Seeing The Sights

When working with handgun sights it is difficult enough to get it right the first time without attempting to straighten out a mistake by the home tinkerer. There are quite a few experienced shooters, primarily competitors, that are capable of different types of parts changing and firearm modification. Many can handle simple tasks and don’t always need professional help, but there are others that do. These are the ones we meet most often. They keep us in business and give us gray hair.

A simple slot in the slide should not bring so much attention to the shop but it does. The slots and fitting sometimes defeat the home tinkerer. After all, if the sight is too large to fit the existing dovetail they always figure a bigger hammer will do the business! The result is a ruined sight, or worse, a ruined dovetail.

Sometimes, when the job is accomplished more or less correctly—a working handgun that shoots to point of aim—the end result is less than desirable as the handgun’s sights now bear witness to heavy hits with a brass hammer. Even if it works, having the sights bashed in with a brass hammer isn’t ideal. When a customer brings in a drop-in fit set of sights he doesn’t always understand that easy fit isn’t always the rule. Subtle differences in fit must be understood.

If the sight was that easy a fit it would be too loose in the dovetail. Some fitting must be required. The first thing I do is to inspect the sights and see if they fit the dovetail. Ordering the proper size, whether it be a Novak cut or a Heinie, is vital to the end job. Colt and Springfield tenons differ. As an example, not long ago I took in a Llama 1911 .45 for what was supposed to be a simple sight repair. The young lady’s .45 had suffered the sight flying out during a range session.

I could not help but wonder how it became that loose as the dovetail was clean and showed no signs of previous work but the missing sight was not found on the range. The dovetail still maintained most of the finish and showed no signs of a problem but the metal is pretty soft in these handguns. Adding to this, the young lady had vision problems.

She could see images and her sights against close targets, well enough to defend herself and shoot effectively at typical A brass hammer, a brass punch, Allen wrench for loosening Novak sight set screws and towel to wrap around the sights to mitigate punch impact.

handgun distances, but couldn’t see well enough to drive and get a driver’s license. I had an interest in keeping her shooting and wished to help her get her pistol back into action. A friend of the young woman had changed the sights on a GI 1911 for high visibility sights and gave her the old sights. Not surprisingly, the Llama dovetail swallowed the GI rear sight and I had to find an alternative.

After some scrounging I found a set of sights from some forgotten project, a type of night sight from a now defunct company considerably thicker than GI sights. The night sight component was long burned out and they were too large for the Llama but everything else in the shop was too small and we were on a budget. A combination of carefully filing of the sights and opening the dovetail made for a good fit. I know, this is non standard.

If the sights have to be replaced at a later date no one Bottom would find the right fit but this was expedient. No parts house had a rear sight for a Llama. The file was taken to the dovetail and enough of the dovetail opened to present a flange to slide the modified sight in. I think it turned out well. In the unlikely event the sights are ever changed the course of action would probably demand a Novak cut, something out of the question on this inexpensive handgun. Most sights are not that large an obstacle.

Sometimes the question to ask is, how tight should the sights be in the dovetail? I like to begin just pushing the sight into the dovetail. There should be little resistance as you go along with the greatest resistance as the sight has covered about three quarters of the dovetail. It isn’t as if the sight is welded in place; the sight has to be moveable for windage. Truth be told, few shooters ever adjust the rear sight once you have set it for them. If they are target shooters they will need adjustable sights.

Just the same, the simple rear notch windage adjustable sight solves a lot of problems. When moving the dovetail-fitted sight into place it is a good idea to have the dovetail heavily greased. The grease will dry out and you will have a sight that is properly set in place. I have never used any special Bottom While not attractive, they have worked well for decades. tools for dovetail sight work. I use a standard brass hammer but do not directly contact the sight.

Instead, I only make contact with a leather pad or a heavy pad cut from an old felt hat and use this to adjust the rear sight. The punch impacts the pad, saving any unwanted marks. Another neat trick is to fabricate your own heavy duty hardwood punch. This is really the best route. I have cut one from an old miniature baseball bat and it has lasted for years. This covers placing the dovetailed rear sight into place when it is a tight or proper fit. How about the rear notch itself when it is too loose?

Sometimes the metal is soft, as is the case of the Llama or the sight may have actually been adjusted so often that it is becoming loose in the dovetail. The Novak type with a set screw solves some of these problems. The other types require a little handwork. When the sight is removed from the dovetail, the dovetail may be peened a bit with a punch. To peen the dovetail, the slide must be stabilized in a vise and all

Above Center: This CZ pistol features a roll pin in the slide for removal of the front sight. They are overdue for a good cleaning! of the area around the dovetail covered with tape to protect the finish in case of a slip. Take the punch and brass hammer and raise the dovetail by tapping and roughening the interior of the dovetail. This will make for a tighter fit. The dovetail slot is actually affected little but the adhesion is much better. A little goes along way.

I have seen old military sights that have been adjusted roughly, as evidenced by strong punch marks on the sight, eventually become loose and tightened in this manner. I would not wish to do this with a nice handgun but an ancient Browning High Power of my acquaintance with such markings is over sixty years old, still in daily use and the sights remain firmly in place. Among the most touchy jobs is adjusting night sights.

However, by These front sights are all advertised as Novaks and are factory supplied in these 1911 handguns but each is different! Be certain the customer understands the differences in sights as some are suited for target shooting and others for combat shooting. using a wooden punch you should be able to adjust such sights without causing the ampules to pop out. It is important that the adjusting tool, block or bunch strikes flat against the base of the rear sight.

Be very careful and do not impact the sights near the spot where the tritium tubes are shock mounted. They are mounted in a thin aluminum sleeve with a rubber insert between the tube and the sights, but they may burst or be jarred out of place. AG