Removing sights from a Ruger New Model Hunter Single Six .22

[NRA_guy]

This sounds like a dumb question, "What fits the head of the screw that holds the front sight on a Ruger New Model Hunter stainless Single Six .22 revolver?"

I have 4 or 5 sets of all kinds of hex and Torx (English and metric, security and regular, tiny and large) bits, and I thought surely one of them would fit it---until I got to looking.

Mind you I am a mechanical engineer and have been doing work on lots of things for 50 years.

I finally got a 10x magnifier and a good light.

It looks like a perfectly round hole (cylindrical, about 1/8-inch in diameter, 3/8-inch deep) in the head of the fastener.

Nothing seems to fit the hole in the head of the fastener.

The sight and fastener appear to have been painted (black) after assembly; so I am wondering if maybe the paint filled the sides of the hex.

I am trying to remove it so I can install some Williams Fire Sights.

Any insight would be appreciated.

I am also having trouble getting the rear sight off as well!

I thought that would be a piece of cake. The Williams Fire Sight instructions say "remove the windage screw and line up the right side of the blade and carefully remove".

Well I removed the windage screw and the blade moves off slightly to the right, but get it out I cannot.

What the heck does it mean "line up the right side of the blade"?

Makes no sense to me at all.

It does not move in any direction.

I Googled "remove Ruger single six sights" and got nothing but ads for aftermarket sights.

I could find no video showing how to do it.

Not even a MidwayUSA video.

Thanks for any help.

 

[NRA_guy]

OK, I got the rear sight off and the rear Williams Fire Sight on.

It was fairly easy after I figured out that the left side of the blade has to lift up while the right side of the blade is aligned with the right edge of the base.

And then the whole blade lifts up.

The Williams instructions for installing their rear sight are wrong and will not work. They say to insert the left side of the blade first. It cannot be done.

You have to depress the spring with a paper clip and then push the RIGHT side of the blade into the little opening first, then the left side will go down.

The trick is keeping the spring depressed with a paper clip while you press the right side of the blade downward.

The paper clip gets in the way.

Still could use some help removing the front sight.

I thought that would be the easy part.

 

[Quarterbore]

The front sight is just a spring loaded pin. You depress the round pin and slide the front sight out of the grooved dovetail. No screwdriver or turning is required.

The rear sight you use a screw driver and turn counter-clockwise to raise the rear sight. Then use a small punch to carefully remove the pin that holds the front portion to the frame. Now, I have not taken off a single six rear sight but I assume it is like the Blackhawk hunters as that looks the same. I have replaced the front sight on one of my SS Hunters however.

You can see the diagram on PDF page 36 here:

http://www.ruger.com/products/_manuals/newModelSuperSingleSix.pdf

Edit - we cross posted and I didn't realize you only needed to remove the insert on the rear sight but you have the idea.

 

[NRA_guy]

Thanks much for the explanation.

I see what you mean.

If you zoom in, the front sight on page 36 in the regular Ruger SS you linked to is clearly a slotted (regular flat bladed) screw head, and a push pin/spring as you describe in the Hunter model.

Wonder why they did that?

I am posting a photo of the front sight (for any who come behind me with a similar issue) and I can plainly see that the hole in the Hunter model is round.

Thanks again a bunch!

 

[Bucks Owin]

Huh....I kinda liked the sights on the .22 Hunter I handled in a gun shop. 7.5" barrel too! Just me I guess...Dennis 8)

 

[Quarterbore]

I am sure the reason was so that you could swap the sights without tools like the Blackhawk Hunters and the Redhawks the BHH was patterened after.

 

[NRA_guy]

Well, I was changing them to Williams FireSights.

I have trouble with the factory sights---probably would have been OK 30 or 40 years ago!

I was installing Williams FireSight product #70235, which their web site says "Fits New Model Single Six .22LR". And it probably does---except the Hunter model.

Here is their web site http://www.williamsgunsight.com/gunsights/pistol.htm

I got the rear site insert installed (you only replace the blade), but the front sight is way different on the Hunter Single Six.

The front Williams FireSight is not even close to fitting the Hunter.

It would likely fit a regular Single Six.

Hmmmmm. Gun show in town tomorrow. Does this mean that I now have an excuse to buy a regular Single Six?

Sounds like it.