Artillery Rear Sight observations

[Edward Tinker]

From George F via Jerry


Written from experience by George Fortier, California

This article is about the rear sight of the Artillery Luger, and how to remove it or install it. The rear sight can be broken very easily if they are not removed or installed properly.

First off the artillery rear sight comes in two types:

One is the regular rear sight and the other is the fined tuned rear sight.

The REGULAR rear sight has a total of nine parts. They are the sight base and two (2) set screws, the pin which holds the adjustable sight ladder in place and to the base, and the adjustable ladder which has the graduation numbers 1 to 8 on it. There is also a flat lead spring that slides into the bottom of this ladder. The right side of this ladder has notches in it. The notches are for the adjustable slider that fits on top of this ladder. Looking at the slider from the top, the left side of it has a spring loaded checkered button that when depressed allows the slider to move up or down the ladder to adjust the rear sight.

The FINE TUNED rear sight has a total of ten parts. They are the same as the REGULAR rear sight except the FINE TUNED sight has only one (1) set screw and a fine tuned real adjustable screw which has two holes in the top of it. In order to rotate this adjustable screw, it takes a special sight adjusting tool. The ladder on the fine tuned sight has an adjustable rear sight leaf. This leaf is attached to the ladder by dove tails and slides up and down the rear part of the ladder by rotation of the fine tuned set screw that I just mentioned. Adjustment is clockwise for down and counter clockwise for up. It is important to know that the sight bases are different and should not be enter mixed between the two types of artillery rear sights. Because: The ladder and slide of the fined tuned sight will not slide up all the way when used with the regular sight base. The REGULAR sight base is the one with the two set screws that I mentioned previously.

To remove the rear artillery sight you must first remove the pin that holds the ladder through the sight base. The pin goes through the base then through the ladder and through other side of the base and can be removed from right to left or left to right by driving it out with a fine pin punch. You should use a penetrating oil or break-free oil on this pin before trying to remove it.

You do not want to move the sight base when removing the pin as the sight base has one or two set screws depending on which sight base you are removing. Both types of sight bases have a set screw that cannot be backed off or seen without removing this ladder.

Once you have removed the ladder pin you must press down on the top part of the ladder while sliding it towards the rear of the gun. If you can, press the checkered button on the ladder slider in and move it up the ladder towards the front of the gun, or top of the ladder, this is the best way. Once you have removed the ladder from the base and the slide from the ladder then remove the slide from the base by sliding it down and by pushing the button in and sliding it down toward the rear of the gun and then lift it straight up to remove it off the base. Be careful not to lose the spring that is under the slide button in the slider.

Once you have removed the slider from the base you can now remove the sight base. Before removing the sight base you should use a break free oil or penetration oil on the set screws and at the front and rear dovetail areas of the sight base.

The sight base is dove tailed into the barrel like the front sight is dovetailed into the barrel. Once you have backed off the set screw(s) very carefully with a 1/8 inch brass punch or a ¼ inch wood dowel, tap the sight base from left to right being very careful to tap the sight base starting at the front dovetail areas alternating to the rear dovetail areas back and forth a little at a time until you have removed the sight base from the barrel. If you do not alternate the tapping from the front to back of the dove tails the sight base will get lodge or possible broken. It is very important not to tap the sight base in the middle, only at the dovetail areas. CAUTION: (The middle of the sight base is very fragile and can be broken easily.)

To reinstall - reverse this process. It is suggested that when doing this, degrease the dove tails on both ends of the sight base and the dove tails on the front and rear of the barrel, using a degreaser or alcohol and after it has dried, apply a fine coat of Permatex Thread Locker Blue, using a light or medium strength only. This Permatex solution and your set screws, once they are tightened, will keep your base from shifting upon recoiling or firing. CAUTION: (Do not use a HIGH STRENGTH thread locker or you may possibly not be able to remove the base again.)

You may also want to use a cable tie to keep your ladder slider from shifting and causing ware on your ladder teeth during recoil and firing. Also, don’t be alarmed at the angle of the pin it is intended to be on an angle so that when the ladder is elevated it will tilt the sight and this is done to compensate for the rotation of the threading in the barrel.

Note: Numbers on the rear Artillery Luger sights and under the rear Artillery sight base will not be discuss here. Information on this subject can be found on this form under Artillery Lugers titled “Numbers Under Sights of DWMs”.



Hope this helps!

George Fortier

[cirelaw]

Artillery//navy~