Replacing M&P sights

[GojuBrian]

I do like the sights that came with my M&P 9c, but I'd like to change them for something I feel is better, fiber optic night sights.
It has become my EDC gun and I want sights that are highly visible in the unlikely event that I would have to use it.
Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.

 

[Imshootin]

Truglo TFO's should fit the bill nicely. Just shop around. They can be found a whole lot cheaper than MSRP.
Products and Services | TRUGLO, Inc.

 

[GojuBrian]

Thank you very much! Exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[Thiokol]

You'll love the Tru Glo TFO's. I put them on my M&P9 recently. Here's what they look like on the pistol:

 

[Rangel]

I agree totally. I have the three green dot TRUGLO TFOs on my Springfield 4.5' XDm in 45ACP and really, really like them and then with my S&W M&P 40c, I ordered that one with TRUGLO TFOs, but with green TFO in the front and two yellow TFO dots in the back. I wasn't able to find any set up like that locally, so I went against what's typically the best advice, by my 'buying before spying', even though I knew from working in the field of vision and optics, that green's the spectrum the eye sees best. Dumb move.

Most places charge about $5 0r $10 more for the green & yellow combo, but I paid $76 and had a S&W certified armor who worked for the company, put them on for free, as I bought the gun and sights there new for $439--total, w/ free shipping & no tax or credit card 'uptick' and it was $515 total--not too shabby and I think that's there everyday price unless suppliers go up on them.


A small part of it is that obviously on the much bigger 45, the sights are higher profile and 'stand out, actually 'up' a bit more, but in the end, the size of the DOTS is what's most important in these two cases, the sizes are the same--and I can readily see how green is better--more readibly visible--instead of mentally 'matching the colors and aligning' with green & yellow, I am basacially just aligning three green dots that match.

Next time, whether it's a laser or sights, I'm going (staying) green.

No, the green with yellows isn't bad--it's still better than my Tritium Trijicon, Sig Sites, or Mepros for sure--the dots just are a bit bigger and brighter--they're 'just right'--not overdone a bit. My eyes aren't so great anymore, but my 14 and 20 y/o sons agree also.

There are some other sights I understand that are very similar to TRUGLO TFO's, but from what I gather, they're more for guns that aren't at all common, where TRUGLOs either don't fit or might not have the 'look' some guys will pay anything for--it's not that they're any better-the ones I saw just looked 'snazzier' and were going on a tricked out STI frame, custom 'one off' 45 pistol and a couple very tricked out tactical rifles.

I guess for the next 15 minutes anyway, (about as long as anything stays 'state of the art' anymore--lol) the T.G. TFO's are as good as they're able to make.

 

[PATRONE]

I decided on the TFOs the second day I owned my M&P.40c. Why? The front sight dot popped out.

 

[Thiokol]

I decided on the TFOs the second day I owned my M&P.40c. Why? The front sight dot popped out.

The very same thing happened to me in the first 50 rounds through the gun.

 

[zercool]

Is there a trick to getting the TFOs in (and the old front blade out)? I don't have a sight press and I'm a little leery of hammering any harder than I have on the TFOs (or the front blade that's still in).

 

[Thiokol]

Is there a trick to getting the TFOs in (and the old front blade out)? I don't have a sight press and I'm a little leery of hammering any harder than I have on the TFOs (or the front blade that's still in).

I had the gunsmith at the shop where I bought the sights install them just to be sure that they were installed properly. I wouldn't have attempted to do it myself.

 

[shooter7]

The very same thing happened to me in the first 50 rounds through the gun.

My rear two white dots popped out, with just the gun sitting. What's up with that? I thought they were painted on, but if they were, they came off in one piece.

 

[Rangel]

As mentioned previously, I just got a 40c with another TruGlo TFO set up. I wish I had stayed with the three green dot set up--Against my better judgment and advice I give others, went instead with 'one green up front, two yellow dots in the back'. I just wanted to try something a bit different and it is that for me. It's still pretty darn nice---I'm not paying to ship it back so I can pay another $76 for all green, but the 'three green' set up's just a little nicer on my eyes--they 'pick up' faster.

