For the life of me, I can't get the rear sight on my 1911 to budge!

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The Real Hawkeye

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The rear sight, a novak night sight, on my 1911 came from the factory misaligned. The gun shoots to the left consistently. I removed the slide from the gun, unscrewed the allen screw on top of the rear sight, marked the position of the sight in relation to the slide top with a pencil line, and proceeded to apply a brass punch to the left side and hammered it with a brass hammer designed for this. Spent ten minutes hammering to no effect. Then out came my little steel mallet, like a little Thor's hammer. First I tried it lightly (didn't want that rear sight to go flying off with the first touch of Thor's little hammer). Nothing. Not one micron. Ok, tried it a little harder. Still nothing. Now I'm hitting it with as much force as I can manage while still maintaining control of what I'm doing. Nothing. Would not budge. The left side of my rear sight now looks like it's gold plated. What the heck am I doing wrong? :fire: :banghead:
 
What your are backing it up with is as important as how hard you hit it. If you have it laying on a wooden bench, there may be enough give to prevent movement. Try laying the slide on something heavy and solid (with an appropriate backing material, such as a thin piece of masonite to prevent marring). I often use the table of my table saw, I also have a very massive vice with an anvil surface, and if all that fails I have a piece of steel plate about 18" X 18" X 2" that I sometimes use. Dovetails can be very stubborn, and it may have been installed with an installation tool that applies a great deal of force. An amount of force that may be difficult for you to apply without damaging something. If it is rusted or corroded a penetrant may help. Don't misunderstand, I don't mean to imply that the gun is improperly maintained, but a tiny bit of moisture trapped in a tiny space around a dovetail can cause rust that is not visible.
 
Doesn't Brownell's carry a tool for this? I looked but cannot find it, but I know I remember seeing a handy rear sight drifting tool from Brownell's once. It is designed to give you a huge amount of leverage against the rear sight. Anyone know what it's called so I can look it up?
 
Yeah, it's a sight pusher. I found it at Brownell's. $600!!!! I think I will send it in to Springfield Armory, the manufacturor, and tell them to regulate the damned thing under warrantly. A fixed sight should not come from the factory so far off the mark.
 
I wouldn't send it to Springfield. They don't have a way to regulate the sights, as they have no facility for shooting/testing.

No, I'm not kidding.

If you don't have a vise available to you take it to a local gunsmith and have them drift it.

Or, you could always take my earlier suggestion and hit it with a bigger hammer! (cause that will work! I do it all day, everyday.)
 
Man, one look at that hammer! :what:

I did my own Mepros on my Sig, after drifting the originals a bit. I have to tell you, it was not only too scary, but fine-tuning at the range made folks nervous.

What I did: I found a site (I'm looking, I'm looking!) that sold used tools, a Sig sight-pusher being my interest. Who cares if it's a little ugly?

$85, or thereabouts. I can't imagine a 1911 pusher being out of range. You never know when you might want to change sights, or you can lend it out or sell it on --- if you're through with 1911s. :D

Also, I wouldn't be too crazy about heating anything, but you might try spot-chilling the sight. I've used those air-duster cans, upside-down (yep, against the rules --- be careful, the liquid is COLD). Set up in a vise, hit the sight (not the slide) with some spritz, and heave-ho.

If this sounds nuts, it's how I got my Mini-14 front sight pin back in (muzzle brake). Worked like a charm, except the pin is small and loses chill fast.
 
I had a similar experience. After banging on the dumb thing to no avail I took it to a smith. He placed the slide in a vice after covering it with a soft cloth. He then placed this under a drill press, and replaced the drill bit with a punch. Using the leverage of the press, and slow deliberate pulls on the press he was able to get the sight to break free, and drifted it to the correct position. It should work, and also save you some cash.
 
Innova, that sounds like it would work like a charm. In Sweeney's book, he refers to a much less expensive sight pusher offered by Brownell's, but I could only find the $600 one at the Brownell's web site. Will call them up today and ask about this much less expensive one. If it's under a hundred dollars, I may just get it.
 
A word of caution on the "cheaper" sight pusher from Brownell's.

It will work nicely for one or two jobs and then, sadly, it will fail.

Save yourself some time and money. Put that thing in something vise-like, stable, steady, solid, whatever you might have on hand or able to borrow and then line up a solid punch and HIT IT WITH YOUR HAMMER. Don't be afraid. You aren't going to screw anything up.

Put a dab of oil on the other side, it will make you feel better. Wont' really do anything, but it will make you feel better.
 
Ok, I bought the sight mover from Brownell's. If it breaks, I assume it has a warrantee. Should be here in a few days. It was a little over a hundred bucks.
 
NOW you're talking! Worst case, you still have the pusher (I mean, if it needs warranty replacement :D ).

Good luck!!!

Maybe hit it with some WD40, then push away.
 
You might try heating the slide. Just the metal around the sight. Doesn't need to be terribly hot, but the heat might expand it enough to free the sights for adjustment. I've had to do that a few times in the past.
 
I have removed hundreds of 1911 sights. Never had one that I could not remove. The most important thing is the vise. I use a large machinist vise that is attached to a heavy bench. The hammer I use is a fraction of the size you posted. I have had a couple of stubborn ones that I soaked overnight in Kroil
 
Are you kidding me? You still haven't drifted those sights yet?

Man. Take a couple of books or even pieces of lumber.

Bind them. Use a couple of C-clamps or duct tape just get them tight around the slide.

Then? Get out your punch and HIT IT WITH A HAMMER.

You'll be amazed.
 
Yo, Hawkeye, I'm with ya.

You won't need a vise with the pusher.

This is a Sig pusher:
defaul18.jpg

The idea is pretty clear at http://www.realguns.com/archives/sigsights.htm

All of the pushers I've seen are similar. It's essentially a horizontal screw jack. If your sight is that tight, you may have to add some length to the handle --- but again, main force isn't the objective --- you don't want a broken tool, on top of everything :eek: . Force is a last resort with mechanical things, especially firearms.

The pusher works on the removed slide, and engages with the slide rails. Make sure the sight engagement lug isn't in contact with either side of the sight when you tighten the dog onto the slide.

What I'd do: hit it with WD-40, let it marinate a bit, engage the pusher, give it a push. No go, I'd try chilling the sight. Big slide, little sight. Heating the slide will heat the sight, too. If you've ever tried oven-ing parts (like the Militec-1 thing), you know the slide will stay hot like a clothes iron.

Once you get it moving, it might be a good idea to remove it completely, and find out why it's stuck. You might want to get brave and whisper at it with a fine file. Remember that it's a tapered dovetail.

This is the best I can do for you.

My Sig was bought NIB, I saw I needed to adjust after one trip (it was "pretty good," but didn't shoot bang-on from a rest). I tried drifting, but the amount of force was too scary.

I got the pusher. A brand-new gun, with a proper pusher --- I couldn't believe how much force it took to "nudge" the thing. If you want your sights dead, it would take the patience of a saint to bat them back and forth. They're hard to move, and, once loose enough, you're only going to need a hundredth or two.

Even if you still need to take it to a smith, once you're loosened-up you'll be able to adjust or change properly.

Hope you next-day-aired it!!
:)
 
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