Brazos Lightning rod/MMC adj sights on Kimber

Mike in VA · February 22, 2002, 06:15 PM

Need a little advice on stabilizing my rear sight. I have a Kimber Custom Royale full size .45 that I put a Brazos Lightning Rod fiber optic front sight on. Its an absolute boon for my over 50 eyes, but it turns out that the sight is .055 taller than the stock Kimber front sight, and was shooting approx. 3" low @ 25' with the standard Kimber fixed rear sight.

I contacted Kimber who suggested an MMC adjustable rear sight, so I got out my trusty Brownell's catalog and ordered up one for a gov't model with the white outline. Turns out that the gov'rt model dovetail isn't exactly a drop-in fit for the Kimber, so I takes it to my local 'smith (Robert Garrett at No. VA Gun Works) who did a beautiful job of fitting the sight to the Kimber. It has a lovely sight picture, just put the red ball in the cup and squeeze . . .

It was still shooting low until I figured out how to properly adjust the sight, and I was soon cutting daisies, but the rear sight is loose enough (it seems to be just an eliptical wheel that raises/lowers the rear blade as you turn the little allen screw) that the recoil causes it to drop down from where it belongs.

My question: What can I do to make the rear blade hold it's setting? A drop of blue Locktite or clear fingernail polish have been suggested, any ohter thoughts? I don't want to irrevocably booger up the internals of the sight. I'm not a competitive shooter, just like to plink, but I'd like to be able to maintain the adjustablity for different loads & different ranges.

Thanks for your assistance.

gyp_c2 · February 23, 2002, 10:49 AM

Is there a tiny space that you could use a shim? That way you could loosen and remove the shim to re-adjust without having to break the loc-tite seal. I haven't seen one of those sights, sorry...
I do love Brazos fibre!!!

The little wire glows just as nice as an old ramp with gold bead and is replaceable too!

Good Luck and make sure to post the "fix" you find!

Mike in VA · February 24, 2002, 11:10 AM

Spoke with the smith and he suggested a stronger spring. He notedthat the stock spring appeared to be stretched and didn't really hold teh detent very well, so I took it back to have him install something stronger. I really don't want to gum-up the sight mechanism if I don't have to. We shall see how well this comes out, I'll let ya know.

I, too, really like th Brazos fiber optic sight. The blade fills about 2/3 of the MMC rear notch, so it's easy to center and when you have the top of the little glowing ball even with the top of the rear blade, you're good to go.

Kevinch · February 24, 2002, 11:24 AM

How far up did you have to dial the sight to zero?

I had MMC mount both a front & rear sight on a Makarov. It was a custom installation - integral front sight machined completely off, a dovetail machined & a front post mounted; rear sight drifted out of its tiny dovetail & a new dovetail machined (Novak size) for the new rear adjustable unit.

Mine adjusted to zero at about the center of its range, and hasn't budged for almost 2 years - no LocTite, glue, etc.

I would contact MMC & ask if it's a normal condition. In my experiance & all I have ever read about their sights, holding adjustment is not an issue.

Mike in VA · February 28, 2002, 05:36 PM

Mr. Garrett replaced the spring with a stiffer one (no charge). The adjustment is now quite stiff and deliberate, haven't been to the range to test, but I suspect it will hold just fine.

I agree that this seems out of line with MMC's normal quality, tho in my limited experience, their sights seems to be quite stable, (maybe I got a lemon?). Anyhoo, I'm a happy camper, and BTW, Robert did an absolutely beautiful job refinishing the slide, it's much prettier than what came from Kimber.

This is eally a very nice combination - the fiber optic just glows and settles into the outlined cup - put it on the bull and squeeze, and magic happens. I'm shooting inot 2" bulls at 25', no problem, I love a gun that makes me look good!

