Best way to put night sight on a 640-1?

[WFR]

My father-in-law has a 640-1 that he really likes!
Now he wants a front night sight like the XS sights pictured in this link:
New Products 2010
If he orders it directly from them how difficult is it to have installed correctly?
Thanks in advance!
WFR

 

[cass]

I would expect my gunsmith to charge about one hrs time. So, $60 for the part, another $50 for labor. I really don't see an advantage considering it's a 640-1, plus, it looks like the front sight might snag. Just my 2cents.

 

[Iggy]

I have been thinking about doing the same thing.

From what I have gleaned from others who have done it,

Drive out the pin holding the front sight in place.

See if the part of the new sight that is inserted in the barrel fits.

Fit if needed. Using the existing hole in the barrel, drill part way through the sight from one side, complete hole from other side to make sure hole lines up properly.

Locktite pin and insert.

That said, I don't have the tools or skill to do it myself, fencing pliers tend to limit one's capabilities, but that is what is involved.

 

[sar4937]

From what I understand, the XS bigdot sight is large enough that the rear sight needs to be widened.

 

[WFR]

From what I understand, the XS bigdot sight is large enough that the rear sight needs to be widened.

I wonder if you could purchase the front sight, send it to S&W with instructions to put it on front and have them widen out the rear notch appropriately.
They do the Nightguard Series with the Big Dots so I wonder if they would do it.
May have to call tomorrow.

 

[sar4937]

I'm not sure in really dark use that a night sight front sight only is a usable set-up. You need the rear night sight as a reference point. Maybe lasergrips would be a better investment.

 

[luangtom]

The XS sight is what comes on the M&P340 revolvers. They are not the large-size dot. They are the regular-size dot with white-outline. The regular-size works well and a gun-smith can install it in ten-minutes. Drive out the old pin, fit the sight, drill from one side half-way, the other and put in the new pin. You are good to go.

 

[Marshal Tom]

Since the factory puts them on the M&P 340 anyway, I do not see why you could not contact customer service and see if you could just ship the gun to the factory and have them install the site for you. I am sure that this is done all the time.

 

[LOBO]

I installed the XS night sight on my 640-1 myself. It's not hard. You just need to take your time with the install. Be especially careful when drilling the hole in the XS sight. Drill from both sides of the sight to make the hole for the retaining pin. You'll do this with the sight in place, drilling through the retaining pin hole. You may have to remove some material from the sight to make it fit correctly, but it shouldn't be much if any.

 

[Beachcomber]

I wonder if you could purchase the front sight, send it to S&W with instructions to put it on front and have them widen out the rear notch appropriately.
They do the Nightguard Series with the Big Dots so I wonder if they would do it.
May have to call tomorrow.

I did just that a year ago and the gunsmith at S&W said they would mount the front sight, but would not widen the rear sight. I was never told why, but I suspect it may be to prevent a liability issue???

I will say the work that S&W did do on my S&W 640-1 was excellent and I would not hesitate to send another revolver to them.

 

[jkc]

My smith charged about an hour's shop labor --- no need to ship to S&W --- it's a simple enough job if you have the right tools, but since I am limited to turners, squeezers, and pounders, I'm happy to pay somebody to do it right. There's no real need to widen the rear notch, which is pretty primitve to begin with --- you just use it to index the Big Dot front. It's amply accurate for 640 ranges.