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Wide front sight blade?

Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 3:16 pm
by oney
Older eyes and the razor blade thin front sight blade of the Krag are not a good combination. Does anyone know if a wide front sight blade, similar to the USMC type used on M1903's has ever been manufactured for the Krag? Thank you!

Re: Wide front sight blade?

Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 6:22 pm
by FredC
This has come up before fairly recently. I do not remember a direct drop in replacement. I think a small piece of feeler gauge or better yet soft steel glued to both sides of the Krag sight then filed to shape could work. Soft steel could be glued on then filed. Feeler gauge is pretty hard to file and grinding would make enough heat to breakdown the glue. Others may remember where the other thread is.

Re: Wide front sight blade?

Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:16 pm
by Parashooter
Easy enough to make one from any old scrap of ~1/10" mild steel. Tools: vise, hacksaw, flat file, drill and bit. Saw and file scrap to desired shape, put top end in vise to leave lower part exposed, file sides to fit slot in fixed base, mark and drill hole for retaining pin.

Alternative requiring only needle-nose pliers, a bit of springy steel wire (AKA music wire, AKA paper clip), and some black insulation stripped from a scrap of electrical wire. Self-tensioning and quick-attachable/detachable if made right. (Example shown for Swiss 1911, but same principle should work for US Krag.)
SRsightext.jpg
SRsightext.jpg (7.34 KiB) Viewed 1090 times

Re: Wide front sight blade?

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2021 1:56 am
by trapdoor4570
I know of no wider front sight blade. FredC may have one possible solution.

However if I may add a suggest, do a Google search for " Merit Optical Attachment ".
20 some years ago I had to put the Krag and the'03's away because I couldn't see the sight anymore. About 15 years ago I picked up a Merit diopter device that has a rubber suction cup that attaches to my eye glass lens.
With this on my glasses the sights on the Krag, '03s 96-11 etc are as sharp as if I had 20 year old eyes. It was very well worth the money

trapdoor4570

Re: Wide front sight blade?

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:30 am
by FredC
Here is a link to a brief discussion of wider sights, blacking the sights was discussed more. Seems like there is one more on wider sights.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5801
Do not discount Parashooter's solutions. He has all kinds of tricks up his sleeve. This one is elegant and easy and would work well in a controlled environment like target shooting.
Moving through heavy brush while hunting it probably would not work so well.