Poor Man's Dot Sights for Surplus Military Pistols

Armchair Bronco · February 5, 2013, 02:11 AM

I stumbled on the following article while researching low-cost options for adding temporary sights to my East German Makarov. The gun is very accurate, but in dwindling light conditions at the range, it's very hard to get a good sight picture. The article below describes how to use a 1/16" round hole punch, some colored mailing labels, super glue, and floor polish to add Poor Man's Dot Sights to stock military sights.

Just curious if anyone has any better ideas... I've since purchased the hole punch off Amazon.com and have done a couple of casual test fittings. Seems to work great.

The best part is that this "mod" is totally reversible. With my pocket blow torch, I should be able to burn away any hint of my Poor Man's Sights in under 5 seconds and return the Makarov to stock condition.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/shirtz/shirtz24.1.html

Here's a picture from the article:

alex0535 · February 5, 2013, 03:38 AM

Try not to take a blow torch to your firearms if you can avoid it.

A cloth damp with a little bit of acetone would make them come right off without having to take a flame to it. I would rather not super glue the dots to it as that stuff is pretty hard to get off, I guess if your going to want them there forever its ok but forever is a long time.

chris in va · February 5, 2013, 04:04 AM

Testor's model paint.

Pond, James Pond · February 5, 2013, 05:13 AM

I bought glow-in-the-dark paint and a fine sable brush.

I used a dremel type to bore a small 1.5mm hole into the front sight, painted it with a white primer and then filled it with the GITD paint, letting it dry.

Once dry, I dabbed the area with superglue which dried to give a tough, yet transparent coat to it. on the rear sight I simply traced the original white paint over with the same GITD paints and again dabbed glue over the end product, making sure no glue seeped into the rear sight assmebly.

In daylight it is clear, in the dark it is "tritium" bright for a good 15 mins...

Armchair Bronco · February 5, 2013, 09:43 AM

@alex0535 - Agree that using a pocket blow torch is probably overkill. Same with the Super Glue. The idea is to secure the dots so they stay in place for a couple of trips to the range, but I do want to keep the gun in pristine condition and make the mod 100% reversible.

I'll keep looking for a better method of securing the 1/16" dots.

EdInk · February 5, 2013, 10:14 AM

Wow! That entire mod is overly complicated and requires way more effort than required to add some dot sights.

Take a White-Out pen (or a dip a toothpick into a regular bottle) and put some dots on there. If you want them a different color buy some bright nail polish or model paint and go over the white dots. (This makes the color brighter than just putting directly on the gun.) You can put some clear nail polish over it if you want to really go nuts.

If you don't like it you can remove it with acetone nail polish remover. There is NO need to do all that over nonsense.

Armchair Bronco · February 5, 2013, 10:44 AM

@EdInk - I agree that overall the mod is overly complicated. However, I've read a lot of DIY threads and articles on adding Poor Man's Dots, and most folks have not had good results with paint or nail polish. Typically the dots are not symmetrical.

I do like the fact that with the 1/16" hold punch, you're guaranteed that all of your dots are perfectly uniform. Plus, there are a lot of options for colored mailing labels. Even florescent peel off targets seem to work well.

The trick is figuring out how to secure the dots so they stay on for a month or two.

February 5, 2013, 02:11 AM	#1
Armchair Bronco Member Join Date: October 31, 2011 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 28	Poor Man's Dot Sights for Surplus Military Pistols I stumbled on the following article while researching low-cost options for adding temporary sights to my East German Makarov. The gun is very accurate, but in dwindling light conditions at the range, it's very hard to get a good sight picture. The article below describes how to use a 1/16" round hole punch, some colored mailing labels, super glue, and floor polish to add Poor Man's Dot Sights to stock military sights. Just curious if anyone has any better ideas... I've since purchased the hole punch off Amazon.com and have done a couple of casual test fittings. Seems to work great. The best part is that this "mod" is totally reversible. With my pocket blow torch, I should be able to burn away any hint of my Poor Man's Sights in under 5 seconds and return the Makarov to stock condition. http://www.lewrockwell.com/shirtz/shirtz24.1.html Here's a picture from the article:

February 5, 2013, 03:38 AM	#2
alex0535 Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2012 Location: Georgia Posts: 908	Try not to take a blow torch to your firearms if you can avoid it. A cloth damp with a little bit of acetone would make them come right off without having to take a flame to it. I would rather not super glue the dots to it as that stuff is pretty hard to get off, I guess if your going to want them there forever its ok but forever is a long time. Last edited by alex0535; February 5, 2013 at 03:44 AM.

February 5, 2013, 05:13 AM	#4
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	I bought glow-in-the-dark paint and a fine sable brush. I used a dremel type to bore a small 1.5mm hole into the front sight, painted it with a white primer and then filled it with the GITD paint, letting it dry. Once dry, I dabbed the area with superglue which dried to give a tough, yet transparent coat to it. on the rear sight I simply traced the original white paint over with the same GITD paints and again dabbed glue over the end product, making sure no glue seeped into the rear sight assmebly. In daylight it is clear, in the dark it is "tritium" bright for a good 15 mins... __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

February 5, 2013, 10:14 AM	#6
EdInk Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2009 Posts: 3,968	Wow! That entire mod is overly complicated and requires way more effort than required to add some dot sights. Take a White-Out pen (or a dip a toothpick into a regular bottle) and put some dots on there. If you want them a different color buy some bright nail polish or model paint and go over the white dots. (This makes the color brighter than just putting directly on the gun.) You can put some clear nail polish over it if you want to really go nuts. If you don't like it you can remove it with acetone nail polish remover. There is NO need to do all that over nonsense. __________________ Sic Semper Tyrannis

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February 5, 2013, 04:04 AM	#3
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Testor's model paint.

February 5, 2013, 09:43 AM	#5
Armchair Bronco Member Join Date: October 31, 2011 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 28	@alex0535 - Agree that using a pocket blow torch is probably overkill. Same with the Super Glue. The idea is to secure the dots so they stay in place for a couple of trips to the range, but I do want to keep the gun in pristine condition and make the mod 100% reversible. I'll keep looking for a better method of securing the 1/16" dots.

February 5, 2013, 10:44 AM	#7
Armchair Bronco Member Join Date: October 31, 2011 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 28	@EdInk - I agree that overall the mod is overly complicated. However, I've read a lot of DIY threads and articles on adding Poor Man's Dots, and most folks have not had good results with paint or nail polish. Typically the dots are not symmetrical. I do like the fact that with the 1/16" hold punch, you're guaranteed that all of your dots are perfectly uniform. Plus, there are a lot of options for colored mailing labels. Even florescent peel off targets seem to work well. The trick is figuring out how to secure the dots so they stay on for a month or two.