Update. Installing night sights without pusher tool.

[chief38]

Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. In general, hitting Tritium filled glass vial insert sights with any impact tool is not a great idea IMHO. I have installed many many plain dovetailed metallic sights with a hammer and punch, but personally I use a good sight pusher with glass vile sights.

I only have a home made sight pusher which works with some sights - and sometimes I need to borrow a friends professional model which is more versatile than my home made job. To me, it's better to err on the side of caution when playing with Tritium sights - just my own opinion of course.

 

[tlawler]

A little thread drift here…

I've always had a trusted gunsmith do them, but starting at $50 a pop to have them changed, I too have thought of getting a sight pusher tool. With the general consensus here to use a proper sight tool over the hammer and punch method, which one do you guys recommend?

 

[chief38]

As time goes, LGS's (qualified ones) become more scarce, less talented, more expensive and wait times get longer and longer. I believe it's past the time for people to become more self sufficient - especially when it comes to simple tasks like replacing a sight. Buy the tool once - have it for ever.

I have a bunch of close friends and we all do our own work and we will routinely each buy a specific tool. For instance, I will buy an M1 Carbine "Bolt Tool" to replace extractors, someone else will buy a sight pusher, someone else buys a staking tool, a Reamer, etc. etc. We borrow whatever tool we need and because they all stay within our small group they never get misused. Works for us - just throwing this idea out.

 

[kbm6893]

If you're buying Trijicon and don't need the gun right away, send it to them and they'll install them free. Same with Glock. I sent my Gen 2 Glock in to Glock on 12/20. They got the gun on 12/22 and called me that same day. They replaced all the internals for free and replaced the night sights. Only charged me for the new sights and I had the gun back in my hand on 12/24.

 

[Gamecock]

The difference between a professional gunsmith and an amateur is the pro will whack the **** out of the sight.

Amateurs are quite timid.

 

[WR Moore]

There's a lot of folks who'd be horrified if they knew all the things certified armorers were trained to do to revolvers with the babbitt bar in the tool kit.

FWIW, when I tried to remove the front sight from a spare slide, it flat wasn't gonna move. After soaking the dovetail in Kroil for a while, it slid right out without much effort.

 

[epj]

I do use a punch, but not with a hammer but rather with a machinist's vice.
Brace the slide on one jaw (hold it with a C-clamp and pad for bonus points) and use the other jaw to slowly push the sight over.

You just manufactured a sight pusher.

 

[Will41]

I take mine to a gunsmith that has been 100% with many guns for me. He uses a punch. Is this where I LOL...? Sorry, followed none of your rules, but still informative I hope.

Where at in Ohio? I was thinking about taking mine to a gunsmith for sights and the Apex Aluminum trigger kit but it is very difficult to find one. I work all over Ohio, so hopefully its in one of my areas.

 

[Racer X]

There's a lot of folks who'd be horrified if they knew all the things certified armorers were trained to do to revolvers with the babbitt bar in the tool kit.

FWIW, when I tried to remove the front sight from a spare slide, it flat wasn't gonna move. After soaking the dovetail in Kroil for a while, it slid right out without much effort.

You should see an orthopedic surgeon work. It is TERRIFYING.