If you decide you want to go with TruGlo TFO's, remember to read the cleaning instructions and to avoid exposing them to solvents. And remember--they're more fragile than mere fiber optics and a whole lot more than metal. You knock a TFO half way hard and it'll lose that radioactive trition gas in there and you'll suddenly have a very 'blah' sight.

If you're going to ship it, I'd recommend taking anything else out of the guncase but the gun whenever possible, so nothing can rattle around, or really make sure everything is VERY 'tacked down'. I've had it happen and lost a front sight that still had a good ten years of 'night life' left in it before the accident and it was mailed, with all the orginal contents, in its S&W box

I always keep my original sights after they put new ones on. If you don't ask, some outfits will keep them. I am hoping that unlike how some M&P front sights have been known to 'fly off' as mentioned above and in many other threads--forums (weird, considering how it's such a well put together gun all the way around) that the S&W armorer did a good enough job so that won't happen with the TFOs, but it's nice to have the orginals if you decide to sell the gun or need them down the road.

In the meantime, S&W really needs to literally 'tighten up' on this ongoing 'sights flying off' problem. I'd think they'd find it embarassing to say the least and if I was a city manager looking to outfit a police force with new sidearms, it would very possibly cause me to look elsewhere if I was aware of this ongoing problem.

 

[whslngwings]

I have a M&P40c that I bought in March and I also am without the front white dot. I'm going to put night sights on it, but not sure which ones. Has anyone had the Novak sights put on?

 

[Wee Hooker]

I've gone to the green TFO's on both my M&P9c and M&P45 fs. LOVE THEM! Glow brighter than many other brands at night and 4x better sight picture in dim/bright daylight.
Sights do take some fitting to get them on. Along with ALLOT of UMPH with a hammer /tools. I broke my sight press on the second TFO job ( F*$&$GN FRONT SIGHT!!) and had to revert to a punch to finish.

Tips:
Some places on the net will install them for free/cheap if you buy from them. Consider it $10-$20 well spent if you can get them installed profesionally for that figure. Pounding on your beloved slide for 1/2 hr can be nerve racking.
Beyond that here is what my research found and experience confirmed:

Punchs: Steel punch's seem to work way better than brass or aluminum which deform/absorb energy.
Round faced punch's don't work well either. I made a custom fit 1/2 round punch with the flat near the full width of the front sight channel buy grinding a cheap 1/4" D steel punch. You need to put force on the whole base of the sight. I cover the tip with tape to prevent maring of the sight.

Location: A Vernier Caliper helps here. Measure location of the front and rear sights with a caliper before you move the sight off. This will tell you where the new sights should rest and avoid need of re-adjustment. Both front and rear sights get removed to the rigth side as you look down the gun.(!!) New sights go on from the same side.

Fitting: Replacement sights are usually a bit oversized/thick. Slide their base (bottom side) on a medium stone/fine file to smoothen and thin them. Do a few swipes at a time then fit. Be careful to remove material equally along the entire surface. Side edges of the new sights rarely need touching , just the bottom/overall thickness. ( The caliper can help here too. Check for uniformness as you remove material and compare to the removed sight dimentions.) You know your good when the sight starts 2/3 of the way into the slot before stopping.The front is always the worse case. The rear will fit much easier/with less effort.

Final fitting: Clean everything with solvent. Add No LUBE!
Freeze the new sight for 1/2 hr or so. Meanwhile slowly heat the slide to 120 deg or so in a toaster oven/ hair drier. ( Hot to touch but not blistering/ so you can't touch it.) When ready, quickly put the slide back in a padded vise. (Add just put a smear of blue locktite where the front sight will rest. No locktite needed for rear as it has a lockign screw. ) Now start the sight and tap at sight base only untill it's into place. The temp differential helps quite a bit in easing the fit and getting the new sight into place.( Wipe any excess lock tite off if needed )and let sit overnight.
hth

 

[agksimon]

