Front sight stripped out

[Pete112288]

I have a Traditions Vortek Northwest Magnum that I got at the end of season last year. This is my first year muzzy hunting. I get back to a log road mid week of early season. As I was working on my belt in order to answer natures call, my gun on the sling slid down off my shoulder and down my arm. In a knee jerk reaction to not piss all over my gun, I flung that arm up. It had a worse outcome than a pissy gun. I lost my balance and the gun went to the ground. The front sight hit square on the edge of a rock and popped off. Luckily I found the sight and it was in one piece. It stripped out of the threads of the one screw that holds it in. I lightly managed to get it to hold in and reinforced it with electrical tape. It worked to get through early season and my test shots after that held true. What would anyone suggest as to what would be the easiest fix. Contact Traditions? Get a new screw and see if it was just the screw that stripped out (where would I get just that screw?) I also thought about putting a drop of JB weld in the hole and lightly screwing it in place where it should be and let the JB weld hold it. I just would hate to do that to a 1 year old 50 shots through it tops, gun. Advice? Thank ya much

[jay.sharkbait]

Can you tap to a larger size? or maybe silver solder?

[Pete112288]

I dont know crap about soldering so that would be out unless I find someone close. My dad has worked in a machine shop his whole life and has everything under the sun at home. I just am so leery of doing too much to a gun esp with it being so small. Also, I wouldnt know where I would get a screw that would fit the new hole and the old front sight. Gunsmith?

[ICEMAN]

I bet the screw lost it's thread. Examine it for damage, order a new one.

If the gun steel threaded hole is stripped, you could reinstall with a new screw and some thread lock. You can always get it out later if not happy.

Re threading of the gun would be last, as most of us do not have threading tools that are tipped appropriately and thread steel in the first turn. Most of the stuff your average Joe has have a long pilot tip on the threading tools, the taper is long, and would require a deep threading to achieve good results.

All just my opinion, not an expert.

[Pete112288]

Yea, I'm not sure all the little things my dad has. I swear anything for machine work he has always been able to find in his shop. But yet again, The gun is barely a year old. If I did do that I may want to wait till I can afford a professional gunsmith or see what Traditions has to say. Loc-tite is something I thought about. Either that or a drop or two of super glue. Something I can still get out when the time comes to do something more perminant. Thank ya

[Heredoggydoggy]

Examination of the screw threads and threads in the barrel is critical.  You might be able to clean up the threads in the barrel if they need it, but it will take a BOTTOMING TAP (which your dad probably has).  If your front sight is not a fiber-optic sight, get one.  Putting a dark sight on a dark animal that is standing in dark brush is nearly impossible!  When I put a Williams Fire Sight on my Hawken, it made a huge difference.

[Pete112288]

I know what you mean. I cant do crap with iron sights. Mine came with fiber optic sights which I love. I personally do better finding a quick target close up in the brush with a scope on 9 power than dark iron sights.

[Heredoggydoggy]

This State doesn't allow scopes on muzzle loaders--yet.  I never gave a thought to illuminated reticles on scopes until I was out night hunting coyotes with my scoped AR 15.  The Burris scope just happened to have an illuminated dot on the crosshair.  In the dark, I couldn't see the crosshair, but I could see the red dot!

[ICEMAN]

Examination of the screw threads and threads in the barrel is critical.  You might be able to clean up the threads in the barrel if they need it, but it will take a BOTTOMING TAP (which your dad probably has).  If your front sight is not a fiber-optic sight, get one.  Putting a dark sight on a dark animal that is standing in dark brush is nearly impossible!  When I put a Williams Fire Sight on my Hawken, it made a huge difference.

Thanks doggy, my mind was drawing a blank...

[j_h_nimrod]

All a gunsmith or Traditions will do is what has been suggested by other guys already. If the screw is stripped they will replace the screw, if the hole then they will open it up to the next largest size or if the hole is deep enough they will put in a longer screw. If it is the screw Traditions will likely send you another at little or no charge.

Just fix it the best way you can.  I would not personally take it to a smith for that little fix.  I would say just fix it, you want the sight to be on permanent so why not J.B. Weld?  Another temporary fix would be Gorilla Glue, it would work better than super glue.

[Heredoggydoggy]

All a gunsmith or Traditions will do is what has been suggested by other guys already. If the screw is stripped they will replace the screw, if the hole then they will open it up to the next largest size or if the hole is deep enough they will put in a longer screw. If it is the screw Traditions will likely send you another at little or no charge.

Just fix it the best way you can.  I would not personally take it to a smith for that little fix.  I would say just fix it, you want the sight to be on permanent so why not J.B. Weld?  Another temporary fix would be Gorilla Glue, it would work better than super glue.

I second the self-fix.  J B Weld, Gorilla Epoxy or any epoxy will last longer than Super Glue.  More than 35 years ago I had to change the front sight on my Savage 24 when I put a peep sight on it.  I wasn't happy with the one-screw attach method of the front sight, so I used the screw and Epoxy to secure it.  It's still just as solid as the day I did it!    Recently, I used Super Glue to attach a front sight on my Walther P22 pistol.  The sight came off on the second shot out of the gun.