Wheeler Engineering Armorer's Front and Rear Handgun Sight Tool - for Shield?

Dennismn · Sep 23, 2017

Hey ya'll,

Considering purchasing this sight tool to use on a 9 mm shield to install night sights.

Any freed back?

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5phKttc8cM[/ame]

Would also use it for a few other upgrades.

ontargetagain · Sep 23, 2017

That is darn fancy to do a simple job. I wouldn't want to push on the blade like they show on front sight, I would want to push at lowest point on the sliding dovetail so it does not bind in the slot.

Shield sights are a little different, I successfully use a JMT sight pusher for $68, made by one of our forum members and they offer special Shield sight pushers for the tool also which I used.

I just kind of think there is a lot of extra stuff on this Wheeler that you don't need.......and again you want to push at the base of a sight not the top of a sight to move it.
Karl

Tom S. · Sep 24, 2017

ontargetagain said:
That is darn fancy to do a simple job. I wouldn't want to push on the blade like they show on front sight, I would want to push at lowest point on the sliding dovetail so it does not bind in the slot.

Shield sights are a little different, I successfully use a JMT sight pusher for $68, made by one of our forum members and they offer special Shield sight pushers for the tool also which I used.

I just kind of think there is a lot of extra stuff on this Wheeler that you don't need.......and again you want to push at the base of a sight not the top of a sight to move it.
Karl

I tend to agree, but I have seen some front sights, especially on 1911's that the base is just so small and tapered to boot, that it's very difficult to try and push against without risking damaging the slide surface.

This tool looks complicated, but for a 'one size fits all', it's one of the cleanest and well made designs I've seen. The price isn't outrageous for the amount of work that went into manufacturing and design either. The only semi negative comment I can think of would be whether Wheeler would be willing to provide extra pushers the end user could customize should the need arise. Wheeler makes top notch products.

epj · Sep 24, 2017

Nice looking tool. That said, I designed and manufacture the JMT line of sight pushers. My base tool, with some additional options that costs less than $100, pushes at the base of the sight where it needs to. Many of the sliding bar design tend to pull rather than push. If they don't pull at the very base of the sight, a "lifting" moment is created and that is not what you want. The M&P front dovetail is quite narrow compared to a Novak sight. I now have a dedicated push pin for this size sight.

My curiosity got the better of me and I googled the tool. Cabelas sells it for $190. Midway has it for $170. That's better than the similar looking tool from MGW which carries a $380 price tag. I would question the size of the blade that contacts the sight and whether it would be too large for some sights, especially front ones. Also, can't really tell if it could be used with these new designs that have angled slides. Probably a perfectly good tool, but I'm not able to tell from the pictures if it is actually as universal as is claimed.

lefty_jake · Sep 24, 2017

On my Ruger SR1911 the front sight blade broke off while I was shooting. The dovetail piece remained firmly in place and was actually pretty tight and difficult to remove. I was very surprised when this failure occurred, but when I googled about it, I found that it was a well known failure. Apparently, Ruger had a large batch of defective quality sights for the SR1911. Anyone who wants more details can google about SR1911 front sight failure for more info, but the short summary is that the issue has been resolved with a redesigned and better made sight.

I do not know whether other sights also have a weak point where blade of the front sight connects to the dovetail base, but the basic design of front sights suggests to me that applying heavy pressure to the blade is not ideal. I always try to apply pressure directly to the dovetail base if that is at all possible.

I have also found that the sights are extremely (and unnecessarily) tight on many popular handguns. The sights on my Shield were not the tightest I have seen, but they were still quite difficult to move using sharp blows to a punch that was held carefully against the dovetail base. If I had to do a lot more of this work, I would look for a sight pusher that would push on the base of the sights.

epj · Sep 24, 2017

The manufacturers make no effort to properly fit the sights prior to installation. They just ram them in with a hydraulic press. Some have almost nothing to push on except the blade on the front sight. Springfield XD is a model that immediately comes to mind. I've broken several. The blade doesn't break off, but rather the dovetail part breaks in half. Fortunately the two parts are pretty easy to get out. Sights need to be an interference fit, but don't need to be any tighter than necessary to stay put.

Tom S. · Sep 24, 2017

OP: might want to look it up on the Amazon website. One of the less favorable reviews (2 **) said it was bought to put night sights on two M&P and one Shield. After doing one M&P, he sent it back and said he'd have a gunsmith do the other two guns.

Personally, I'm somewhat skeptical about some reviews on Amazon, because I know how some people can't screw in a light bulb. I only point it out because of the guns the reviewer was working with.

chief38 · Sep 24, 2017

Dennismn:

The tool is impressive looking, seems to be well built and thought out, and looks like one of the better ones I've seen. That said, unless you are planning to use it often $169 + shipping is pretty high to adjust one pistol sight with.

If you are a Gun Smith or an Armourer than it's a winner, but if you are just doing an ocassional pistol here and there a Nylon punch from Brownell's and a good hammer will do the same for a whole lot less. Remember, once a pistol's sights are properly adjusted, most never touch them again. Just being practical here.

Wheeler Engineering Armorer's Front and Rear Handgun Sight Tool - for Shield?

Dennismn

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ontargetagain

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Tom S.

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epj

US Veteran

lefty_jake

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epj

US Veteran

Tom S.

Moderator

chief38

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