# took iron sights off model 7....



## GADawg08 (Dec 13, 2017)

I'm not a fan of iron sights on a bolt action....I purchased a used model 7 that had them on it. I bought some of the little replacement screws (price is ridiculous on those little suckers) to give the gun a "cleaner" look but I'm having a little trouble getting them to screw down all the way. I know the threads aren't cross threaded. Not sure if theres some pieces of thread lock or something down in the holes from the iron sights. Whats the best way to go about cleaning the holes/threads out ? Thanks for any help fellas


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## jmoser (Dec 13, 2017)

My guess is the female threads aren't cut all the way to the bottom of the hole and your screw tip is bottoming out.  These are almost always 6-48 threads; I use a bottoming tap to chase threads.  Check the length of the set screws; maybe you can grind off the ends if they have a point or nub that extends beyond the threads.  

I have done this many times and never run into your problem - are you 100% sure you got the right screw threads?  Compare to the mounting screws you removed.


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## GADawg08 (Dec 13, 2017)

jmoser said:


> My guess is the female threads aren't cut all the way to the bottom of the hole and your screw tip is bottoming out.  These are almost always 6-48 threads; I use a bottoming tap to chase threads.  Check the length of the set screws; maybe you can grind off the ends if they have a point or nub that extends beyond the threads.
> 
> I have done this many times and never run into your problem - are you 100% sure you got the right screw threads?  Compare to the mounting screws you removed.




yeah they are the correct threads....Ordered them from Midway USA. I got one of them to screw all the way down but having a little trouble with the other three.


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## GADawg08 (Dec 13, 2017)

just went home on my lunch break...cleaned out the screw holes and still, the only one I could get flush was the rear screw closest to the action. Is it possible the screw holes progressively get shallower the more you move to the end of the barrel?


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## Jester896 (Dec 13, 2017)

GADawg08 said:


> Is it possible the screw holes progressively get shallower the more you move to the end of the barrel?



I think so.  I removed some sights from an ADL and ground the tips down as described above.  Hope you got the big pack...they can get slippery on a Dremel


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## killerv (Dec 14, 2017)

Just a heads up, our local Ace hardwares started carrying an assortment of gun screws/plugs. I was able to buy my filler plugs for a 700.  Maybe all Ace hardwares started doing this. I had zero issues with the plugs I bought for the 700.


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## jmoser (Dec 14, 2017)

GADawg08 said:


> Is it possible the screw holes progressively get shallower the more you move to the end of the barrel?



Yes - if the shape of the tap nose is tapered. It starts cutting the threads shallow and they don't get to full thread depth until several threads are cut.

Blind holes should be cut with a bottoming tap which is designed to cut full threads all the way down but who knows if it was worn / broken / etc etc.

Grind or file the screw down or buy a bottoming tap and do it right.  Just cosmetic so I would shorten the screw; glue it in with some Loctite.
Maybe you can file off the OD of the bottom 1 or 2 threads on the screw?  PITA on a tiny short set screw but go slow and see.


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## WGSNewnan (Dec 20, 2017)

easy enough to figure out. grab some calipers and measure the depth of your hole. custom file the screw to length. not that big of a deal. chasing your threads with a bottoming tap is also a good idea.


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## weagle (Dec 21, 2017)

Good time to buy or make a Screw Gizzie.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...hing-wheels/screw-holder-gizzie--prod599.aspx

I almost always have to grind a few threads off of filler screws to get them fit flush.


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## jmoser (Dec 21, 2017)

weagle said:


> Good time to buy or make a Screw Gizzie.
> 
> https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...hing-wheels/screw-holder-gizzie--prod599.aspx
> 
> I almost always have to grind a few threads off of filler screws to get them fit flush.



Neat tool but ain't gonna do it on a 3/32" long headless #6 set screw.  Need to drill and tap a piece of 1/8" flat stock and file it down while threaded in place.

Wish I knew about the Gizzie years ago - I use a cutoff Dremel wheel with decent results.  If careful you can deburr the edge after cutting with the face of the wheel.


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## pavogrande (Feb 24, 2018)

chuck the screw in a small tap wrench and grind it down on a bench grinder or dremel  --


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## Stroker (Feb 25, 2018)

I started using black RTV years ago after trying to remove four of them from a 700, three stripped out and required a gunsmith to drill them out and retap them. Now I just fill the holes with the black RTV and let it dry then trim it flush with a razor blade. Removes easily with a seal pick or smaller drill then clean threads with correct size tap.


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