Redhawk Front Sight Problem

[Lances4803]

I picked up a Redhawk, .44mag, 7.5" barrel, stainless, made in 1990. Cosmetically bad, but hardly ever actually fired.
The previous owner didn't take care of it and it had surface rust from improper storage. I got the rust removed and everything function checks fine, except for the front sight.
The plunger wouldn't budge. After a long soak in Deep Creep (similar to Ballistol or Kroil), and a sharp rap with a pin and mallet, it moved. Working it back and forth got a lot of rust out but the sight will not come loose. I've depressed the plunger and tried to lift the sight up with padded pliers, nothing.
Internet search showed a thread where someone encountered a sight that had blue Loctite on it. Not sure what is going on with this one, but I want to replace the sight due to the red plastic insert.

What else could be holding this sight in?
What is the front sight made of? If it has been secured with Loctite of some type, heat would be needed to break it loose. But then the colored insert would melt.
Open to suggestions.

 

[pisgah]

Are you lifting straight up? As I recall (it's been a while) you need to lift it rear-first, tipping it then lifting.

 

[Lances4803]

Yep. It normally comes out by lifting from the rear and disengaging the front undercut.
I've even tapped on either side of the base to try and dislodge/loosen it. No movement at all.
The only thing (other than some type of adhesive) I can think of is that the plunger isn't going back far enough to disengage the hook. But from youtube videos, it appears to be traveling far enough.

 

[contender]

Keep working it with penetrate,, & try not to force it to the breaking point. Sometimes it takes a LOT to loosen rusted stuff.

 

[bayou5252]

I changed the front sight on my RH about 6 months ago. Went to a hi-viz.

To answer your question, other than the spring loaded plunger and the notch on one end, there is nothing else holding the sight in.

 

[rugerguy]

yep, rust and old oil , turned to shellac will keep that front sight body "froze", keep the kroil in and on it and keep tapping it with any NON Metallic 'drift' (punch) it will "break" loose................you can squeeze the front sight blade in the jaws ( smooth) of a bench vise, free up one of your hands....... 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[Lances4803]

Thanks much.
Shooting it for the first time today seemed to dislodge more junk, so back to soaking.

 

[Lances4803]

Got it off!

Thanks for the vise suggestion. I kept soaking and noticed that brown was starting to squish out of the back of the sight when the plunger was depressed. Clamped the front sight in the vise, depressed plunger and it slowly came off.
What a mess.

 

[bayou5252]

Great!

 

[rugerguy]

good for you, gotta love it when a 'plan' works out.....clean up the slot with some fine emery paper wrap around a small file or even a small 'safe' file ( Swiss type) keep using any "rust" fighting oil, we find the Kroil still works about the best....yes that sight body can be cleaned up also, soak it or simply replace with another one,,,whatever
Nice thing about stainless it is relatively soft ,cleans up quite nicely ( forgiving) if that gun would have been "blued" yikes, a real mess all around.........

 

[pisgah]

I think I see what the problem was... :lol:

As nasty as that looks it ought to clean up fine.

 

[Lances4803]

It cleaned up great.
Used a wire wheel on a Dremel for the underside of the sight base and found the metal has started to blister up. A fine triangular file knocked down the rough parts. Refinished with cold blue. The plunger took a while to get out, but being stainless, wasn't rusted at all. The channel cleaned up nicely. As said, stainless cleaned up easily.

Yesterday I took the frame internals apart. Not much rust at all!! Cleaned out and everything is working great. Used a scotch-bright pad to go over the entire exterior to remove the discoloration and bring everything to an even finish. It is now a brushed stainless, but conceals the previous condition. Just fine for a hunting revolver.

 

[black029]

I wonder if shooting it actually helped a little with loosening it up. 0-500 MPH in a nanosecond
It was probably the diligence with the penetrating oil.