sight pusher vs. brass rod & hammer

[willymc]

I’ve got a Sig P225 9mm that shoots about 2” to the left at 15 yards. I want to move the rear sight to the right. The Sig sight pusher runs about $220 and a MGW sight pusher runs about $115. I don’t plan to do a lot of sight pushing, so that seems a bit much to spend. Is tapping the rear sight over with a hammer and brass rod a big deal? What are the pros and cons? Thanks!

 

[bofe954]

I'd call around to smiths and local ranges and see if you can find someone who will push it with a sight pusher.

You CAN do a decent job with a hammer and punch, you can also ding up the sight pretty bad.

The other problem I have had is that the sight won't move, you hit again and it moves a quarter inch, then you have to try and move it back. Sight adjustment vs. sight removal, is a lot easier with a pusher because you can control how much you move the sight.

Anyone who installs night sights likely has a pusher and would move your sight a bit for free or $5 or something.

 

[rcmodel]

SIG sights are normally not super-tight, and a brass or nylon punch should move it with no damage.

I took off the old sights and put on Meprolite night sights on my P6 that way with no fuss, no muss, no bother.

Just be sure you mark the current sight & slide location with a lead pencil or Sharpie so you can tell how much you have moved it.

It also helps to put the slide on a heavy steel block, or lightly clamped in a smooth-jaw vice so all the punch energy goes to moving the sight, not the whole slide balanced on your knee at the kitchen table!

rc

 

[atblis]

Vise and some padding. Be careful what you use for padding. Thick leather works.

 

[Red Cent]

Just in case. Remove from left to right, replace from right to left.

 

[willymc]

Thanks for the input. I’d like to do this at the range. Rcmodel - I’ll be sure to mark the position of the sight and slide and I have a block of hard rubber that I was planning to put the slide on while I tap the sight over. Think that would be okay? Red Cent - So it should be easier to push in the direction (right) that I need to go, correct?

 

[JNewell]

Brass drift punch is fine unless you have tritium sights. You can break the glass capsules.

 

[willymc]

Just stock sights.

 

[Kruzr]

You should be able to move them with a hammer and punch. Sig sights aren't that tight. FWIW, a Sig rear sight goes the opposite direction from most. Remove right to left.

 

[Drail]

If it were me I would try to carefully move it with a nylon or brass punch (clamped firmly in a solid vise) I have seen a lot of sight pushers that were so poorly made they would break and cause more damage than a punch and hammer. There's good ones and a lot more really poor ones. Just make sure that once you clamp it down the slide AND the vise CANNOT move.

 

[sig2009]

The Sig sight pusher is made by MGW. They are the same except for the price.

 

[goon]

I just ran into this with my new M&P - can't get the rear sight to drift at all with a hammer and punch, even with a big hammer and a punch. It's a small thing, but it still irritates me that I can't get the sights on my new gun adjusted.

 

[atblis]

Do you have it clamped in a vise that's securely bolted down?

 

[Old Shooter]

I'm sure you will be extra careful during this operation but I've seen several sights pushed with brass rod and a hammer that looked really bad when the job was done. Mared finish on the sight for the better ones, damaged finish on the slide for the worser ones. I might give it a shot with a nylon punch but my preference would be to see a gunsmith to get it moved, mayby borrow his pusher (if it's someone you know) or spring for a pusher for myself. If you mar the finish, even if nobody else ever notices it, you will see it everytime you look at that gun.

 

[1SOW]

I recently did a cz with new rear sights. I sprayed a little clp on the sight, let it soak for awhile and used a 3/8" OAK Dowel with a heavy mallet and it moved slowly. I also did it at the range. It beat up the dowel but the sight was still like new. I was surprised because I've had to use the brass punch with the previous sight and did 'ding' it up a little.

 

[1SOW]

Home made Sig 239 sight pusher. I used 1/4 plate, drilled and tapped for the vise and the pusher rod. Works fine.
It's a poor pic, but it's cut to push from either side.

 

[goon]

I got serious today and put it in the vise, with a couple of layers of leather to pad the slide. I did get the rear sight to move, but it doesn't have enough windage to zero without it getting to the point where it would be hanging off the right side of the slide.
Tried drifting the front sight to the left but it doesn't have enough movement to fix my problem - not surprising because it's not really meant to be adjusted. Still, moving the front sight to the center of my slide (it's currently shifted to the right) will fix my problem.
Good news - I just bought the gun new so it's S&W's problem.
Bad news - I feel like this is just another chance for them to slap on a halfa$$ repair. I really had high hopes for this one...