659 / 5906 help needed

[Tomahawk674]

Hello, let me explain my situation and maybe some of you can chime in. I own a S&W 659, that for sentimental reasons I will not sell or trade. The gun has a serrated ramp as the front sight, and I can't see it well. I would really like to have a 3 dot sight setup.

From what I can see, the 5906 has a dovetailed front sight with a white dot. It looks to me like you could take the existing 659 and cut it just like the 5906 slide, and fit the 5906 front sight. S&W says they don't have the tooling for it, Novak sounds iffy about doing it and say they don't have S&W specific cutting tools. It's hit and miss. Someone from S&W suggested a 659 slide that already has one; I've found only one, but it laked the rear adjustable sight which I do have on my current gun.

I asked the S&W rep and he said that a 5906 slide should work on the 659 as long as it wasn't from a TSW model. Doing research on this very forum, I found posts saying that such a combo won't work, and I found another post saying it would. From my understanding, different 5906 revisions changed so that those slides may not interchange from one revision to the next. Perhaps then, the first revision slide works on the 659?

I would really appreciate some feedback on the issue. Here are two pictures comparing the 659 and 5906 front sights:

659

5906

 

[bananaman]

If you want to see the front sight, paint the serrations. I do it all the time, so I can see it. My front dot on my 5906 is bright lime green.You can always take it off. I use GOOD quality model paint, or nail polish. Both seem to be durable. Bob

 

[t-bird]

I put some white paint on my 439 front site and it made a huge difference. Give it a try before you change anything on that beautiful 659. Best of luck and hope it works out for you Tomahawk.

 

[jimbo728]

You can use bright whiteout too. It`s temporary and works great. I would leave the nice 659 all original otherwise.
Jim

 

[JohnHL]

Hi, Tomahawk674!

The S&W rep was correct. The 5906 slide will work on your 659. (I've done it many times, myself.)
If you would like to have a slide with 3 dot adjustable sights that will drop on your 659, send me a PM and I can help you.

John