides tightened down enough? (I tried to be gentle, as I do not know how much abuse they can take).
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
First of all "welcome aboard" and glad to have ya with us here.

Congrats on your new toy and altho it appears you are having a very "minor" problem it is more than likely a very easily fixable project. Tom (aka dighawaii) has had these little do-dads apart I believe and should be jumping in here shortly to advise you of your options here.

I would think that you don't have to touch the windage knob in this case but only the elevation knob but I'll hang with ya and wait on some words from the wise.

I beleive there have been just a few cases where the gears were bad and possibly (notice I said possibly) this may be the case and S/A should honor the warranty on this and simply send you a new one if this be the case. I remember not long back Tom posted a thread regarding S/A honoring warranties on "parts" ...

Have a good one sir ... :wink:

Six
 
#3 ·
Aloha Spartacus:

Yes, Welcome Aboard!!! I think all the people on this board go out of their way to help someone in need... that's why I like hanging out here...

Anyway... on the loose rear sights... I am not really sure what is loose and wobbling... is it the aperture (the part that you look through), the base itself, or the knobs?

I am sure you aren't missing parts... even with SA's ball bearing flying into never never land, the parts are usually still tight but just don't move as smooth... Normally, its just the aperture that is loose. To check to see if you have the screw tight enough, raise the aperture, then put steady pressure on the aperture with your thumb trying to see if you can make it retract. If you can, then the screws might need to be tightened.
You won't need to use "gorilla" pressure just a firm steady pressure. If the aperture itself wobbles or moves usually left to right, then the aperture may need to be fitted...

In any case, if you get an opportunity.... buy the Scott Duff book! It is full of valuable information on upkeeping your new M1A!

Please let us know what you find and definitely keep in touch!

Aloha,

Tom O.
 
#4 ·
another thing to look for in addition to what Tom O. said are the splines of the pinions and the gear of the aperature. Look to see if there are any burrs or signs of excessive wear. Sometimes it is necessary to change out the aperature and fit in a new one.
 
#5 ·
The aperture itself is loose. I've tightened the windage and elevation knob screws down tight. The aperture rattles at least 1/16th of an inch left, right, forward, backward, because it just doesn't fit tightly into the sight base. I've got the Duff book, and I read the portion talking about resizing the sight cover, but I think it needs more than that. If I press down on the sight cover, the aperture won't move, but the sight cover doesn't stay pressed against the aperture and sight base hard enough to hold it down.

Any suggestions?
 
#6 ·
it sounds as though the aperature needs to be replaced, but before doing so I think you may want to make sure the cover is fitted properly. If you don't want to try messing with the cover, I would suggest getting one when you get the aperature.
 
#7 ·
Hi Spartacus!

If it is an SA rifle, you could contact SA and they should make it right! I don't think it would require the entire rifle to be sent back... but call them and see what they say!

If you prefer to do it yourself, it is not a large task... Bill Ricca sells the punch to use to peen the aperture. It does NOT take a hard whack to peen the aperture rail for a tight fit, so go slow! Then some file and stone work should get the aperture tight and running up and down smoothly!

Bill Ricca also have USGI apertures, I believe. See his web site... http://www.billricca.com/ . If you decide to install a NM aperture, it is normally oversized to begin with and may not need to be punched, just some file and stone work. And, they can be bought all over the place!!!

I hope this helps! It looks like you already checked out the other things that might cause a loose rear sight! Have you dismantled the rear sight yet? I don't think you will find anything missing... but unfortunately, there are usually some degree of looseness in parts due to differences in tolerances...

As for the top cover... you might want to take the rear sight apart and assemble not on the rifle to see how all the parts relate with each other and to see where the "wear" marks are...

Aloha and Best Wishes,

Tom O.
 
#8 ·
aperture wobble

would not replace the aperature so fast.
it looks more like a base that is out of spec. that much side to side is way too much slop the slotted rail track looks like it is out of spec. let sprungfield fix their screw up. that thing should never ever have gotten out of the factory without a good tech inspection.
this shows piss poor quality assurance. thats what happens when gi spec stuff is not utilized. jeff
 
#12 ·
One thing about SA, they will honor their warranty. Excellent customer service the one time I dealt with them on a refurbisment job.
 
#13 ·
Well, I figured it out. The front of the rear sight cover is not snug. It lifts up a microscopic amount, allowing the rear sight aperture to move around. I've got the Duff book, and I've read the portion where it says to flatten the hump in the cover slightly to make it fit better.

Any other suggestions?
 
#14 ·
sight

spartacus:
even if your cover tension is off you should not have side to side float or in your case slop. dont be so fast to mess with parts check your demensions. when a sight aperature rail is fitted it has to be honed down to fit the track. all of these things are produced slightly oversized just because of machine tolerances in the sight base. do further checking before you jump the gun. jeff
 
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