Did Frank Pachmayr modify all these sights?

[Modified]

Update:

I felt like maybe saying Frank Pachmayr might just poison the well on opinions, but the trend has seemed to be the same shop did the work.

Does this change anything for anyone?



I have some guns that were modified a long time ago, and I am trying to sort out who did it.

I found a picture of a modified sight, and while it is on a colt I'll be damned if it doesn't look like the spitting image of my sights.

I wanted some third party, maybe more objective opinions, if you guys don't mind.

I have other documentary reasons to believe that the same smith did the three sights above, but I'd really just like opinions on the similarity before I divulge the rest of my reasoning.

So what do you guys think. Same jobber do all 3 sights?

 

[younggun22]

Sure looks like the same smith did all three of your guns but the Colt above has a serrated top strap as well

 

[Modified]

Sure looks like the same smith did all three of your guns but the Colt above has a serrated top strap as well

Yeah, the smith did the hammer on that colt too.

I'm becoming more aware of what this particular gunsmith did to revolvers, and if he is the one that did my sights I'd be pretty dang happy. Curious if anyone else will weigh in for me.

 

[daddio202]

Sure do look similar. I like the third the best because the notch is not as big in leaf as the first 2 are but other than that they are the same. I sure wish all of my very old S&W revolvers which only have the dimple dug out for a rear sight had such treatment. Would make it easier to line up and shoot accurately.

 

[Modified]

Yeah, he did a treatment to the front sight too, makes for a rather nice set of sights.

Neat guns, but the mystery of them has had me scouring old gun magazines and books to try to sort out who might have done the work. After finding this I feel like I might finally be in the home stretch on this.

 

[younggun22]

So who is it?!?!

 

[Modified]

So who is it?!?!

I'd like more opinions before I say because I think that the name may skew the opinions. I'm worried it's skewing mine.

I'd like to hear from some of the fine people on this forum what they think the similarity is. I respect the opinions here, and I think folks will tell me what they really think if I ask.

 

[paplinker]

How is the rear blade held into place?

Also what is your opinion of the blades construction? Is it thicker than a factory one?

Lastly Are these guns reblued? If not how does it appear the work was blued to cover the grooves and blade?

Being such an old finish it seems it would hard to duplicate in the post war ear.

 

[Modified]

How is the rear blade held into place?

Also what is your opinion of the blades construction? Is it thicker than a factory one?

Lastly Are these guns reblued? If not how does it appear the work was blued to cover the grooves and blade?

Being such an old finish it seems it would hard to duplicate in the post war ear.

Much thicker, it's not like what King did with such guns where they just took a blade from an adjustable sight gun and drifted it in. This is a much beefier piece of metal made to purpose.

I assume they have to be reblued, given that the bluing on the added sights matches the rest of the gun.

They appear to be maybe drifted in? An extra piece of metal inserted somehow, it's so precise and fine it almost looks original to the gun, with just a little bit of maybe polishing around the area to give it away:

 

[flagman1776]

I wonder if it wasn't a "rule beater" for fixed sight matches?

 

[RKmesa]

Sure looks like the same smith did all three of your guns but the Colt above has a serrated top strap as well

I agree. Regardless who did them, that little 2" M&P pegs the cool meter.

 

[Green Frog]

Is it possible that these were built for Bisley style competition? IIRC, the rules there allowed a blade type rear sight, but not what we would consider an adjustable. I've actually seen pictures of this style more often on Colt SAAs, but that's definitely the style that comes to mind when I see your pix.

Froggie

 

[Jim Watson]

I don't know who did them then, but with all the customized police trade-ins being shown, we sure need somebody to do them now.

 

[Modified]

Is it possible that these were built for Bisley style competition? IIRC, the rules there allowed a blade type rear sight, but not what we would consider an adjustable. I've actually seen pictures of this style more often on Colt SAAs, but that's definitely the style that comes to mind when I see your pix.

Froggie

I think so yes. In addition to these two guns I have a 1917 (clearly done by someone else) and another M&P with a target hammer, which upon close inspection is also different from these two. I'm certain that 3 different smiths did these jobs. But all similar in that they are done in this same style.

Additionally, I have a King gun with one of their versions of this treatment, done for a police gun. A 'half target' with just the front sight done (for a policeman in the service dept according to the SWHF), and a Triple Lock with a similar treatment (also letters to having been done at the service dept). All three of these guns clearly fall into the same class as the other guns in that they are still fixed sight, but the sights are now much much better.

In the case of the 2" Pre-Post War M&P I believe that despite the more competition style sights that the gun was actually more like these 3 guns: sights upgraded for someone who liked the guns but needed better sights that couldn't get knocked around.

I can go through and put them all in this thread if you guys like, but I would like some more opinions on the similarity of the sights before I reveal the smith and do that.

 

[Modified]

I don't know who did them then, but with all the customized police trade-ins being shown, we sure need somebody to do them now.

Well, if you think that the picture is exactly the same as my guns then I think we know who the smith was, I'm really just trying to solicit opinions on what people think of the similarities.

Edit: I just added a poll to make it easier...I should have done that in the first place!

 

[Modified]

So who is it?!?!

 

[Tom K]

Sure looks like the same smith did all three of your guns but the Colt above has a serrated top strap as well

My Official Police revolvers (.38, .32-20 and .22) all have a serrated top strap, so I'm sure it's that way from the factory.

Yes, I'd say the sight work was all done by the same gunsmith and from the brochure that Sixgun provided it certainly looks like Pachmayr.

 

[nyeti]

I am the new owner of the 2" gun. I can just about guarantee these were done at Frank Pachmayr's shop and were likely LAPD Guns. I have a Frank Pachmayr built LAPD Reg. Mag (#40 and likely the first shipped to SoCal). He did a lot of work for the gun folks at LAPD as his shop was in downtown LA. There were cash incentives to shooting the Bonus Course and higher scores. While most of the plainclothes Detectives would qualify with their 6" Target Guns and then carry a snub, the squared away gun guys and ladies (I would not be surprised if this was a female officers gun) would shoot their carry gun and these sights would have been a huge advantage. The fact that the 6" was actually shipped to Mershon that was bought by Pachmayr and the snub to Los Angeles really anchors them as Pachmayr guns.

 

[dnater]

I have a 1940 vintage Colt OP with the same sight treatment.