Bobster
.30-06
I've had this Heritage Rough Rider for about a year and a half now. 6.5" barrel, single-action and I also bought a 22 Mag cylinder for it. It is capable of shooting some decent groups but the fixed sights are off an inch or two at 25', to the left and down. This got me to thinking about putting a scope rail and a cheapie dot sight on it. This was a $120 gun back then and maybe even cheaper than that now so I didn't want to spend a lot on it. Or anything at all, for that matter.
Do you know how you "know" when you have something "in stock"? You just have to "find" where you hid it. I knew I had an OEM 10/22 Weaver scope rail "somewhere". Unable to find it right off the bat, I considered buying a pair of 10/22 picatinny rails from debay for $11. Looking in my parts again, I found the rail and was able to mock it up on the RR. Although Heritage offers a "tactical cowboy" version of the gun WITH a pic rail, they do not sell the rail separately. I figured the 10/22 would work OK as it was curved inside versus flat like most pic rail sections I could buy online. The RR curve is a little more acute than the 10/22 curve but close enough for me.
In addition to the 10/22 rail, I also had a few older dot sights lying around so why spend $400 for a Holo, Leupy or Trijie when I could make use of one of these. These sights all came with guns since sold but all work fine and all take the 2032 computer battery.
The dot sights I have are a Tasco with green and red dot options that looks big even on a shotgun where I had it for a while. Then a BKRD30 that came in a bunch of parts given to me. Finally an Ultimate Arms 4-reticle model that was on a 22/45 Ruger pistol long since sold.
At the shop I have this Caldwell Handy Rest picked up at an auction for $10. It helped to balance the RR while I marked, punched, pilot-drilled, drilled then tapped the hole for the 10/22 rail. I used the solid cylinder of gold to weigh the rail down in place while I marked where the mounting holes are. Taped off the openings to keep shavings out. Tapped and used some 6-32 oval-head screws I had in stock and had plenty of clearance for the BKRD sight. I ended up needing some socket head cap screws (Allen) that were recessed to allow rearward installation of the UA sight. This pic shows the UA installed forward on the rail for screw clearance...
Astute viewers may notice the color of the grips has changed in the above photos. Cleaning the frame with alcohol so the tape would stick, the damp alcohol rag softened the paint on the grips and it took little effort to wipe the small amount off initially. I had noticed sticky grips before so I took about 5min and removed ALL the paint from the grips leaving a black, non-sticky surface and color. I approve! That is lint you see is from the wiping cloths. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the grip but there is a main leaf spring down to the forward bottom of the grip frame. The pin shown rides inside it and helps secure the bottom of the grips and the one screw holds them together. At $20+ for a new set of grips, these will have to do. I am toying with the idea of stippling them...
(continued...)
Do you know how you "know" when you have something "in stock"? You just have to "find" where you hid it. I knew I had an OEM 10/22 Weaver scope rail "somewhere". Unable to find it right off the bat, I considered buying a pair of 10/22 picatinny rails from debay for $11. Looking in my parts again, I found the rail and was able to mock it up on the RR. Although Heritage offers a "tactical cowboy" version of the gun WITH a pic rail, they do not sell the rail separately. I figured the 10/22 would work OK as it was curved inside versus flat like most pic rail sections I could buy online. The RR curve is a little more acute than the 10/22 curve but close enough for me.
In addition to the 10/22 rail, I also had a few older dot sights lying around so why spend $400 for a Holo, Leupy or Trijie when I could make use of one of these. These sights all came with guns since sold but all work fine and all take the 2032 computer battery.
The dot sights I have are a Tasco with green and red dot options that looks big even on a shotgun where I had it for a while. Then a BKRD30 that came in a bunch of parts given to me. Finally an Ultimate Arms 4-reticle model that was on a 22/45 Ruger pistol long since sold.
At the shop I have this Caldwell Handy Rest picked up at an auction for $10. It helped to balance the RR while I marked, punched, pilot-drilled, drilled then tapped the hole for the 10/22 rail. I used the solid cylinder of gold to weigh the rail down in place while I marked where the mounting holes are. Taped off the openings to keep shavings out. Tapped and used some 6-32 oval-head screws I had in stock and had plenty of clearance for the BKRD sight. I ended up needing some socket head cap screws (Allen) that were recessed to allow rearward installation of the UA sight. This pic shows the UA installed forward on the rail for screw clearance...
Astute viewers may notice the color of the grips has changed in the above photos. Cleaning the frame with alcohol so the tape would stick, the damp alcohol rag softened the paint on the grips and it took little effort to wipe the small amount off initially. I had noticed sticky grips before so I took about 5min and removed ALL the paint from the grips leaving a black, non-sticky surface and color. I approve! That is lint you see is from the wiping cloths. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the grip but there is a main leaf spring down to the forward bottom of the grip frame. The pin shown rides inside it and helps secure the bottom of the grips and the one screw holds them together. At $20+ for a new set of grips, these will have to do. I am toying with the idea of stippling them...
(continued...)
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