Adjustable rear sight for S&W 1911 E Series

[jgh4445]

Apparantly the dovetail in the E series isn't a standard size. The E series is an awesome pistol but the novak (style??) low profiles aren't adjustable. I'm shooting about 3 inches left and about 6 inches high at 25 from a bag. Great groups, just in the worng place. Does anyone here know of an adjustable rear sight that will fit? I'll call Smith and Novack in the morning but I thought I'd ask here first.

 

[JDR]

I've had 2 SW1911's, the first one I had was an early one with adj. target sights, the one I have now is a non-E series with fixed sights, which I like a lot better than those adj. sights. Your SW1911 E-Series has a dovetail used to mount 3rd Generation S&W sights, so it's completely non-standard for a 1911. If you really want to change these sights, I'd call Customer Service for Smith & Wesson Performance Center Gunsmithing Services at 1-800-331-0852 to find out what your options are to have adjustable sights mounted to your slide. Dawson's fixed sight options would work better to get your gun zeroed than mounting an adjustable sight, but that's strictly "MHO";

http://www.dawsonprecision.com/Cate...+Rear+Sights:Smith+and+Wesson+1911+Rear+Sight

 

[mgmorden]

If it really is setup for 3rd gen S&W sights then LPA makes adjustables for that dovetail:

http://www.lpasights.com/en/product...duct_id=141&category_id=43&manufacturer_id=24

I haven't tried this combo but might be worth looking into.

For carry purposes I'd say look into a matched Dawson set (actually you drift adjust the existing rear for windage and likely just get a new front sight to adjust elevation). For target shooting I personally like adjustable sights.

 

[jgh4445]

Thanks guys. Looks like some good options there. I called S&W and the guy I talked to didn't honestly know. They are shut down for summer break and the full staff will be back in a week or so. He was part of a skeleton crew. I also talked to Novak and the guy there said they did make the sight for S&W but that S&W made the dove tail and mounted them. Then he said if I was shooting over 4 inches high, that a new sight isn't the answer, he said to send the gun back to Smith cause its a barrel lock up problem. I don't think so. Groups too well. Maybe for the height problem I can change bullet weights and powder charges. Took the set screw out of the rear sight and tried a brass drift trying to ease it over to the right a tad...no go..must be lock tited. I think I'll need a sight pusher tool for that.

 

[JDR]

OP, if your E-Series is 3-left & 6-high at 25 rested, I'd call Dawson, and arrange to send the gun to them to re-sight the gun front & back, then see if they can get a zero with it at 20 yds. Something is wrong, my current SW1911 with fixed sights untouched from factory settings shoots right over the front sight, and that barrel locks to the slide like the door on a bank vault. I can tell you I have a Dawson F.O. front sight on my STI Trojan, and I wish I had this setup on the rest of my guns!

Another idea here is to check the dimensions on your slide opening, barrel tip, and bushing, the bore I.D. on your bushing could be way loose. Follow the Evolution Gun Works (EGW) guidelines per the link below, they are the experts on the subject;

http://www.egwguns.com/bushing-faq

 

[jgh4445]

I called Smith back. Got a different CS Rep. I told him what is going on and he said that a fixed sight pistol, in particular an E Series 1911 should shoot to POA. He said the POI should be at the top of the front sight post at 25 yds. He went on to say that zero'd at 25 yds, a 230 gr ball at approximately 875-890 FPS should be about 2 inches low at 50 yds. ( At 50 yds I'm over 6 inches left and about 8-9 inches high.) He said he'd like me to send it in for evaluation. They emailed me a shipping label and I boxed it up. I did shoot another target to send with it. Nice sub 2 inch group at 25 yds, just high and left.

The slide is really tight fitted, no rattle no movement. When pressing down on the barrel at the ejection port there is no springyness, no movement at all. Doesn't seem like the link is too short. Might be the bushing fit? I'll let them find out and let you guys knw what they say.

 

[JDR]

He went on to say that zero'd at 25 yds, a 230 gr ball at approximately 875-890 FPS should be about 2 inches low at 50 yds.

I'd just send it back to S&W and tell them to fix it, test fire it & send the target back with the gun to verify the above statement. IMHO, you would probably need to get that gun completely re-sighted & re-barreled with a fitted busing by a 1911 pistolsmith at great expense to get a 1" high zero at 50 yds., which would give you practical accuracy at all distances from 50 yds. in. And you'd need either a Ransom Rest or an NRA Bullseye shooter to verify it.

 

[jgh4445]

Update

Got it back today. Will do a test drive in the morning. Said they replaced the sights.

 

[jgh4445]

They may have replaced the sights but it still shoots in the same place as it did when I sent it in. Not just for me, but for two ther people who shot it yesterdat also. One of them is a very accomplished bullseye shooter so I know its not just me. So.....I managed to drift the rear sight to the right, got the windage problem solved and now ill address the "shooting" high problem with load adjustment. I'll try to get a bit faster bullet to see if the POI will drop a bit. Why does S&W bother to fire the weapon if they don't care where it hits?

 

[JDR]

For your E-Series, I think S&W needed to put a taller front sight on it to bring the POI down, but they reinstalled the same (short) front sight anyway. If you can correct your POI with your reloads then that's fine, but I've always zeroed my 1911's with the type of ammo I'm usually going to shoot with the gun, which is standard factory 230 gr. ball ammo, usually Fed AE, and this includes my own SW1911.

 

[highlander 5]

I have a pro series 1911 in 9mm that has adjustable sights and I think it's an e series so that sight might fit. Granted yours is a 45 auto but that shouldn't make much difference.

 

[jgh4445]

Doing the math, a six inch ( high) error multiplied by the 7 inch sight radius divided by the 900 inches to the target and I think my front sight needs to be approximately .046 inches higher. That is with the American Eagle 230 gr hard ball. Just gonna find an adjustable rear sight and mill it to fit myself if I have to. Tried faster bullets but cannot get the POI to drop enough to matter.

 

[SwampWolf]

QUOTE: They may have replaced the sights but it still shoots in the same place as it did when I sent it in. Not just for me, but for two ther people who shot it yesterdat also. One of them is a very accomplished bullseye shooter so I know its not just me. So.....I managed to drift the rear sight to the right, got the windage problem solved and now ill address the "shooting" high problem with load adjustment. I'll try to get a bit faster bullet to see if the POI will drop a bit...

All of which is why, unless I'm carrying a pistol in a pocket for self-defense purposes (when a snagged draw might get you killed) or want to retain the appearance and mystique of a historically significant firearm (i.e., a Colt "Peacemaker"), I much prefer adjustable sights on my handguns if I have a choice.