Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Zastava LH Mauser rear sight removal.

I just received my LH Mauser tonight. I purchased a 6-24x44 scope with a set of Talley lightweight mounts. The rear sight is too high and I can't mount the scope. I attempted to punch out the rear sight but it won't budge. Any advice on how to remove it without marring the sight and/or barrel? Thanks

IIRC the rear sight is dovetailed into the barrel and held in place with a grub screw from the top, behind the sight. Loosen the screw and drive the sight base out to the starboard side (it probably does not make a difference, but when it does the starboard side is the right way to go, so it is good practice.)

The sight base has a screw in the front and back which thread into the barrel. The inner dovetail/sight covers these screws partially. I will 1st need to remove the dovetail in order to access these screws. I was able to remove the flip up sightblade that was pinned, however that still does not give me enough clearance. I sprayed it with PB Blaster last night and will try to give it a little heat from a heat gun to see if it helps it slide out.

3 applications of PB Blaster over 2 days of sitting did the trick. A few hefty taps with a brass punch and the dovetail let loose. The 2 screws holding the sight base to the barrel were made of cheap steel. I could feel the steel starting to bend so I ground down a screw driver bit to the exact size and gently eased them out, I would replace them with better quaility set screws if I ever reinstall the rear sight.