Now that's the kind of expense I'm talking about!
Hey MD, You're OK with me man. Don't let those guys get to you. Stay cool and if you leave this site I'll split too. I hate to see people picking on you all the time.

oh im used to it! LOL

I dont tuck tail and run away like some.

If its a steel sight, you can actually hit above the wedge and drive it out so you dont scar or burr up the wedge itself.

It's not brass so it must be steel. The barrel is allready beat up in the area of the sight on one side from one of the previous owners, It's OK though. Take a look at her in my other thread, Striped and blued.

I have had good luck making small punches out of hard maple scraps and driving dovetailed sights with them. They will not last as long as the brass punches but I just make what I need from what is laying arround. There is no doubt the press is the best option though. I know of someone pulling the screws right out of the barrel on a ramp driving a front bead out.

ive done a few and buggered up a few. i have a sight tool but it doesnt work on all barrels and was pricey. i usually use a brass punch and lump hammer. i like to put some weight behind the punch instead of tapping like 30 times with a lighter ball pein. i cover the barrel areas near by the sight with a couple layers of electrical tape just in case of slips. i also put a thin layer across the sight where the punch is going. even though its softer metal you can leaves some scars. i put the barrel sight laying over the center of a roll of duct tape so you can hammer through with nothing in the way and the sight falls out. when i re-install the site i take the round end of the ball pein hammer and tap the dovetail slot lightly a couple times to close the edge in just a hair so when you tap in the new sight its tight.

Thats actually a pretty damn good idea. I never thought about using some wood scraps and making some punches for installing sights. It doesnt take much pressure to get them in if the dovetails are filed correctly.