Front sight removal, Ruger 77

[black029]

I have a couple of Ruger Safari rifles, the now discontinued 338 and a pretty rare 223 model. I recently require a 1990 Ruger 77 UL tang model in 30-06. It has the same front site arrangement as the Safari, looks like. I'd like to remove the little tiny gold bead on the UL and replace it with a current large white bead Safari sight. To my eyeball they look the same. Now I've done a little research and it seems that getting the old sight out is just about impossible, maybe especially on a 35-year-old gun.
Has anyone had good success with this?
I would appreciate all the tips I can get.