619 Front Sight Way Too Tall

[luckyM13]

It's .095" too tall, all ammo 125gr Special to 180gr Buffalo Bore Magnum have a mean center of 7" low at 15yds. I'm doing well with a paint scheme, essentially putting the black rectangle on anticipated point of impact, but it's a lot to concentrate on. I don't know how to take it down to the appropriate height, and make it look decent, without increasing the slope on the ramp. Be nice to remove it, take the .095" from the bottom and reattach lol.
Any suggestions?

 

[Yendor357]

Lucky, this is an option that has worked well for me in the past.

Nice flat smooth surface, like a mirror or a counter top. But if you use a counter top, put a piece of paper under the rear sight so you don’t scratch up your counter top.

It’s pretty easy to keep the gun perpendicular, so your front sight will be nice and square.

Use good, high quality medium grit sandpaper.

If you have a dial calipers, that helps. You seem to know how much needs to come off. I’d take half that amount off, then go shoot it. This could be done at the range, I would think.

I’ve never done one with a serrated front sight. I don’t know how that would work out.

 

[luckyM13]

Lucky, this is an option that has worked well for me in the past.

Nice flat smooth surface, like a mirror or a counter top. But if you use a counter top, put a piece of paper under the rear sight so you don’t scratch up your counter top.

It’s pretty easy to keep the gun perpendicular, so your front sight will be nice and square.

Use good, high quality medium grit sandpaper.

If you have a dial calipers, that helps. You seem to know how much needs to come off. I’d take half that amount off, then go shoot it. This could be done at the range, I would think.

I’ve never done one with a serrated front sight. I don’t know how that would work out.

I know how to take it down, I just don't know how to do it without making it look stupid. It's so much that it'll require a lot of contouring. It would be unsightly to just chop it across

 

[Martyk]

You could also just obliterate your intended POI/target with the front sight instead of using a 6 O'clock hold.

 

[luckyM13]

You could also just obliterate your intended POI/target with the front sight instead of using a 6 O'clock hold.

I can't, the top of the sight's in the way to see the intended POI, I gotta use imagination to get any degree of reasonable precision. Not everything is about hitting a man sized target.

 

[Yendor357]

Looks like you have a decision….

Pretty or functional.

My opinion? Form follows function.
I’d take it down. I have guns I don’t shoot because I can’t zero them.
It wasn’t your mistake to start with.
Plus, you’d square off the top of the front sight a bit. Might even look better. This one is serrated all the way to the top. That’s a custom front sight from Karl Sokol. I think it looks good.

I like your orange. How’d you do that? Photoshop?

 

[luckyM13]

Looks like you have a decision….

Pretty or functional.

My opinion? Form follows function.
I’d take it down. I have guns I don’t shoot because I can’t zero them.
It wasn’t your mistake to start with.
Plus, you’d square off the top of the front sight a bit. Might even look better.

Or, look at that one and buy a M66 to use.

I like your orange. How’d you do that? Photoshop?

"How’d you do that?"
Orange nail polish. Once I determined the mean center of all the different ammo I'll shoot through it I applied the sight formula: M = S * D / (R * 12) I then measured, drew a line across the ramp, fired to confirm it was the correct amount and then painted it up. Been rolling with it since. Do you mean square it off in the rear or front (muzzle end)?

 

[Yendor357]

Here’s my old 629 Mountain Gun. It’s serrated to the top. The top of that front sight was squared off flat at the factory. Just beautiful. Smith used to make really nice stuff. That a little bit of pink nail polish.

If you took your front sight down, you’d square the front sight just a bit. I like good square sharp corners on my sights.

*But just a stroke or 2 on the rear is an option to square that up as well.

 

[Yendor357]

Have you looked up the Dawson Sight Calculator?

It’s easier than doing the math! lol

 

[luckyM13]

Have you looked up the Dawson Sight Calculator?

It’s easier than doing the math! lol

Lol, no I'll have to look into that.
I'd love to have it totally chopped and dovetail cut for one of their appropriate height gold beaded fronts. Just wouldn't know how that would all go down it being a two piece barrel and all, thickness of the outer shell

 

[Yendor357]

Well, keep me/us posted, Lucky.

You’ll figure it out.

 

[Rock185]

The front sight appears to be integral with the barrel shroud/shell. Were it mine, I'd mask off the area, mill the .095" flat across the top, or at at a slight angle tapering toward the front if preferred, then bead blast the sight. Once done it would hardly look like anything was done at all.

I have a small hobby type mill and a bead blast cabinet, but taking of the .095" could be done carefully with a file. The bead blast part could be done with sandpaper by gently tapping the sandpaper against the sight's milled or filed surface. Before I got a blast cabinet, I did that once. It actually worked better than I expected...

 

[Thaddeus Beauregard]

Mill or file it down, then with the file and/or stones, radius the transitions at the corners of the flat you created when you milled or filed it down. Then reblue the spot with Oxpho Blue. I've done it many times and you could never tell it didn't come that way from the factory. Just take your time and blend the corners of the flat you cut so it looks good. It's easy.

 

[luckyM13]

The front sight appears to be integral with the barrel shroud/shell. Were it mine, I'd mask off the area, mill the .095" flat across the top, or at at a slight angle tapering toward the front if preferred, then bead blast the sight. Once done it would hardly look like anything was done at all.

I have a small hobby type mill and a bead blast cabinet, but taking of the .095" could be done carefully with a file. The bead blast part could be done with sandpaper by gently tapping the sandpaper against the sight's milled or filed surface. Before I got a blast cabinet, I did that once. It actually worked better than I expected...

 

[luckyM13]

You don't think it would look retarded just lopping it off across? The top would be awful long

 

[Rock185]

If bead blasted, etc. after the raw .095" cut, and blending the front curve of the sight into the new flat top, I don't think it would look bad at all. It seems like a practical way to go, unless the shroud is thick enough to dovetail...

 

[Thaddeus Beauregard]

You don't think it would look retarded just lopping it off across? The top would be awful long View attachment 776579

Not at all! Not to me at least, as I would blend a small radius between the flat and the ramp and then a large radius on the muzzle end of the sight blade so that it makes a graceful curve from the vertical side to the flat, thereby also reducing the width of the flat. I've done this several times. You can draw a curve with a Sharpie and follow with an abrasive tool attached to a Dremel to rough out the radius and save some time if you are very careful not to let it slip. Then finish with a fine file or stone to refine the shape and make it smooth. Then clean thoroughly, heat up the surface with a hot blow dryer and brush on some cold blue and it will look like it came from the factory.

Another option is to cut straight down from the corner of your flat and make a square or slightly inward angled shoulder to form a Patridge sight (basically eliminating most of the ramp). That would look really cool! If you have a steady hand of course...

 

[Thaddeus Beauregard]

Or, you could shape it to look something like this:

 

[Yendor357]

Lucky, once you start punching the center out of those targets, you’ll think that’s the prettiest front sight ever.

I know this isn’t the same thing, but look how long this blade is.

 

[luckyM13]

Lucky, once you start punching the center out of those targets, you’ll think that’s the prettiest front sight ever.

I know this isn’t the same thing, but look how long this blade is.

I could live with that, I'll have to cut down the ramp. It'll cut a little leather for a bit