Work on a SW1911

[Vireye]

Hey all,

So I have a SW1911 (108284). Link: http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/w...layErrorView_Y

I love this gun. I got it from a guy cleaning out his gunsafe. I paid around 1/2 MSRP for a gun that was barely fired. It shoots like a dream, accurate, reliable, etc etc etc.

However, when I carry it, the target sights tend to dig into my side a bit, plus I prefer night sights on all my carry/nightstand pistols.

What I didn't know when I bought it, however, is that S&W used a proprietary cut on the rear sight of this model, and apparently NO ONE makes a replacement sight for it. I wanted a night low-profile Novak style sight or something along those lines, and apparently that's just not possible.

So, I was thinking I could try to find a gunsmith to actually re-cut the rear sight, and replace the existing sights with a pair of novak's. But, knowing nothing about gunsmithing, is this possible? I only know one gunsmith personally, and we didn't get into much detail on the project, as over the phone as soon as I said it would involve cutting he informed me that was beyond his skills at this point.

Just eye-balling it, it looks like a novak cut would be deeper but with less width from a side profile...but again I really know nothing about what would be needed...

So I'm looking to see if this is possible, and if it is, what sort of questions/skillsets I should be asking and looking for in a Gunsmith. I live around York, PA and there are PLENTY of local 'smiths around from what I understand, and my budget is severely limited right now so any cost I can save by not having to ship the slide around the country is appreciated...

[Dixie Gunsmithing]

Two things would have to be matched, the dovetail slot width, and the sight height and width profile of the notch. Also, you will have the extra milled places on the slide showing, but there's not much you can do on that, since it was milled for an adjustable sight.

You will probably have to still find a sight to match the above dimensions, that someone makes, or find a rear sight with the right notch profile, and a wider dovetail, and either narrow it down, or widen the slot in the slide. The sight notch has to match so you can get the correct sight picture on the front sight.

I think Brownell's has some tables on some of the sights they have, where you might match the dovetail width that way. If not, you could measure that one, and contact a sight company like Novak, and see what they could come up with to match it properly.

[Jim Watson]

The sight on the S&W page is of the Bomar type but does not look like a standard dovetail. The cut is already larger than for a Novak, front to rear, it will not "clean up" by machining.

John Harrison makes a fixed sight with rounded corners to fit Bomar and some other adjustable sight cuts. He might be able to make one fit or provide a partly finished sight your gunsmith could install.

The cheap way out would be to round off the corners of the present sight leaf and get a holster with a "sweat guard" to keep it from poking you in the ribs.
A front night sight might be enough illumination, it is for me.

[PetahW]

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It's not rocket science, to just make a Novak-style sight that would fit the S&W.


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