paulyseggs

just bought ghost ring sights for my 870, says i need to goto a gunsmith, i got a drill and tap for the purpose coming with the sights,. now....... if i measuer really carefully and more than one i think i can do the job myself. anyone ever done it at home??

trailer

I' m not familiar with ghost ring sights but I work in a metal shop and would tell you to double check the hole locations. Make sure to use the write size of drill bit. I hope your using a drill press and have everything set up just write and make sure the holes will be vertical to the part your drilling. When it comes to tapping take your time and use alot of rapit tap or some sort of oil for lubrication. Good luck if you decide to go for it or let the gunsmith have the headache.

Vapodog

unless you have a vertical mill to locate the hole, I' d advise to take it to someone that does....you may possibly have a template.....but measuring and drilling usually results in disaster. Ther' e usually only .015 clearance for those holes......five times the thickness of a human hair.

121553

Pauly, There are some things you can do with no problem and there is a time to ask for help, and this is one of those times to ask for help as opposed to rueining a perfeckly good gun.
I have a work shop with drill press, vises and taps a dies,ect. and I know how to use them, but when I had to have my Mod 700 drilled and tapped for a Williams sight I went to a gun smith and his price was so much $ per hole. ( I forgot what the price per hole was maybe 10- 15 $ per hole) but gun smithing is procession mill work and should only be done by a professional in that field, that in being a gunsmith. You won' t regret it in the long wrong. Good luck, Bobby

LARRY338

All you need is a drill press and a table vise. Carefully place the base where you want it to go and mark one hole. Drill that hole and tap it. Then screw the base down with that first screw, and then drill the second hole through the other hole in the base. Remove the base and tap the second hole. Done it plenty of times. To get your tap started straight, you can chuck it up in the drill and turn by hand. Then loosen the chuck and put a tap handle on it to finish it. Like trailer says, go slow and use plenty of cutting oil.

eldeguello

Yes!! I have even done it with an electric drill!! But it takes a good eye and a steady hand to do it without a good drill press!! Also, a drilling and tapping jig, like Brownells sells, makes it a lot easier!! The question is, how hard is your receiver steel? Will the drill they furnished even cut it? Precise location of each hole is essential, so the drill has to cut the steel well. If you have very hard (casehardened) steel, you may need a carbide drill!!

paulyseggs

was gonna clamp down the reciever of my 870 and use my dremel tool. i ordered the drill bit/ tap sets from midwayusa, and theirs a sighting crease down the middle of the gun to begin with so i don;t think it can be that hard, hell i roofed my entire house from reading one of those pamplets at home depot, and yes it;s still holdin up after a year, hell you can;t even tell a chef did it. first twosets of singles the keys are a bit off but after than i was a roofing fool!!!! and i have gained more respect for roofers as the days went by.

now if i can just rebuild that lawn tractor i took apart this winter

Ruger-Redhawk

Paul of course it' s your decision what you decide.Myself I would rather pay a smith that has all the necessary equipment to do the job correctly.I sure wouldn' t chance ruining my 870 to save a few bucks,Doing a roof is one thing but with a gun you' re dealing with a precision piece of equipment.Spend the money and have it done correctly. That' s just my opinion.
Ruger Redhawk

handloader1

A friend of mine tried to drill and tap the top strap on a Ruger Super Black Hawk for scope mounts; he ruined the handgun because he did not have the right tools, just because he wanted to save a few bucks. Good luck.

LARRY338

The dremel tool is a gunsmiths best friend. It generates more work for them. I dont think I would go at it without a drill press and a vise. before you do that with the dremel tool, try it on a piece of scrap steel two or three times.