How do you mount a new front sight on a Ruger GP-100?

[albanian]

O.K., I bought a Ruger GP-100 from Gander Mountain. It has the 4" half lug bbl and the spurless hammer. I was considering getting a regualr hammer for it but now I think it would be neat to make it into a hammerless snubbie.

I plan on doing all the work myself but before I start, I want to know if it is possible to remount the front sight after I chop the bbl down to 2 1/2" or so. I assume I will need to scrap the old sight and get a dove tailed replacement. How hard is it to install a dove tail front sight? Should I have a gunsmith do it or can I do it with the right tools and lots of careful work?

I don't mind if it takes me all day to file the groove so long as it can be done in a satisfactory manner at home. I am not a gunsmith but I am very careful and I take my time so I tend to be able to do things that look good but they take me many more hours of work than a good gunsmith could do them in.

Here is what I plan on doing:

1. Chop bbl down to about 2 1/2"

2. Mount new front sight

3. Mill sides of bbl so the lettering isn't half gone (it will be all gone).

4. Recrown the muzzle.


Where can I get a replacment front sight that will fit? Does it have to be a sight for a Ruger revolver or will any sight that will fit work? I am thinking about going to a nite sight since I will be replacing the sight anyway.

Help me out! P.S. I know it would be cheaper and easier to just buy a 3" GP-100 but that is not the point. I want to do it myself and I want something different.

 

[Sisco]

You could probably do it yourself if you have a machine shop in the garage.
If I were to cut a stock barrel I would want to have the stamped warning label removed too. It's ugly to start with, a shortened barrel would end up with half a warning stamp showing.
Might be cheaper in the long run to locate a shorter barrel and have it installed. Of course that would defeat the whole do it yourself thing.

 

[albanian]

Also, I plan on making the bbl slightly shorter than the one you can buy for it. I think the shortest bbl you can get for the GP-100 is the 3". I plan on haveing my bbl cut down to about 2 1/2". I know it is not much shorter but I think it will make it look more unique than the 3". A true snub nose is what I am after and I think it would look really cool on a larger frame gun such as the GP-100. I have a 1 7/8" S&W snubbie for carry so I don't care about weight or size so much as a certain look I am going after. I might keep it in my car as a car gun since it is SS and it would be small enough to carry if I really had to.

 

[JoeHatley]

These might work for you. The S&W version should work, but he also has a Ruger double action set up.

www.jackweigand.com/interfs.html

Good Luck...

Joe

 

[albanian]

Thanks for the link but I think that front sight is for an adjustable sighted revolver. I have the fixed sight GP-100 model. If it didn't need to be milled, that would be a perfect setup. I can handel just drilling and tapping!