I have a 3" model 66 that I am replacing the front sight on. I am not sure what was original to the gun, and this is not a usual gun. I have a Letter of authenticity ordered, but I have not received it yet. I am thinking this thing may be some type of Lew Horton pistol or something. It just has some characteristics that I have never seen on a 3" 66. Anywho, the front sight is pinned, and someone at some point has custom fitted an XS sight to to the front. I have taken this off and am going to install an SDM gold bead sight. Here's the problem. Everything that I can find online about the pin and the hole in the sight ramp that the pin goes into says that the diameter of these is .055 and that you should use a #54 drill bit to drill the hole in the new sight once it has been installed into the groove in the sight ramp. The problem is that the pin that came out of the XS sight and the hole in my sight ramp measures .068. Does anyone know why this is? Did the person that installed the XS drill the hole out bigger, or did S&W use different size pins in different models? Either way I'm going to have to deal with the bigger hole and pin in my sight ramp, I was just curious why this pistol is different than the information that I'm finding online.
Need Some Front Sight Help Please
- Thread starter perry72
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dlbx2
Member
Send it to S&W. I have had them do RR/WO sights on three this year, 2 27-2s and a 28. There is a smith named Vito who is their only man left who will repair vintage front sights. The work that he did for me is perfect.
DLD
DLD
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I'll bet whomever installed that big dot redrilled the hole. Just use a bigger pin and you'll be OK.
haggis
Absent Comrade
Mike's right. The hole is oversized - just use the pin that came with the Big Dot and an 0.068" drill. The installation procedure is the same no matter the pin size.
If you haven't done one of these before, search the forum for instructions. I know I've got one thread on it in here, and there are several other good ones. The main thing is, don't try to drill the hole in the sight mounting tab with the sight not in its block. It's almost impossible to get the holes to line up without using the sight block holes as a template.
Buck
If you haven't done one of these before, search the forum for instructions. I know I've got one thread on it in here, and there are several other good ones. The main thing is, don't try to drill the hole in the sight mounting tab with the sight not in its block. It's almost impossible to get the holes to line up without using the sight block holes as a template.
Buck
