Ranch Rifle w/ M1 carbine sights

[eveled]

Has anybody here installed an M1 carbine rear sight onto a mini 14 ranch rifle? I have heard the middle issue m1 sight is a close match requiring some filing to fit.

I have a Williams sight on a mini, and it is OK but I also have two with stock sights that I want to upgrade to something more rugged.

Any thoughts?

 

[DGW1949]

It can be made to work on the older versions with the flip-up rear sight, but not the 580-up series.

DGW

 

[eveled]

Thanks DGW, I have the older models, a 188, 191, and a 195 series if my memory is right, for sure none of them are the 580 and above. One already has the Williams, it is fine but I don't like it enough to buy 2 more. I like the sight on my M1 carbine, so I am going to go that route on the other two. Unless somebody comes up with a good reason not too. Seems pretty straight forward, and not too expensive if I mess one up.

Thanks again.

 

[DGW1949]

You'll find that ya can't fit the gun to the sight because there is only enough metal on the mounting "rail" of the reciever to accomidate Ruger's "half dovetail" mounting arrangement....and that if you postion the M1 sight against it, the front of the sight's dovetail covers the screw hole which originaly attached the folding-sight's clamping gizmo.

In other words, you're going to have to modify the M1 sight, not the gun.
Some folks resize the M1 dovetail so they can re-use Ruger's clamping gizmo.
What I do instead, is carefully use a very small rat-tail file to create a semi-circle in the center of the of the front edge of the M1 sight dovetail...just deep enough so that when the sight is positioned into the far-rear of the reciever dovetail, the factory screw hole can be viewd through the semi-circular cut I made. If done correctly, the old Ruger sight screw can be installed through the cut...which when snugged-down, positions the center line of the M1 sight body to the centerline of the reciever while also holding the sight in place....then.....I remove the sight, remove the finish from the bottom of it's dovetail by rubbing it over a flat piece of 240 grit sandpaper, remove the finish from where it is to sit on the reciever, "tin" the bottom of the M1 sight with soft solder, re-install it with the screw, and carefully heat the area untill the solder flows enough to form a bond. After everything has cooled enough to touch, I re-check the mounting screw to make sure it's snug.
Makes for a perty-solid mounting...much better than the "screw 'n clamp gizmo" that Ruger uses.

Other stuff I've learned:
The Mini-14 front sight is too tall for the lowest (100 Yd) setting of the M1 sight, so it'll need filled down accordingly....."accordingly" meaning to work right with whatever ammo you commonly use.
You'll also find that the elevation adjustments (yardage marks) of the M1 sight aint right for a Mini-14 and it's flatter shooting ammo, so you'll have to do some experimenting relative to what each click of elevation actualy means in yards for your particlar gun/ammo.

Hope this helps.

DGW

 

[Jim Puke]

DGW, that was some good info that you shared concerning the sight fitting.

 

[eveled]

Thank you very much DGW, sounds like a better way to do it than I was going to do. I was going to file the dove tail on the sight, and reuse the Ruger clamp. Think I'll give your way a try.

 

[dfletcher]

FWIW I used the "Kensight" made version and followed DGW's hint. The Kensight is cleaner & neater than an older M1 carbine manufacture type. This article has some good info too:

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/ruger-mini-14-mini-30/43581-m-1-carbine-sight-ranch-mini-s.html

 

[DGW1949]

FWIW I used the "Kensight" made version and followed DGW's hint. The Kensight is cleaner & neater than an older M1 carbine manufacture type. This article has some good info too:

http://www.perfectunion.com/vb/ruger-mini-14-mini-30/43581-m-1-carbine-sight-ranch-mini-s.html

I looked at the link you posted.
It is a very good write up of one of the different ways to mount an M1 sight while re-using the factory clamp-gizmo. The good part of doing it that way (as opposed to what I described) is that the job can be "undone" without much fuss, meaning that the new sight ass'y will be a lot easier to remove later.

DGW

 

[eveled]

Here is how I did mine. I decided to only work on the sight. No filing on the rifle or the wedge clamp thingy. If you only take off from the front of the sight you can't get the screw into the hole. So you have to work on the rear, or both.

First dremel the rear wedge so it is flat down to the level of the bottom of the wedge. This way you know you are still square.

 

[eveled]

Next go back and put the wedge back careful to maintain the square edge.

 

[eveled]

Last step is to work on the front wedge making it deeper while maintaining it's angle. Keep checking it on the rifle until the wedge fits and the screw hole lines up. I had some locktite bearing locker so I used it to bed the sight to the rifle, but it is not necessary. Hope this helps others.