Changing the front sight

[jfp]

Changing the front sight.

I have had a sr1911 for about a month and I love it. What a great gun and a tremendous value.
It is very accurate, and has never jammed or misfired in about 500 rounds of cheap factory and handloaded ammo of various power levels. My impression is that the gun will shoot reliably anything remotely 45 acp.

Changed the (beautiful) standard grip for a Hogue rubber grip; very comfortable and not too ugly.

I also changed the front sight to a Dawson Precision fiber optic. The new sight is terrific. Makes accurate, quick shooting (IDPA) much easier for me. A fiber optic sight is highly recommended, especially if you have old eyes.

Changing the front sight was a bear, however, and several time during the job I was ready to pack it up and go find a real gunsmith. Getting the original sight out was very difficult. Mine came out to the right, but required some very serious pounding. The Dawson sight comes with a nifty little aluminum punch, but I had to use a steel punch to move the sight. It is amazing the I didn't mar the frame, but all I can presume is the the sr1911 stainless finish must be very, very tough. Getting the Dawson sight inserted was no cake walk either. Had to remove a lot of material, including from the bottom of the sight blade (to clear the frame). I notice that Ruger recommends professional installation with their fiber optic sight, and I would not argue with that, even though I seem to have gotten mine in and aligned just fine. I wonder if it will stay in?

 

[bsnake]

I changed the front sight on my SR1911 to an XS Big Dot.
Used a brass punch to drive out the stock sight and to drive in the new sight.
Stock sight was very tight (which is a good thing for those who stay stock).
Removed a bit of material from the bottom and sides of the new sight to get a good fit.
Got exactly what I wanted when finished. Took about 20 minutes.
Should mention that I have changed a number of front sights including cutting in dovetails so it wasn't something new for me to do.

 

[luckybaer]

I think I'll be getting mine to a gunsmith. I like the gun so far, but like all my other guns (with the exception of my Smith & Wesson big revolvers), I have an urge to change sights.

 

[Nogunsmith4me]

Can somebody, anybody, explain why they go thru all the frustration and the serious pounding if you can do it faster and without mutilation to the sight or slide using a 1911 sight pusher tool? It's the easier way to remove or install the front and rear sights without fear of damaging them or damaging the mounting area. I purchased my sight tool from a member of the 1911 forum and changed the front sight in 10 minutes, took me that long because I did some minor filling to the sight before installation. I paid $55 (money well spent) for the sight pusher and I can change sights (front or rear) any time I please without pounding or going to a gunsmith - However, if you're planning on changing sights only once and never again your best choice is a gunsmith which probably charge you half or more the price of the cost of the sight tool.

 

[dlidster]

I put a section of brass rod in my drill press chuck, secure the slide in a drill press vise, then use the drill press (turned off, off course) as an arbor press.