Henry Rifle Forums

North Country Gal wrote:A better way than buggering up the front sight or dovetail is to cut an aluminum shim from an aluminum can and place it under the front sight, between it and the bottom of the dovetail. This creates enough upward pressure on the front sight against the wings of the dovetail to keep things nice and snug.

Yeah I could try that but I think that would still be too thick from the looks of it.

Give it a try. A shim from an aluminum can is actually very thin. I usually cut the shim longer than needed to get the sight in, then cut any tabs sticking out from under the sight.

.
A loose sight is something the assembler and Henry final outgoing inspection should have caught. Could be an indicator that final was missed/skipped. Maybe why the Henry person wants the rifle returned immediately. I don't think I would shoot it until I had another call with Henry to talk about that.

Since inspection is done by a human, it can be unintentionally missed/skipped because of breaks, lunch, shift change, etc. The person coming back to work/inspection might think the item in front of them got inspected earlier.

Hunter2678 wrote:... I call Henry to see what they say and they want me to return the rifle immediately. Call me crazy but for some reason I feel like there might be a bigger issue with this rifle bc of the way the guy talked to me....

rest assured they will make this right. I had to send my BBB in last month with a mag tube problem. They replaced the mag tube the barrel and back to me in 7 days. also just received this swag from them today.

Thank you Henry

Yeah I could try that but I think that would still be too thick from the looks of it.

It might be but then you just hammer it thinner on the flat ‘anvil’ on the back of your vise until it’s thin enough to fit.
Trim with scissors.
Or if you know a mechanic/machinist etc. he might have some very thin brass shim stock.

If it was an old WWII vintage Mauser and had minimal slop between the sight and dovetail, I would tap the dovetail down to hold the front sight in place. Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight. If it required soda can thickness shims, I would pick up a replacement sight.

You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools. I know it's frustrating to have issues with a brand new firearm, but when humans are involved problems will pop up once in a while. On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

Flinch wrote:If it was an old WWII vintage Mauser and had minimal slop between the sight and dovetail, I would tap the dovetail down to hold the front sight in place. Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight. If it required soda can thickness shims, I would pick up a replacement sight.

You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools. I know it's frustrating to have issues with a brand new firearm, but when humans are involved problems will pop up once in a while. On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

Agreed. There's a time and place for DIY fixes and then there's a situation where you want to get what you paid for. You'll have plenty of time to fix things that you actually cause, or that occur as the result of "normal wear and tear." This isn't one of them. Make them do it.

I agree. NOT something you should have to deal with on a new gun, right out of the box. Let Henry fix it.

Flinch wrote:You have a brand new rifle, so I would not break out the tools .... On a new Henry rifle, I would definitely send it back to the factory for service.

absolutely .... Henry is footing the bill .... the thought of me trying to fix such an issue wouldn't cross my mind

Or I would use a punch to thicken the edges of the dovetail on the front sight

What you are referring to is called 'staking' the front sight.
Typically this is done by securing the front sight (bottom up) in a vise with small blocks of hardwood with leather to protect the sight.
Then the base of the sight is given a few punch marks to create some metal expansion to tighten the sight in the dovetail. This way it is invisible with no damage to the sight. Pretty basic (and common) procedure.

A good reminder here when looking over a new gun prior to purchase is a quick, firm push on the front sight. A sight as loose as the OP reported on his rifle it would have probably moved with finger pressure.