Does anyone know what the part number is for a drop-in (dove-tailed) .250" gold bead partridge sight for a model 629-3? I called up S&W today and told the service rep what I was looking for. He quoted a price of around $22 for part no. 898240000, which he said was what I was looking for, even though he couldn't pull up a picture. I went ahead and ordered it, but that seems pretty inexpensive compared to the SDM sight costing closer to $60. Did I perhaps order the blade for a pinned sight assembly?

I just spoke with another service rep who clarified that the sight blade I ordered is actually a brass bead with a blade height of .243", whereas the part number for a true gold bead sight is 246920000, which has a blade height of .250" for a "50 yard zero" and currently sells for $89.29. Is there any practical difference between these two sights other than necessary adjustment to the rear sight height and having to polish the brass bead every once in a while?

I doubt you will ever be really happy with the brass, if you had your heart set on the gold. It is just not going to shine the same way.

I have a 27-5 pistol that came with the brass bead front sight and I absolutely love it. It's much easier for me to see than a regular patridge front sight. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a brass bead sight like you've ordered for my 629-2 Classic from Brownells. It's a different part number though; Brownells show the mfg # to be 904050000. I think they were a few bucks cheaper than S&W, but I also didn't have to call them to find out if it was in stock or what the stock number was either. I must have gotten the last one, because they are showing the listing as Backorder now.

I think you will be happy with the brass bead. I haven't noticed any tarnishing on the bead on my 27-5 sight and it gets run regularly at the range because that sight is so easy on my old eyes.

I can't say I had my heart set on gold, other than the fact that it sounds cool. I didn't even know brass was an option. I mainly want something that is easier to see than the red ramp. How much brighter can the gold bead be? Based on my experience shining brass in the military, I would expect some difference as the brass tarnishes, but not so much with polished brass. Then again, I've never directly compared the luster of gold and brass ... If gold is obviously brighter than brass in a variety of light conditions and an argument could be made that brass is not (always) bright enough), then it might be worth the difference in price. But if they are very close in performance overall, a 400% price difference is hard to justify.

I think it's just a case of brass will tarnish while gold will not.

I always just assumed that what was called a "gold bead" was really brass. I never thought it was made from real gold. I thought it referred to the color, not the material.

__________________
~ S&W aficionado in training ~

I think some (maybe majority?) are brass. And not to hijack but IIRC, SDM's are 14C plated though. A few guys around here were this week planning on trying to make some GB from 14C scrap using the lost wax method to be used on FO type fronts that are found on the new Colt Competition Series guns to see how it turned out.

Is there a preferred method for polishing the brass beads? I would guess an occasional swipe with Nevr-Dull would do the trick, but maybe that's hard on the black sight blade.

SDM sells gold bead front sight replacements and they use real gold beads. Google is your friend. Frank

Yep, saw that at Brownells. But it's over double the cost too at $55 on the SDM website and a little more than that at Brownells. Plus, it's a little taller too at .250 instead of .227 for the S&W sight. It is a nice looking sight and the gold bead does look brighter in the pictures of it versus the one I ordered from Brownells.

Makes me curious to see whether the sight that came on my "Outnumbered" 27-5 is brass or gold in actuality. I assumed it's a brass bead, but I've never had any problems with tarnishing at all in the 2 years I've owned the pistol.

Those sights were some of the first I found online, and are the same blade height as the red ramp installed on my 629, so in theory I wouldn't have to adjust the rear sight. But I'm still trying to assess whether the difference in visibility is negligible or worth the price difference. I put my order of the brass bead on hold until I sort it out. Hopefully someone will come along who has experience with both metals.

Apparently, my cancellation was trumped by S&W's automated order process and I received the brass/gold bead sight a few days ago. I decided I could live with it, but then noticed that it leans to the left. A call to S&W for an exchange and a clarification of the charges turned into my worst customer service experience ever, which I explain in this other thread: worst customer service ever. I wonder if anyone else has ever had a similar experience with S&W?

That is just terrible, SeamasterSig. Makes me glad I ordered from Brownell's instead of directly from S&W. Mine came in before I got back from my hitch at work in Midland Tx and was waiting for me. The bead itself as well as the blade profile look like the one that came on my "Outnumbered" pistol, even though that pistol uses a pinned sight instead of a spring mounted one like the 629. And it doesn't have a lean to it like the one you got does, SeamasterSig.

I'll be going to the range today to give it a tryout.

Went to the range with my 629 today and I just love the new front sight. For me, it is much easier to see and use than the red ramp sight I had on that pistol. And I see another one going on my new 627 Pro soon as it uses the same front sight system as my 629.

Hey folks. How about a few pics of before and after shots of your old sight followed by your new bead sight. I'd be interested to see how they look and hear what if any adjustment you had to make to the rear sight.