3rd Gen sight replacement

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TriggerHappy1

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Hey guys. I haven't replaced dovetailed sights myself on any pistol. Do I need a sight pusher tool to remove and replace the Novak white dot front and rear on a S&W 3rd gen, or can I just tap them out? Can Trijicon put Tritium lamps in the original Novak white dot sights, or must the original sights be night sights in order to have new lamps installed? If I have the white dots replaced or relamped by Trijicon, should I send them just the original white dots, or send the entire slide? Lastly, are Trijicon Tritium sights the best option for 3rd Gen replacement sights? What about TruGlo or others? Thanks.
 
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1) I only used a sight pusher, don't like beating on things. Others will certainly differ.
2) No one I know of will convert non night sights.
3) Yes, Trijicon can install our replacement sights on weapons listed in our price sheet. If your handgun is a Semi-automatic you only need to send in the slide. Only the frame needs to be sent for Revolvers. Please call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-338-0563 for shipping instructions and pricing information or submit a Return Authorization Request
 
In the last several months I have had Trijicon relamp my factory Novak (burnt out) night sights on my 4567 and 4563CQB. This is a great service.

I sent them my slides and the cost was $57 for each (x2). You need to follow the return directions on there website for return authorization.

I will be sending my 5906 TSW slide soon as the factory NS went dim long ago. I really like the current offering because they install a nice white outline around night sights which work really well for day use.
 
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Highly recommend using a sight pusher... sometimes even when using them, it takes a lot of effort on 3rd gen rear sights to motivate them to nudge, and wimpy sight pushers will not pass muster. I can attest to it's robustness from personal experience and give a shameless plug for the sight pusher EPJ makes.

As for the other brands of night sights, I only have experience with a Meprosight for a Remington 1100 slug barrel, and I was not impressed with it due to the size of the vials, they're so small that it wasn't worth the cost or effort to switch out the factory sights.

I have a set of Warren Tactical night sights on my M&P, but those are lamped by Trijicon.
 
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This thread happened at just the right time for me. I just bought a 411 that has night sights but they are very dim after 20 years. I intend to use this weapon as my truck and occasional carry gun so refreshing the lamps in it is what I need to do.

Digiroc
 
Tooltech out of Oxford MI has relamped a couple of guns for me, I just sent them the slide and it was cheaper than a new set of sights. I only chose to relamp the front so it was the brighter one. I also found the Warren Tactical rear works better for me than a Novak. Their model for the S&W 1911's will work on a 3rd gen although some are loose and need shim or a divot in the slide to secure the set screw.
 
03Fatboy said:
In the last several months I have had Trijicon relamp my factory Novak (burnt out) night sights on my 4567 and 4563CQB. This is a great service.

I sent them my slides and the cost was $57 for each (x2). You need to follow the return directions on there website for return authorization.

I will be sending my 5906 TSW slide soon as the factory NS went dim long ago. I really like the current offering because they install a nice white outline around night sights which work really well for day use.
Click to expand...
You have a 4567? I'm kinda jealous.
 
I think Trijicon offers the best night sights for S&W 3rd Gens, as they have a variety of sights specifically made for the different 3rd Gen models. Accuracy is good, fit is excellent, and they also offer to re-lamp their sights when the glow runs out.

I also like the XS Sight Systems 24/7 night sights which are 'dot the I' style sights. These offer a good sight picture for fast, simple target acquisition, and are accurate enough for defensive shooting purposes. They offer different models for different 3rd Gens as well, but I have found that the fit in the slide dovetail is a bit looser than Trijicons. With these sights, it is recommended by XS to tap the sights in, and not to use a sight pusher with them.

If you do decide to install your own sights, there's always the chance that something will go wrong, and it may wind up costing you the sight (or damaging your gun). For this reason many people find that it's just easier to have a professional do it instead, especially if it's only 1 or 2 sights that they need installed. I've wasted 2 front sights and one of EPJ's sight pusher's learning to do this myself. :o

Personally, I tap in all of my sights these days with a plastic/wooden/brass dowel, often using a 50 oz deadblow hammer (gently). The main danger with this method is that you may hit the sight so hard that the Tritium vial gets damaged, so start gently and work up from there (though Trijicons are pretty tough IME) . On some sight models, it's also easy to slip and knock the front sight post off the base.
 
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epj said:
Curious as to what problem you had with my sight pusher. I've changed an awful lot of gen 3 sights and never had an issue. Which model was it?
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It was a model 910 Value Line front sight, which has a very wide & thin sight base. I was not removing any material from the sight bases before installation at this point, and this one got stuck around 1/2-3/4 of the way in, and it jammed hard. I partially stripped the threading on the front sight holes of the pusher in my attempts to get it moving either way, now it's dead in the water.

In my frustration, I finally (and emotionally) tried to hammer the sight back out of the dovetail with a brass rod, and it slipped and knocked off the front sight post. :rolleyes:

All-in-all, it was an excellent opportunity for me to learn some hard lessons about self-sight installation, though a bitter pill to swallow at the time. I did manage to use your sight pusher to install sights on 1 or 2 other guns before breaking it, so I do feel that I got my moneys worth out of it.
 
epj said:
If you want to send it back to me, I can probably repair it. Which model is it?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't remember the model designation, but IIRC it was purchased around 4-5 years ago. Very nice of you to offer to fix it as well, if I can locate the box I put it in back then I'll get in touch.

Like I said though, I did get some use out of it and take full responsibility for breaking it due to my own ignorance. The way I look at it, it cost me about as much as having a gunsmith install a few sets of sights, but this way I got to learn a few things about doing it myself. :)
 
Sounds like you have one of the old Mk ll models. The Mk lll which has replaced it is much stronger and eliminates most of the Mk ll issues. Send it to me and if I can, I'll upgrade it to at least some of the Mk lll features.
 
I'll take a look through my chaotic collection of unorganized boxes this week and see if I can find where I put that pusher. The only parts I can find now are those 2 flat rubber pieces, which I use for all kinds of things. :)
 
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