SW40VE front sight replacement

Ray1970

Ray1970

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Has anyone removed their front sight? If so, what does the slide look like where the sight mounts? Oval-ish or square hole? Anyone have a picture? Thanks!
 
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I have been told that a glock front sight will work..Just have to find the right height
 
I don't think the Glock sights will interchange with the Sigma. I did a search for Sigma adjustable sights and found the Glock sights are not interchangeable.
I could be wrong (not the first time)
Look at a parts schematic for the Glock vs a Sigma.
 
we may soon find out.... I have a fiber optic front sight for a Glock that I want to put on the Sigma.... the factory sight appears to be plastic.... a pair of pliers should take it off.... then I can see what the hole in the slide looks like.... if it isn't a straight bolt-on situation I guess I will have to modify the sight to make it work.... possibly a project for this weekend... if it happens, I will definitely take pictures and post a "how to".
 
Took the first step in my front sight replacement project.... the stock front sight on my SW40VE seems to be 0.190" tall.... I measured the front sight hight for a Glock 19 and it measures 0.160".... that is 0.030" shorter... should raise my point of impact.... not sure how much it will raise my POI.... hopefully not too much.... maybe just right..... step two will be to go pick up a Glock front sight and then remove my front sight and see if I can make the Glock one fit.... I will keep everyone posted on the progress for those who are interested.... will include pics as well.
 
Picked this sight up.... more pictures to come as soon as I start pulling the factory front sight off....

DSCF1626.jpg
 
Do you know how to keep a S&W forum member in suspense? Start a thread like this! I am excited to see the outcome. Especially since I have a couple different front night sights for a Glock sitting in my armors kit.
 
Progress update.... factory front sight removed....

last photo of original sight still on pistol....

DSCF1630.jpg


Since the original sight is "melted" on, there will be no way to save it for re-use.....

DSCF1633.jpg


The only tool necessary for the removal process was a pair of pliers.... any pair will probably do....

DSCF1635.jpg


Sight came off easily... just gave it a little twist and it broke off....

DSCF1636.jpg


As mentioned earlier, there is no re-using the sight after removal...

DSCF1639.jpg


Here is the hole in the slide... will post again soon with details about the hole and the Glock sight for comparison....

DSCF1641.jpg
 
OK... here are the details at this point... the hole in the slide measures 0.192" long by 0.097" wide.... the post on the Glock sight is 0.190" long by 0.115" wide... the conclusion?... the Glock sight is a little too wide to fit into the hole on the slide... my solution is simple- I will file the little post on the sight thinner until it fits the hole on the slide... should be pretty easy... will keep everyone posted as work progresses until my little project is done... may tackle the rear sight next.
 
Excellent !!! Info like this might help alleviate some of the problems of finding sight solutions for the sigma.

Keep us posted.
 
I installed a set of Ameri-glo night sights on my S&W 40F. The sights were old and the company no longer makes them for the Sigma, just Glocks. The front sight removal was no problem - I just turned the slide over and pushed the front sight out with a punch. The rear sight dovetail was cleaned up with a small file and heavily greased with RIG grease prior to installation of the replacement rear sight. The replacement rear sight required a few swipes with a file, and a few whacks with a piece of 2x4 and a mallet. As I recall, the application card for the Ameri-glo showed it would work on the Sigma and the Glock 17 and 19. I'm happy as I got a set of steel sights at an excellent price, and they beat the pants off of the issued POC plastic sights (my rear sight was sliding around in the dovetail under recoil).

Best of luck,

Dave
 
Installation complete... went smoothly... looks good.... pictures and more details to come as soon as camera gets charged back up.
 
Sorry... camera is charged.... I had a wicked stomach virus of some sort and, as always, work got in the way.... will try to get pictures up Friday... hopefully a range report in a week or two with results of the change on my point of impact.
 
OK... pictures of the sight installed.... like I said, the sight is made for a Glock and is 0.030" shorter than the factory sight ( trying to move my point of impact up about six to eight inches ).... all that was required to make the sight fit on the SW40VE was to carefully file the little piece on the bottom of the sight that fits into the hole in the slide until it was just narrow enough to fit the S&W... took me about twenty minutes with a tiny file.... here are some pictures of the final product.... should be easy to mount any Glock sight to your pistol in the same manner... next project may be a rear sight... probably won't have time to get to the range for a report for several more weeks due to my work schedule....

DSCF1651.jpg


DSCF1654.jpg


DSCF1660.jpg
 
I wonder if the M&P rear fiber optic sight would fit. Sort of looks like the same design. Maybe just a little filing would work on that too.
 
That is freakin' awesome, excellent SW9VE mod. I can see that I will need to pick up a F/O front sight and dig out the files.

Is there much play in the sight from front to back? Or does it hold pretty stable?

Not to bring this up now......but I see that Dawson Precision makes a fiber optic front sight (for a Glock) that is .195" tall. That's only a .005" difference from the height of the OEM Sigma front sight. Should produce a pretty similar POA.
 
The sight is solid... no movement at all.... apparently the 0.002 difference between the post on the sight and the hole in the slide doesn't make a difference.
 
Dynamite looking piece of work.
I can't belive sight manufactures haven't noticed that the Sigma is the best selling handgun S&W is making these days.
 
Amen!

In the 3rd year of production of the Kahr CW9, which also has a staked on front sight, two companies are making replacement sights. Trijicon makes night sights and a someone else makes a fiber optic front sight (Williams?). I am betting that there are a LOT more SW9VE's out there than CW9s. Why wouldn't one of these companies want to cash in?
 
Walthernut said:
Ray,
What did you use to secure the front sight? Epoxy?
Click to expand...

no... no epoxy... like most aftermarket sights for the Glock it attaches with a very tiny bolt with a very flat head.... in other words, I just screwed it on.

Sorry.... should have gotten a picture.... will try to do that this weekend.
 
mlk18 said:
Not to bring this up now......but I see that Dawson Precision makes a fiber optic front sight (for a Glock) that is .195" tall. That's only a .005" difference from the height of the OEM Sigma front sight. Should produce a pretty similar POA.
Click to expand...

My 40 was shooting about six to eight inches low at about seven yards... I intentionally wanted a shorter front sight because I want to bring my shots up to where I am aiming.... that was the main purpose of me replacing the front sight in the first place... well, that and just to see if it was feasible to do so.
 
the sight came off very easily... it is just made of plastic.... a two year old could probably pull it off with a pair of pliers.
 
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