Final fitting: Clean everything with solvent. Add No LUBE!
Freeze the new sight for 1/2 hr or so. Meanwhile slowly heat the slide to 120 deg or so in a toaster oven/ hair drier. ( Hot to touch but not blistering/ so you can't touch it.) When ready, quickly put the slide back in a padded vise. (Add just put a smear of blue locktite where the front sight will rest. No locktite needed for rear as it has a lockign screw. ) Now start the sight and tap at sight base only untill it's into place. The temp differential helps quite a bit in easing the fit and getting the new sight into place.( Wipe any excess lock tite off if needed )and let sit overnight.
hth

You should remove the striker assembly first, before heating. I personally would also remove the extractor too, as I don't like to heat springs.

 

[Rangel]

I've gone to the green TFO's on both my M&P9c and M&P45 fs. LOVE THEM! Glow brighter than many other brands at night and 4x better sight picture in dim/bright daylight.
Sights do take some fitting to get them on. Along with ALLOT of UMPH with a hammer /tools. I broke my sight press on the second TFO job ( F*$&$GN FRONT SIGHT!!) and had to revert to a punch to finish.

Tips:
Some places on the net will install them for free/cheap if you buy from them. Consider it $10-$20 well spent if you can get them installed profesionally for that figure. Pounding on your beloved slide for 1/2 hr can be nerve racking.
Beyond that here is what my research found and experience confirmed:

Punchs: Steel punch's seem to work way better than brass or aluminum which deform/absorb energy.
Round faced punch's don't work well either. I made a custom fit 1/2 round punch with the flat near the full width of the front sight channel buy grinding a cheap 1/4" D steel punch. You need to put force on the whole base of the sight. I cover the tip with tape to prevent maring of the sight.

Location: A Vernier Caliper helps here. Measure location of the front and rear sights with a caliper before you move the sight off. This will tell you where the new sights should rest and avoid need of re-adjustment. Both front and rear sights get removed to the rigth side as you look down the gun.(!!) New sights go on from the same side.

Fitting: Replacement sights are usually a bit oversized/thick. Slide their base (bottom side) on a medium stone/fine file to smoothen and thin them. Do a few swipes at a time then fit. Be careful to remove material equally along the entire surface. Side edges of the new sights rarely need touching , just the bottom/overall thickness. ( The caliper can help here too. Check for uniformness as you remove material and compare to the removed sight dimentions.) You know your good when the sight starts 2/3 of the way into the slot before stopping.The front is always the worse case. The rear will fit much easier/with less effort.

Final fitting: Clean everything with solvent. Add No LUBE!
Freeze the new sight for 1/2 hr or so. Meanwhile slowly heat the slide to 120 deg or so in a toaster oven/ hair drier. ( Hot to touch but not blistering/ so you can't touch it.) When ready, quickly put the slide back in a padded vise. (Add just put a smear of blue locktite where the front sight will rest. No locktite needed for rear as it has a lockign screw. ) Now start the sight and tap at sight base only untill it's into place. The temp differential helps quite a bit in easing the fit and getting the new sight into place.( Wipe any excess lock tite off if needed )and let sit overnight.
hth

Boys and girls-don't try this at home w/o some SERIOUS adult supervision!---lol

 

[chuck s]

I had Dave Bowie's sights put on my M&P9 when I had the trigger work done. Rear sight has to come off anyway. This was a couple of years ago before the wonderful Apex products were on the market and I had to sent the whole pistol to the gunsmith.

With the Apex parts so universally accepted and recommended just follow their instructions, install the trigger/sear kits, and put the tritium sights on in lieu of the factory sights.

I'll bet Randy Lee has a video on the process.

-- Chuck

 

[tigerdvr]

+1 on TruGlo yellow/green. If you are LEO, check the factory direct option.

 

[LeadReign]

Blacked out rear and Green TFO on front.

 

[g_conway]

Just did my M&P 40 sight tonight (as well as DCAEK, RAM, and Mag Saftey removal.) Gun has 100 rnds through it. Sights came off with no real issues (no sight press, just drift and hammer.) Getting the new TruGlo front on was a real pain but patience won out.
rY fG and I am very happy with that.