Mounting sights on a shotgun barrel

[db22]

An old 28" Rem 870 plain barrel in my collection seems like the perfect candidate for conversion to a slug barrel -- the choke was bulged when I got it. I have another identical barrel, so I bobbed the bulged one by 4" to make a 24" smoothbore slug barrel. Now I have to install open sights, or a cantilever scope mount. I can soft-solder a Williams Shorty ramp for the front, but the Williams Guide open rear is made of aluminum.

Is there enough metal in the barrel wall to drill and tap blind holes for the rear sight? Has anyone tried using that Black Max glue from Loctite for sight mounting? And, should I drill and tap a hole for the front ramp screw, or just rely on soft solder to hold it in place? Do holes drilled through the barrel affect accuracy with conventional slug loads?

I would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

[Critter]

It shouldn't be a problem drilling and tapping for your front sight.  I've done it a bunch of times with the same front your talking about.You have to leave the screw long and then fit in while installed to the barrel.  You can do it with a rotary tool but a round file is better, more control.  I've never used Black Max but I have used a variety of other things along that line.  Make sure to rough up the bottom of the sight and the top of the barrel for max grab.  I've used JB Weld and acraglass.  When Polychoke was still at Marble Arms in Gladwin, MI we watched the gunsmith, Troy, install a couple ribs.  All he used was acraglass died black.  So I tried it on a couple of my projects and there still there.  I've JB welded more sights than I care to remember and as far as I know they are all still there.  One other option is to buy the Remington Slugger sights and solder them on.  At two of the gunshops I worked at that was the way rifle sights were put on shotguns.  I personally don't care for the Rem rifle sights but each thier own.

[Tom H.]

DB
Forget about that al Williams sight.

I forgot the maker, but Brownells sells a steel rear that is reasonably priced and they should have it in the contour that you need.  I have put at least a few shotguns by soldering in the past.

Tom

[db22]

Critter: many thanks for the information. I will give JB Weld a try -- they have it at the local farm supply. Some guys on the Ruger 10-22 board use it to build up trigger parts to eliminate pre-travel -- it must be pretty good to stay put on those small surfaces. I worry about the shock of firing, and also the expansion and contraction of the barrel as it is taken in and out of warm rooms or trucks to cold deer stands. It would be mighty embarrassing to trudge back to camp and ask for help finding the sight that jumped off my barrel . . .

Tom: I think you are thinking of Marble's steel rear sight mount. I'd like to mount the rear sight as far to the rear as possible, to get the longest possible sighting plane. It'll be a lot easier to refine the countour of the aluminum Williams sight to fit the wider chamber end of the barrel than the steel Marble's. I've had good luck with Williams products for years. All my rifles wear Williams receiver sights.

[db22]

J-B Weld did a great job of holding the aluminum Williams rear sight base on the barrel through about 20 rounds testing at the range. Others on this board have noted that J-B works well, so I'll take the gun out in the cold Wisconsin deer season and trust the stuff to handle the stress of warming and cooling as the gun goes from inside to out and back.

Thanks to Tom H. and Critter for the suggestions!

[Critter]

Glad to hear you got it done.  Good luck this season.