Loose 1911 front sight

zippy13 · November 7, 2010, 04:21 PM

The OEM front sight is loose on my 1911-type Colt pistol (80-Series, Gold Cup NM, Enh, BrtSS). I don't have the fancy Brownells staking tool, should I have someone else re-stake it, have it silver-soldered in place or start over with a new blade?

drail · November 7, 2010, 06:19 PM

Nowdays most smiths will tell you to have a dovetail cut into the slide so you can change fronts sights easily. If you do not want to go that route you will need to get a new stake type sight and have it installed by a man who understands the proper method. The reason the factory sight became loose is because it was not installed properly and restaking it will only hold it for a while. The mortise in the slide has to be relieved inside so the tenon on the new sight can be swaged and flow into it. Silver soldering is absolutely unnecessary and will require the slide to be refinished. I have staked front sights for 20 years and never had one come off. Colt has used a couple of different tenon sizes so you need to remove the old sight and measure it to make sure you buy the right size.

Edward429451 · November 7, 2010, 06:43 PM

You have to have an old hand do it. I had mine become loose and replaced it with nite sights which shot off from the improper staking job. They used a new sight and re-did it for free but this one became loose real fast. I could see he was frustrated with it all and didn't want a fuss so let him cut a dovetail in my slide which solved my problem and he doesn't do 1911 sights anymore :-)

zippy13 · November 7, 2010, 07:30 PM

Since Colt's now uses a dovetail, and "old hands" are becoming harder to find, having a dovetail cut seems appropriate. Thanks for your help drail and Edward429451.

November 7, 2010, 04:21 PM	#1
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Loose 1911 front sight The OEM front sight is loose on my 1911-type Colt pistol (80-Series, Gold Cup NM, Enh, BrtSS). I don't have the fancy Brownells staking tool, should I have someone else re-stake it, have it silver-soldered in place or start over with a new blade?

November 7, 2010, 06:19 PM	#2
drail Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2008 Posts: 3,150	Nowdays most smiths will tell you to have a dovetail cut into the slide so you can change fronts sights easily. If you do not want to go that route you will need to get a new stake type sight and have it installed by a man who understands the proper method. The reason the factory sight became loose is because it was not installed properly and restaking it will only hold it for a while. The mortise in the slide has to be relieved inside so the tenon on the new sight can be swaged and flow into it. Silver soldering is absolutely unnecessary and will require the slide to be refinished. I have staked front sights for 20 years and never had one come off. Colt has used a couple of different tenon sizes so you need to remove the old sight and measure it to make sure you buy the right size.

November 7, 2010, 06:43 PM	#3
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	You have to have an old hand do it. I had mine become loose and replaced it with nite sights which shot off from the improper staking job. They used a new sight and re-did it for free but this one became loose real fast. I could see he was frustrated with it all and didn't want a fuss so let him cut a dovetail in my slide which solved my problem and he doesn't do 1911 sights anymore :-)

November 7, 2010, 07:30 PM	#4
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Since Colt's now uses a dovetail, and "old hands" are becoming harder to find, having a dovetail cut seems appropriate. Thanks for your help drail and Edward429451.