My "Model of 1953", custom front sight made
- Thread starter YeshuaIsa53
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Alk8944
US Veteran
What did you want to know? That isn't a factory sight, source unknown. It looks like a groove was machined into the sight base and a sight pinned in. The sight base is pinned to the rib too.
OP
YeshuaIsa53
Member
Maybe I should change the name of this as "My Model of 1953". Thanks for your explanation.
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Model19man
Member
Seems like it would be better if it were white or some sort of contrasting color to the black rear sight.
He no doubt said "machined" because of familiarity with pre-war (target) front sights, virtually all, if not all were fit into a slot milled in the sight boss-----and could be changed at will in a matter of minutes. That was then, and now is now. Back then, while guns were not made to order as a matter of routine, a noteworthy number were sold direct to individuals, and to quote Jinks as explanation for unusual bits and pieces, "They would do anything anybody would pay them to do." (My collection of targets ran from the beginning (the New Model #3--late 1870's) to the end of the "5 screws" (mid 1950's). Well over 2/3's were pre-war and well over a third of those were shipped to individuals.
Nowadays what you see is what you get. There are no options to speak of, but that doesn't stop folks from messing with their guns to suit their taste; and a lot of that messing is very well done---right up there with "Wow! I sure wish I'd thought of that!"
"Is this a hand-filed front sight-------??" I doubt we'll ever know, but I wouldn't bet against it!
Ralph Tremaine
OP
YeshuaIsa53
Member
Thanks, Alk8944 and Ralph. I have not studied pre-war S&Ws very much at all. Love to see the milled slot without a sight one day. Always learn here when asking about something.
Have one more to picture and share with a normal sight, when I can, to compare. Try to get it taken tomorrow.
Model19man, I hear you. I would never paint it, being used to shooting Model 14 cousins with the black Patridge sights. I like the three night dots on my G17, but would hate it with just one in the middle. Light conditions may change the way I feel.
Guess I'm used to lining up the tops of the two rear sights with the top of the sight on target, with equal spacing in between, to place the top of the hole where I want it at 25'. A color would be great in low light...maybe? That may change as I get older vision than now.
Have one more to picture and share with a normal sight, when I can, to compare. Try to get it taken tomorrow.
Model19man, I hear you. I would never paint it, being used to shooting Model 14 cousins with the black Patridge sights. I like the three night dots on my G17, but would hate it with just one in the middle. Light conditions may change the way I feel.
Guess I'm used to lining up the tops of the two rear sights with the top of the sight on target, with equal spacing in between, to place the top of the hole where I want it at 25'. A color would be great in low light...maybe? That may change as I get older vision than now.
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The "milled slot" is just that, a narrow slot in the base of what appears to be the remains of the forged sight blade on the barrel of a fixed sight gun. The other alteration is a pin hole drilled through the base to accommodate the pin retaining the blade.
There is to be had here on the forum a copy of Bob Neal's 1977 article "The Evolution of Smith & Wesson Target Sights". Therein you will find illustrations of the myriad pre-war front sight blades---26 of them by actual count just now-----and that's not all of them, just those found by Neal and his legion of helpers during their research for the article.
Each and every one of them could be switched back and forth from one model to another in a matter of minutes simply by tapping the retaining pin out far enough to remove the sight blade, replace it with another, and tap the pin back into place. It's not quite as easy as all that unless the pin hole in the replacement blade is in the exact same place as the original. That not being the case, you get a new blade (with no pin hole in it), remove the pin completely, and drill a pin hole in the new blade through the hole in the base---no big deal, just takes a little more time.
"Variety is the spice of life."-------and sights too!!
Ralph Tremaine
There is to be had here on the forum a copy of Bob Neal's 1977 article "The Evolution of Smith & Wesson Target Sights". Therein you will find illustrations of the myriad pre-war front sight blades---26 of them by actual count just now-----and that's not all of them, just those found by Neal and his legion of helpers during their research for the article.
Each and every one of them could be switched back and forth from one model to another in a matter of minutes simply by tapping the retaining pin out far enough to remove the sight blade, replace it with another, and tap the pin back into place. It's not quite as easy as all that unless the pin hole in the replacement blade is in the exact same place as the original. That not being the case, you get a new blade (with no pin hole in it), remove the pin completely, and drill a pin hole in the new blade through the hole in the base---no big deal, just takes a little more time.
"Variety is the spice of life."-------and sights too!!
Ralph Tremaine
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