Getting a 1911 for the first time and have a rear sight question

[Byrd666]

So I have a Rock Island Armory M1911-A1 FS Tactical II on the way and would like to change out the rear sight to something a bit more adaptive to one handed slide manipulation. Is it possible to put a Sig P220 type rear sight on a 1911? I have never been a big fan of the combat rear sight like on a G.I. issue though it wold work for that purpose, the sight picture, for me, is horrible. And only having the use of one hand, it is imperative that the rear sight can handle that kind of abuse/use. Any ideas or recommendations are welcome.

 

[bannockburn]

Byrdd666

Not sure what kind of use/abuse you have in mind for the rear sight on your gun and how this is relates to the one handed operation of the slide. Please explain what it is you're trying to do and what in particular you're looking for in a rear sight.

 

[2wheels]

There are a few companies out there that make rear sights designed for one handed operation. Here are a couple I found with a little googling.

http://www.heinie.com/shop/30055l-heinie-1911-ledge-straight-eight-night-sight-set/

http://www.henningshootsguns.com/shop/battlehook.html

 

[bainter1212]

Most of the adjustable "target" style rear sights have a sharp right angle that should enable slide manipulation on your belt or other surface. Meprolight makes a decent one.

 

[Byrd666]

bannockburn

This is for day to day operation. As stated, I am a one armed/one handed shooter that will, or does use the rear sight to rack the slide. Real self explanatory to me.

 

[RussB]

It all comes down to what sight cut is on the gun now, and...

1. there is a direct fit ledge sight that suits your needs

2. there is enough material for a gunsmith to cut the slide for your preferred sight

 

[Byrd666]

What I need is a rear sight that will stand up to many, I hope, years of use and incidental abuse. That can be adjustable for longer range shots, though really not practical for a one handed shooter. And that are practical for my uses. Those uses being, practice/paper punching, home defense, back 40 walking/hiking. In essence, a general purpose weapon that can be used in any situation.

 

[Quack]

10-8 Performance

 

[9mmepiphany]

My favorite is the 10-8 Performance

...which looks like this on a 1911

 

[Quack]

Print for the rear RIA sight.

 

[tarosean]

My favorite is the 10-8 Performance

RIA's do not have a true Novak sight cut. Modifications would be required.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I do remember reading that. I understand that Armscor will do the machining if you provide the sights...you just need to send the slide in

 

[bainter1212]

Funny....I compared my Kimber (Novak cut) with my friend's RIA Tactical this weekend.....the cuts looked the same to me. I could've been mistaken.

 

[Quack]

RIA's do not have a true Novak sight cut. Modifications would be required.

Right, but other companies don't have true Novak cuts either, they all are undersized to where you have to fit the sight to the slide. It just takes a little filing on the sight dovetail to get them to fit. Springfield and STI both have undersized rear sight cuts. I've installed plenty of sights.

The difference is .495" (Novak) vs..487" of the RIA.


Here's some info on fitting sights.

http://quacksgunstuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/fitting-rear-sight.html


http://quacksgunstuff.blogspot.com/2011/02/replacing-sights-on-springfield-fixed.html

 

[Byrd666]

9mm

Will the 10-8 sight give me enough contact area for the leverage required for one handed work. That's one of the reasons I thought about the adaption of a Sig type sight instead of the ramp sight it comes with.

I'll be contacting Rock Island in just a few minutes and discuss with them as well.

Thanks for the responses and ideas all.

 

[Quack]

9mm

Will the 10-8 sight give me enough contact area for the leverage required for one handed work. That's one of the reasons I thought about the adaption of a Sig type sight instead of the ramp sight it comes with.

I'll be contacting Rock Island in just a few minutes and discuss with them as well.

Thanks for the responses and ideas all.