February 22, 2002, 06:15 PM	#1
Mike in VA Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 1998 Location: Santa FE, NM Posts: 2,163	Brazos Lightning rod/MMC adj sights on Kimber Need a little advice on stabilizing my rear sight. I have a Kimber Custom Royale full size .45 that I put a Brazos Lightning Rod fiber optic front sight on. Its an absolute boon for my over 50 eyes, but it turns out that the sight is .055 taller than the stock Kimber front sight, and was shooting approx. 3" low @ 25' with the standard Kimber fixed rear sight. I contacted Kimber who suggested an MMC adjustable rear sight, so I got out my trusty Brownell's catalog and ordered up one for a gov't model with the white outline. Turns out that the gov'rt model dovetail isn't exactly a drop-in fit for the Kimber, so I takes it to my local 'smith (Robert Garrett at No. VA Gun Works) who did a beautiful job of fitting the sight to the Kimber. It has a lovely sight picture, just put the red ball in the cup and squeeze . . . It was still shooting low until I figured out how to properly adjust the sight, and I was soon cutting daisies, but the rear sight is loose enough (it seems to be just an eliptical wheel that raises/lowers the rear blade as you turn the little allen screw) that the recoil causes it to drop down from where it belongs. My question: What can I do to make the rear blade hold it's setting? A drop of blue Locktite or clear fingernail polish have been suggested, any ohter thoughts? I don't want to irrevocably booger up the internals of the sight. I'm not a competitive shooter, just like to plink, but I'd like to be able to maintain the adjustablity for different loads & different ranges. Thanks for your assistance. __________________ M2 The Second Amendment IS homeland defense!

February 23, 2002, 10:49 AM	#2
gyp_c2 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2000 Location: Colorado...Louisiana Posts: 387	Is there a tiny space that you could use a shim? That way you could loosen and remove the shim to re-adjust without having to break the loc-tite seal. I haven't seen one of those sights, sorry... I do love Brazos fibre!!! The little wire glows just as nice as an old ramp with gold bead and is replaceable too! Good Luck and make sure to post the "fix" you find! __________________ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>g2<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< AVERT

February 24, 2002, 11:10 AM	#3
Mike in VA Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 1998 Location: Santa FE, NM Posts: 2,163	Spoke with the smith and he suggested a stronger spring. He notedthat the stock spring appeared to be stretched and didn't really hold teh detent very well, so I took it back to have him install something stronger. I really don't want to gum-up the sight mechanism if I don't have to. We shall see how well this comes out, I'll let ya know. I, too, really like th Brazos fiber optic sight. The blade fills about 2/3 of the MMC rear notch, so it's easy to center and when you have the top of the little glowing ball even with the top of the rear blade, you're good to go. __________________ M2 The Second Amendment IS homeland defense!

February 24, 2002, 11:24 AM	#4
Kevinch Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2001 Location: NE OH. Posts: 828	How far up did you have to dial the sight to zero? I had MMC mount both a front & rear sight on a Makarov. It was a custom installation - integral front sight machined completely off, a dovetail machined & a front post mounted; rear sight drifted out of its tiny dovetail & a new dovetail machined (Novak size) for the new rear adjustable unit. Mine adjusted to zero at about the center of its range, and hasn't budged for almost 2 years - no LocTite, glue, etc. I would contact MMC & ask if it's a normal condition. In my experiance & all I have ever read about their sights, holding adjustment is not an issue. __________________ ...arms...discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. ...Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law abiding) deprived the use of them. --Thomas Paine

February 28, 2002, 05:36 PM	#5
Mike in VA Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 1998 Location: Santa FE, NM Posts: 2,163	Mr. Garrett replaced the spring with a stiffer one (no charge). The adjustment is now quite stiff and deliberate, haven't been to the range to test, but I suspect it will hold just fine. I agree that this seems out of line with MMC's normal quality, tho in my limited experience, their sights seems to be quite stable, (maybe I got a lemon?). Anyhoo, I'm a happy camper, and BTW, Robert did an absolutely beautiful job refinishing the slide, it's much prettier than what came from Kimber. This is eally a very nice combination - the fiber optic just glows and settles into the outlined cup - put it on the bull and squeeze, and magic happens. I'm shooting inot 2" bulls at 25', no problem, I love a gun that makes me look good! __________________ M2 The Second Amendment IS homeland defense!