Optics

[kelljor]

Just picked up an LCR with the fiberoptic front sights.......love it. Easy for my old eyes to see.
I am thinking of changing a few of my wheelies to fiber front sights....mainly a 60-15 3" and a 66-15 2.75 inch. Probably won't mess with the rears; I have white dots on each side of the blade that suffices. Right now both have ramps that I painted orange.
Is there any special trick to changing the front blades? Or any info?
Also, if I am ordering from Amazon any idea which front blades I should get? The Hi Viz shown on Amazon do not seem to have a hole for the pin. Am I going to need to drill holes in the blade?
Any and all info appreciated, as usual.

 

[Beju]

Usually, you have to drill the front sight pin hole. FWIU, S&W hasn't been super consistent over the years with the pin hole locations on their pinned front sights.

There may be fitting required for the front sight base. I would lean towards making sure that the front sight base fits flush before drilling the pin hole. You can find installation guides as well as videos online.

I've seen both #53 and #54 jeweler drill bits recommended for drilling the front sight. I used the closest metric equivalent since that's what I had on hand. I also modified a worn bit for use as a punch instead of buying one that small.

 

[kelljor]

Just what I wanted to know. Thanks. Probably won't do it then since it requires more work than I am willing to put into it, or pay a gunsmith. Maybe I might look for a brighter color to paint the ramp.

 

[Beju]

I didn't think that it was too big of a deal to drill the replacement XS front sight that S&W sent me for my 642UC, but if one isn't inclined to mess with very tiny parts, I can see not wanting to do it.

But, on the topic of XS sights, they do sell some pre-drilled front sights. I suspect that the newer S&W revolvers (newer as in post-MIM/ILS) have more consistent pin locations that allow XS to do this.

The caveat is that they're XS dot sights, which not everybody loves. I don't particularly like them for target shooting, but I think that they're a pretty good combat sight. My UC snubs took some adjustment since I'm used to either traditional profile irons or red dots, but I was able to hold a 6" group at 25 yards shooting at a ~1 round/sec pace.

The K/L frame version is a fixed front and rear, and again, I think it would be a fine choice for a carry gun so long as you're okay with the limitations of a fixed sight. The J-frame version is a front sight that's sold as for fixed sight models, so I'm not sure if your 60-15's adjustable rear will have enough adjustment for acceptable POA/POI. Both can generally be found cheaper than on the S&W site, but the SAVEW10 code for 10% off may still be active.

Alternatively, if you just want to keep your ramped sights and haven't done this already, many recommend applying a base layer of white paint or primer before applying the orange paint. For durability, you can top it off with clear nail polish top coat. I've heard people also recommend orange nail polish instead of paint, which I think I'll give a try on my Model 10 and 64. They're cheap enough at Walmart.