Taller front sight Bisley 44 Special

[gssp]

So, last week, I called Ruger which in turned, caused them to send me a new taller front sight for my newish SS Bisley flattop in 44 Special. This arrives....free of charge. Should I be upset or is normal?.....no hole to push the roll pin through. Now what?

Alan

 

[Hondo44]

No.

They always come that way. You have to install it in the mortise, then drill the hole. That's the only way it can be guaranteed for the hole in the sight to line up with the existing holes in your sight base.
Done the same way when the gun is made.

Drill halfway thru the sight from one side and then drill the rest from the other side to make sure the new hole aligns with both holes in the base.

 

[zoner]

i did a front sight on a Service Six that was set up the same way. I used some red locktite, clamping the sight in it's slot with a small spring clamp. After that set up i did the drilling with a cordless Makita...i think it was a 1/16 bit. I didn't go halfway thru in one shot..went in one side a little,flipped the gun then the other side a little till the holes met in the middle. I put a drop of the locktite on the pin before driving it in. If you try to drill it all the way thru on one shot you will NOT be aligned with the hole in the gun on the opposite side you are drilling from......Mike

 

[ExMachina]

Normal for all pinned front sights to come this way. I've done a few with a cordless hand drill and a very tight fitting bit. The important part of the hole to get correct in the sight is the lower half so that the pin can "pull" the blade in tight against the front sight base. So, if you somehow drill the hole too low on the sight it will be loose and there's not much you can do to fix it; however, if you drill the hole slightly too high, the hole can be extended down and/or some material can be removed from the bottom of the sight blade. So in your mind, always err on the side of placing the hole too high (but of course, ideally you want it to be nice and true to begin with)

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have replaced several fronts in my .44 magnum BH's using sights intended for the long barreled .45 Colt BH's. None have a pre drilled hole. The sights were a tight fit in the sight base. I tapped them in using a nylon or brass drift and drilled through the sight base using a new 1/16" drill in my Makita cordless drill. You can't tell them from factory and now they have enough adjustment when shooting heavy bullets.

 

[DHD]

If I may suggest, when you clamp the revolver in a vice, use a small clamp to hold the front sight firmly in the sight base.

My vice is used for all major and most minor work on guns. I made hardwood jaws for them and no worries with marring any surface. I have Clements Custom front sight blades for all of my Blackhawk's and on one I didn't have the blade in as tight as it should have been (looked good at the time) and I could see a tiny bit of light under it and it could barely rock back a forth (not acceptable with a $45 sight blade). I got it perfect eventually but I learned that what I thought was tight wasn't. A small clamp was used from then on. Also, drill about halfway on one side and then drill the rest of the way from the other side. The fact that it won't be a perfectly straight hole will help cause an interference fit. I put a slight bend in the rear sight pin so it won't walk. Call it insurance.

The last was just my experiences so do with it what you will. If you already got it done, just ignore my banter.