need help with messed up sight screws on Win 71

[Dand]

For  the first time since I got it, I took the receiver sight base off my old Win 71. This gun has seen hard duty and has a lot of wear and tear on it.  But I was startled to find that some one took a hand drill to the screw holes for some reason and the screw holes may even be out of line.  Maybe the receiver sight was a home install. The screws themselves look to have been tapered with a file and don't seem very secure when I try to reinstall the sight base.

I wanted to put on a new Williams Fool Proof as the old (Lyman?) sight is badly worn and hard to keep tightened - the brass thumb nut is badly worn.

What would be the recommended fix for this mess? Could a good smith open and straighten and rethread the holes to a fatter screw size on the receiver and base?  Fill the holes and drill new ones?

I'm frustrated as I wanted to do some load development and practice with this old gun.


Suggestions are welcome.

[gunnut69]

A lot of the answers will depend on how badly the holes are misaligned. They can be welded shut but that would damage the temper in the receiver, requiring a complete re-work.. Sometimes one can drill to a larger size screw but there are limits to what the sight will allow also.. The sight involved can also be altered to allow the off set screws to line up. I've even seen the holes TIG welded and re-drilled. A lot depends on the severity of the problem. I suggest finding a good smith and let him take a look..