1911 - Ease of Modification Question

[CannonFodder]

So, I'm looking at possibly carrying my 1911 CCW. I'd love to do so, but there's one small problem. The standard iron sights are a bit... dull, and iron-like. And while my corrected vision is fine, my eyes aren't so keen on these sights in less-than-broad-daylight.

So, I was thinking of swapping out the iron sights with aftermarket sights.

How big of a hassle is this? Would be better off going to a smith, or can I do this easily myself?

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Linkinlog]

What type of 1911 / sights do you have?

Stake on or dovetail?

It can be done at home with the proper tools and patience. It would probably be easier to pay a gunsmith to do it, unless you are looking to gain the experience.

 

[usp_fan]

If you have the standard 1911 sights you will need a stake on front and a standard dovetail rear. Look into the Yost-Bonitz retro rear sight for a non-gunsmith install. The front can be replaced by a standard stake on front sight, or you can find night sights that use the same method of installation.

If you want some of the newer style sights, plan on paying a gunsmith some good money to mill new dovetails in your slide so you can install one of the more popular types of sights (such as novak, or others).

I've used the retro rear with a .1" wide front and it is a very visible and easy to pick up combination except at night.

--usp_fan

 

[AndyC]

Take it to a 'smith - you can't put steel back if you mess it up, and the cuts required require precision (if the sights aren't to fall out in the middle of a competition or worse)