Need Front Sight Help

[perry72]

I am pretty much a noob when it comes to S&W's. I have owned them before but never really had to do anything to them. I recently purchased a model 66 3" and am in the process of replacing the sights. The front sight is pinned as pictured below. I have been looking at many sights online, but whenever I find what I think is the correct style, the physical dimensions are not the same as the one that came off the gun, and they never seem to have the hole for the pin to go through. I am wanting to go with a simple black sight with a gold bead. I am not looking for any other style right now. I have added pictures and physical dimensions of the old sight to help with identification. I am looking for any help I can get with locating the correct sight for this gun. Thanks in advance!

Perry

Dimensions of old sight blade:

Over all length - .615"
Blade height - .230"
Blade width - .142"

 

[Tyrod]

I could be mistaken, but I believe they sell the sights without the hole expecting you to drill the hole. I'm guessing there is a slight variation in hole location from gun to gun.

 

[Ashlander]

When I ordered a front sight several years ago for one of my semi-autos -- I had to drill the hole so I could set the pin precisely. There are probably better ways to do it but I marked the spot to drill with a sharp needle through the pin hole on each side. Somebody will probably have a better answer -- I am not very handy.

 

[TAROMAN]

Correct. You need a new pin and will need to either drill it or have a 'smith do the job. I have had several changed and choose to let the local smith do it.

 

[Neumann]

The new sight will have a semi-circular tenon (Woodruff key) with a press-fit into the slot on the ramp. Once in place, you need to drill though the old hole and the sight with a #52 drill (please check) and replace the roll pin. There's a lot of end-play in the slot, so the hole must be drilled after replacement. Set the depth to drill only through the sight, and not through the backside of the ramp.

You can order the pin from Smith & Wesson or Brownells. Use a 1/16" brass roll pin punch to replace the pin, or a 0.039" (1mm) replaceable pin punch, also from Brownells to remove it. The closest gold bead sight to the original is a 0.25" height. The 0.30" height is for tapered barrels like a Mountain Gun. It's not a bad idea to replace the rear blade with a u-shaped blade, also from Brownells.

It would be easy to mess this job up. If you aren't 100% confident in your smithing skills, take it to a professional.