Yes, that is what the sight is designed for. I've ran 10-8 sights in multiple classes that involved 1 handed manipulation.

and per the 10-8 website:
http://www.10-8performance.com/products/1911-Low-Mount-Rear-Sight.html

Our 02 series sights will fit into the popular Novak LoMount ® dovetail, which is found on fixed sight 1911s offered by Wilson Combat, Rock River, Dan Wesson, Ed Brown, Springfield Armory, Colt (XSE series, Gunsite, Rail Gun, M45, Defender), Nighthawk, Les Baer, DoubleStar, STI, Sig (GSR and 1911s), Rock Island Armory, and others. They will fit your slide with only hand fitting of the sight if the dovetail is already cut, otherwise your slide will need to be machined. **The 02 series sights DO NOT fit: Kimber, ParaOrdnance, Taurus, or S&W 1911s.

Here's some photo's on one o my guns.



and a few of the other guns of mine that have them on.

 

[rondog]

Funny....I compared my Kimber (Novak cut) with my friend's RIA Tactical this weekend.....the cuts looked the same to me. I could've been mistaken.

You may have to measure the cuts with calipers to see the difference. I sent my RIA slide to Novak's to have them install their sights on it.

 

[Quack]

Funny....I compared my Kimber (Novak cut) with my friend's RIA Tactical this weekend.....the cuts looked the same to me. I could've been mistaken.

The Kimber rear sight cut is it's own size, so when buying rear sights there is a specific sight just for Kimber's

Kimber is 60° x .3605" x .194"
Novak is 65° x .495"
RIA is 65° x .487"

 

[ForumSurfer]

and a few of the other guns of mine that have them on.

Referring to the 1911 with standard gi cut and 10-8's you have pictured, how do you like that setup compared to a standard novak cut and rear sight? Your advice would be very much apreciated since I'm trying to decide if I want a colt xse or just a standard 1991 gov't model. Feel free to chime in with your experience on that beaver tail and spur hammer on the same gun during hard use!

 

[Quack]

The GI sight is nice for not having to cut the slide to fit the 10-8 Novak sight. I just like that all my guns have the same sight picture.

The hammer is a Harrison Retro hammer and is much improved over stock. I haven't run that gun in class, but never had issue with hammer bite with the stock grip safety.


when i first installed the sight.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Thanks Quack. Appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion. That's a sweet looking hammer! I like that gun.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Will the 10-8 sight give me enough contact area for the leverage required for one handed work. That's one of the reasons I thought about the adaption of a Sig type sight instead of the ramp sight it comes with.

Yes, 10-8 designed their rear sight intentionally to be able to do this.

Like Quack, I'm starting to standardize my sight picture too. As he posted, it is normal for 1911 parts to require some hand fitting. With the variance in 1911s, it is better that parts be a little oversize, rather than undersized

experience on that beaver tail and spur hammer on the same gun during hard use!

I thought I'd offer this. It looks a bit funny when the hammer is at rest (down on the firing pin), but when cocked, the spur rest inside the curve of the beavertail and isn't prone to snag

 

[Byrd666]

I'm liking the looks of that 10-8 sight now that I've seen the top view. Very much like what I had in mind.

Contacted Rock Island a few minutes ago and discussed with one of the guys in CS there. He said he was going to talk to the smiths and others and get their opinions and ideas and get back in touch with me. As soon as he does that, and sends me an updated sight schematic, I'll contact 10-8 and see what they say too.

Thanks guys

PS Definitely a few very nice looking pistols.

 

[Quack]

I'm liking the looks of that 10-8 sight now that I've seen the top view. Very much like what I had in mind.

Contacted Rock Island a few minutes ago and discussed with one of the guys in CS there. He said he was going to talk to the smiths and others and get their opinions and ideas and get back in touch with me. As soon as he does that, and sends me an updated sight schematic, I'll contact 10-8 and see what they say too.

Thanks guys

PS Definitely a few very nice looking pistols.

I quoted the 10-8 website a few posts up. The sight will need fitting, like the 2 links on my blog.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I thought I'd offer this. It looks a bit funny when the hammer is at rest (down on the firing pin), but when cocked, the spur rest inside the curve of the beavertail and isn't prone to snag

Thanks. That is actually helpful. If I go with the standard colt and swap the hammer for that one, I now know I won't be forced to replace the hammer again later if I have a beaver tail fitted later.