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Thread: 642 front sight mod

  1. #1

    642 front sight mod

    Vision issue thing Im thinking about having the front sight on a 642 modified
    Im thinking to maintain the same angle of the ramp continued till i run out of sight. Also extend the serrations all the way to the end so Ill have a place for the paint to grab onto. Has anybody ever heard of this being done?
    Can u think of any reason not to do it?
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  2. #2
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    I'm not really seeing the benefit however, it's your gun, money and vision. The modified Baughman ramp pretty much goes all the way to the top of the sight already. If you're using paint to assist in picking up your sights might I suggest a white base coat from bottom to top and then a high visibility color that your eyes pick up well from from the top of the front sight bad to whatever point lines up with the base of the rear notch when you have a good sight picture. Also, filling in that flat portion of the rear sight notch with a black Sharpie helps with the sight contrast.
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  3. #3
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    This is a poor picture of what I did to a Taurus front sight. I got the idea from Headhunter. I removed part of the ramp and made it steeper. I then serrated it to make it more visible.

  4. #4
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    Safe-side file and an XS big dot is a huge improvement for the basic J frames.

  5. #5
    Ive painted the front sight with white as the base layer. It orange/red but Im going to change that to green. The area around the rear sight I painted white because I see white better than black.

    Im reconsidering my approach . Has anybody ever heard of cutting the rear notch a bit deeper and a little wider? Its the deeper part im concerned about because thats going to put me into the topstrap.
    I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
    The lunatics are running the asylum

  6. #6
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    I can't find the picture I had of it but my 642 had the front blade milled off, then a dovetail cut for a Novak size XS Standard Dot. Work was done by Kent Singletary: www.kscustom.com. No connection, he's just my gunsmith.

    When I put the dot on the head of a silhouette (and manage the trigger) it puts GMM wadcutters in the face. That's what I'm looking for with this little bugger. (smile)

    Dave

  7. #7
    For the best sight picture for target shooting black on black sights work best but you must be able to focus on the front sight. The ramp on some sights shines and is really bad as far as being able to focus on it. I shot for years with bad eyesight(still do). I do have a couple IDPA guns that I painted orange over a white under coat. I prefer a black rear sight no matter what. In defensive type shooting I don't really see the rear sight, I see the front sight and the target. I'm not trying for a 3" group at 50 yards so a perfect sight picture isn't a requirement.
    I'll add that my carry guns are 642 revolvers and that for some reason I can see the front sight as is even tho it's stainless. For me it's a 15 yard gun, after that I can still keep the shots on an IDPA target but I won't keep them all in the zero down circle(8").

  8. #8
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by UNK View Post
    Ive painted the front sight with white as the base layer. It orange/red but Im going to change that to green. The area around the rear sight I painted white because I see white better than black.

    Im reconsidering my approach . Has anybody ever heard of cutting the rear notch a bit deeper and a little wider? Its the deeper part im concerned about because thats going to put me into the topstrap.
    I've seen them cut wider using a file. You might try that first and see what it does for your ability to get good contrast. If it's still an issue then you could take another look at deeper.
    Men freely believe that which they desire.
    Julius Caesar

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by UNK View Post
    Has anybody ever heard of cutting the rear notch a bit deeper and a little wider? Its the deeper part im concerned about because thats going to put me into the topstrap.
    Yes. I have done that on some, but you need to be conservative. Normally i have just made it wider and not much deeper. I have a 640-1 that Karl Sokol put an XS Big Dot on the front of and then milled out a matching semi circular trench into the top strap and rear sight for it.


    Birchwood Casey sell a sets of three paint pens called the 'Super Bright Touch-up sight pens'; fluorescent red, neon green and white. For a no gunsmithing solution I found that these combined with blacking our the rear sight notch and topstrap groove on stainless revolvers with a sharpie makes for a much improved sight picture. I forget where i read about darkening the rear sight, maybe TacticalProfessor? For the front I normally put down a white base coat, then a section of orange or green, then color the bottom and very top black, so it basically looks like a standard old S&W insert front sight. Not super durable long term, but easy to touch up and redo as needed.

    An XS small dot is a nice way to go if you don't mind a little gunsmithing. I personally like them better than the Big Dot.
    Last edited by revolvergeek; 05-21-2020 at 11:44 AM.

  10. #10
    banana republican blues's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by revolvergeek View Post


    Birchwood Casey sell a sets of three paint pens called the 'Super Bright Touch-up sight pens'; fluorescent red, neon green and white. For a no gunsmithing solution I found that these combined with blacking our the rear sight notch and topstrap groove on stainless revolvers with a sharpie makes for a much improved sight picture. I forget where i read about darkening the rear sight...
    That's what I used and what I did...you may have read this thread, though I didn't originate anything:

    https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....-s-Front-Sight
    There's nothing civil about this war.

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