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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 07-17-2016, 07:04 AM
GreenWenonah GreenWenonah is offline
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Default 442 night sights

I have a new 442-1 with the integral front blade and the barely there rear site. My other fighting guns have XS BigDot express sights on them which are wicked quick to acquire... a description not commonly used for 442 sights.

I am considering milling out a small oval on the top rear of the frame immediately below the round cutout behind the rear sight. Into this I would set a tritium rod in a white outline at about 45 degrees to the sight plane. This would give me a lollipop site picture day or night. Has anyone done this already? Anyone see a reason not to?
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Old 07-17-2016, 09:37 AM
smitty_bs smitty_bs is offline
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Check out the XS Sight System website. They make front sight big dots for both the pinned j-frame and the milled sight. There are numerous videos out there for replacing the pinned sight, not so much for the milled version and XS recommends having a gunsmith do that. Regardless, the front sight is available and should be easy for an experienced gunsmith to install (but not necessarily cheap).
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Old 07-17-2016, 02:10 PM
GreenWenonah GreenWenonah is offline
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I have the milled front sight and intend to install the XS front sight which should take care of that end and will no doubt speed up sight acquisition. The unusual aspect of my idea is to match the front dot with a vertical line on the back of the frame behind the rear sight so it begins to resemble the XS Rear Express sight.

I realize the proposed location is slightly curved but a little clear resin over the top should let me blend it in nicely while protecting the vial.



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Old 07-17-2016, 03:03 PM
Double-O-Dave Double-O-Dave is offline
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Hi GreenWenonah:

Welcome to the Forum. I like the looks and concept of the XS front sight, and I hope to try one out one day. I wonder how much the rear sight is needed at the distances usually found at typical engagement distances of 0-10 yards. Perhaps I'm lucky and the J-frame fits my hand well. I would have to test the concept using 3 different trials:

1. using stock front and rear sights and actually, make a conscious effort to align the front sight in the rear sight notch,

2. using the XS front sight and XS rear sight,

3. using the XS front sight only (tape over XS the rear sight).

After charting your results (time and accuracy), you should be able to make a good decision. Also, I wonder how effective it would be if you installed the rear tritium tube so you end up with a dot on top of the dot arrangement. Thus, the sight picture would look like a figure "8", rather than the "lollipop".

Good luck,

Dave
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Old 07-17-2016, 03:45 PM
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I'm neither a machinist nor a gunsmith, but my main concern with your rear sight idea is how it would affect the strength of the frame. Maybe it won't cause any issues, I don't know. But it'd be something to consider, at least.

I'd suggest trying Double-O-Dave's suggesting by covering up the rear tritium on your existing XS-sighted guns and see if it makes a difference. You may end up not needing or wanting the rear tritium sight on your 442. Just a thought.
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Old 07-21-2016, 01:31 AM
GreenWenonah GreenWenonah is offline
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I'm not particularly worried about the frame strength, other aluminum frame 38's from S&W have a hole in the frame an entire hammer fits through.

I did go out with my son yesterday with a couple of my guns and his... the sights on the 442 were by far the most difficult to pick up, even worse than Grandpa's old Challenger. I'm definitely going to put the big dot on the front and if I decide to do the rear bar I'll take a few pictures and post 'em here.
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Old 07-21-2016, 03:06 AM
wrangler5 wrangler5 is offline
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What will it cost for the sights and installation? I'd compare that against a green laser grip from Crimson Trace, which installs with a screwdriver. The green dot is impossible to miss, even in bright daylight out to at least 20 yards, can get the gun on target before it gets up to eye level, allows precise shot placement even if the gun is NOT brought up to eye level, and can be adjusted to match the particular ammo being used. Does require batteries, but both of my CTs come with a set of free batteries each year for life. Just a thought.
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