Ladies and Gentlemen:

I want to heat up the solder that secures the rear sight to a Mauser military barrel, and remove the sight so that I can sporterize the rifle. I've removed the rear sight with a propane torch on a military barrel that I did not care about in the past.

How can you do this, and save the barrel? The receiver will still be attached.

I was thinking about using heat paste in the bore and some wet rags fore and aft of the sight.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

It is put on with soft solder and you can not heat it too much before the solder melts. It has a lot of surface area and may take some time but it can be done with a BIG propane torch. I normally use my acetylene torch with a low flame.

Dear Jim:

Thank you.

I found that a little help with a pair of channel locks and a rag worked well on the old barrel after the solder started to bubble out.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

I just used a hammer to tap it off when the solder started to run on the one I removed.

Rad

Dear Rad:

Thank you, I'll try using a hammer on my next sight removal.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

I use an open-end wrench that just fits over the barrel behind the sight. Hit the wrench, not the sight. Credit goes to Erwin G., an old mechanic I learned a lot from when I started out many years ago.

Dear Mike:

That's a great idea.

I used to do the same thing but with a box end wrench on stuck wheel cylinders years ago in my 1955 Plymouth.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis