Identify a Dovetail

[Jebus35745]

Long story short, need an adjustable rear sight for my 1911 Govt Model. The dovetail measures .530 across the bottom and .110 high. Used a caliper and eyes to measure. One picture the caliper is set to .495 which is a popular dovetail size to show the difference between them. One picture is just the dovetail.

Not sure what sight to buy because of the dovetail size. Searching the internet and not finding a conclusion. Help, Larry

 

[WR Moore]

OK, at least in ye days of olde, the Colt dovetail had 65 degree angles on the dovetail rather than the standard 60 degrees.

I strongly suspect that your slide takes a 0.495 dovetail sight, and that the original was a Novak/Novak clone*. Kensight and LPA sights make adjustable rear sights, but they may require a new front sight too. You might call Novak for some current advice and possibly sights.

* Or, Colt being Colt, they had a sight made with a proprietary dovetail.

 

[Jebus35745]

The dovetail isn’t a a Govt cut, someone gave me a Victory adjustable sight from the old days and it wasn’t close. A Novak Lo Mount dimension is the closest.

I thought the knowledge here that more people would have ideas. Guess I need to choose a sight and call them to see if they have something. I need a front and rear set, prefer the front to be fiber optic. Not gonna shoot bullseye, just have fun with it. It’s a very accurate pistol. Larry

 

[drgbike]

Yea thats a dove tail. {sorry}

 

[WR Moore]

I just reread my post and messed up my proof reading. The cut in your SLIDE appears to be 0.495 in or very, very close. Since you're going for both front & rear sights, give Novak a call to talk about what you want. Sending them the slide and letting them do the fit would probably be easiest.

Check out:

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Handgun Rear Sights Up To 48% Off on 147 Products | Brownells

 

[Jebus35745]

Went to the Berea gun show Saturday and watched tables for sights, didn’t expect to see anything so I left the gun home. Guy had 7 tables with parts, said he had 1911 sights. Went home and returned with the gun. He had one adjustable sight that started in the dovetail but stopped at the curve of the top of the slide. Need to file the slide flat before and after the dovetail but heard the slide is hardened, true? At least I have a starting point now. Larry

 

[WR Moore]

Ok, your slide is heat treated to a specification. It is fileable. The slide is formed by machining heat treated bar stock.

Assuming the tenon on the front sight is correct for your slide, do you have the swaging tool (and instructions) to install the front sight? If not, handing the whole job off to someone who does this sort of thing -competently-for a living may save you a whole lot of trouble. A talented amateur with the right tools would work too.

Having no faith (through experience) with Colt front sight installation, I used to make a very light milling pass on the front sight flat to make sure it was both flat and at right angles to the sides. Make darn sure you need a flat for the rear sight and that what's stopping the sight is the slide top and not the dovetail taper. BTW, Colt sights install from left to right when viewed from the rear of the slide.