Options for improving an integrated S&W front sight?

[Totem Polar]

Thanks! I’m liking option 1...

Me too.

[mmc45414]

Here is what I had my local gunsmith do to my Model 15. He removed the old sight, cut a Novak dovetail and installed a 1911 sight and cut it to the correct height.

Is that a local guy in Ohio? Did he do the refinishing?
I have this cool old M-19:

That I hardly ever shoot because I can't see the front sight without FO. I would be willing to file a groove, but it will need refinishing.

Another scheme I am tempted to try would be replicating what Wilson and others do for the fixed front sight on the Beretta 92:

And I would be a little bolder to try this myself if I had an option to bail me out if I botched it. Actually, the more I type the bolder I become, what could happen, it has already been altered enough it is not a collectors piece and it just sits in my safe...

[03RN]

Cant be any harder than drilling the beretta front sight i installed a gold bead in.

[BN]

Is that a local guy in Ohio? Did he do the refinishing?

Yes, a local guy. D&D Gun Shop. Yes he did the refinishing, a dab of cold blue. I don't own any fancy guns.

[HeavyDuty]

Cant be any harder than drilling the beretta front sight i installed a gold bead in.

I’m half assed tempted to file or mill the original blade into a Patridge and spot it for a gold bead. But, I’m waaaay out of practice with my Unimat, like decades.

For now, until finances allow a real fix I’ll be going with florescent orange nail polish.

[mmc45414]

Cant be any harder than drilling the beretta front sight i installed a gold bead in.

Yeah, I pretty much have decided I am gonna do this. Am rearranging one of the benches and will be setting up the drill press in a better spot, so it will be a while before I plunge.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[jtcarm]

Other than that, I’ve gone to other brands, namely Ruger, Colt, and Kimber—all of whom are embarrassing S&W with sight upgrades.

I believe all the current production models except some of the J-frames have pinned front sights.

[revchuck38]

Is that a local guy in Ohio? Did he do the refinishing?
I have this cool old M-19:

That I hardly ever shoot because I can't see the front sight without FO. I would be willing to file a groove, but it will need refinishing.

Another scheme I am tempted to try would be replicating what Wilson and others do for the fixed front sight on the Beretta 92:

And I would be a little bolder to try this myself if I had an option to bail me out if I botched it. Actually, the more I type the bolder I become, what could happen, it has already been altered enough it is not a collectors piece and it just sits in my safe...

I have a 19-3 and its front sight is pinned. I had the original front ramp replaced with a Patridge. It's hard to see the pin because the front sights were installed prior to final polishing and bluing.

[mmc45414]

It's hard to see the pin because the front sights were installed prior to final polishing and bluing.

Yes, that is my dilemma, I like the thing the way it is, so I would like to avoid refinishing (and I hate the stink of cold blue, maybe they have changed it?) and really do not what to spend that much more money on it. I also have real stiction for spending half of a project's cost on shipping. So if there was somebody I could drop it off to and pick it up, I might go that route. But if I can do something myself, well then I get to strut around like Church Lady and show them what I did, all on my own, without any professional help. If I ruin it then I just botched up the part that would be machined away by a professional anyway.

I bought one of those cross slide vices that will not be for milling, but will ease the positioning and movement, helping me to hit the center of the sight. And again if I botch it up then I can go the pin or dovetail method...

[HeavyDuty]

I have a 19-3 and its front sight is pinned. I had the original front ramp replaced with a Patridge. It's hard to see the pin because the front sights were installed prior to final polishing and bluing.

You know, there is one spot on my 619 front blade that has always made me question whether mine is the same. It may be time to put a few drops of Kroil on it and see if it gets sucked in.