Kimber front sight removal - sight pusher question

[gunsrfun1]

I want to replace the standard front sight on my Kimber Custom Target II with a fiber optic. Everything I've read says Kimber front sights are really tight and are a bear to remove. So I figure it would be worth it to buy a sight pusher instead of wailing on it with a punch. Plus, the exposed front sight base is pretty shallow anyway, so a punch would probably just skip over it and hit the sight blade.

Can anyone recommend a specific sight pusher they have used that would do the job?

Thanks.

 

[railroader]

I don't use a punch. I use a piece of hardwood sledge hammer handle and a hammer. I have used this on a few pistols to knock sights in and out and it works. It doesn't mar finishes either. Mark

 

[Zerodefect]

You got it backwards. Who cares about getting the sight out? You don't have to be gentle getting the sight out if your just going to toss it in the garbage anyways. Getting the old sights off will only take about 30 seconds. Getting the new sights on properly is the tough part. Especially if you need to order a second sight in a custom height casue the first was a hair short or tall.

Use a vise, some wood to hold the slide, a regular sized hammer, and a 3/8" steel punch.

3 solid wacks is all it'll take. Kimber sights actually were easy to get out, for me at least. I hardly even scratched them when I took them out. If that deosn't work, cut a line down the center if the sights to weaken it, then hammer some more.

Your new sight will go in as easy as you make it. The more you file, the easier it'll slide in. But don't file too much, then you'll need another sight!

There is no need for a sight pusher, and sightpushers can fail and mess up your slide when they do fail. The old fashioned way works best for me. I often will use a LT150 laser bore scope to get the sights close before I hit the range.

 

[CWL]

Am I the only one to use a table edge and some downward force?

 

[10mm Mike]

Mine were almost impossible to remove (both front and rear).

I had to almost cut the sights in half (both front and rear) before I could get them to move using a hammer and punch. Even then I had to bang on it pretty hard.

Frankly, I don't think a sight pusher will help. I'd recommend a brass punch (with tape on the end so it wont leave a brass streak on the finish) and a hammer. And maybe a dremel incase you need to cut that sucker out like me.

 

[Zerodefect]

The key is a solid vise, mounted to a solid table bolted to a concrete floor. Or at least a workbench with a ton of weight. I use left over plywood from a model airplane to protect the slide from the vise. The wood used in a door frame or wall trim is a good choice as well. Solid, but soft enough not to marr.

Sharp blows move a sight. If the gun is in your lap or on a bench mat those sights aren't going to budge.

 

[rcmodel]

+1

See this about that:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=6974163

If you can't move it with proper support, and a brass punch & hammer, a sight pusher wouldn't stand a chance.

If all else fails, split it with a Dremel cut-off wheel and it will fall out.

rc

 

[gunsrfun1]

Wow, so the stories are true. I just watched a video on Dawson Precision about how to replace the sights. Here is the link. http://www.youtube.com/user/DawsonPrecision
If you freeze-frame at 3:51 you see the sight tool he provides with his sights. You can see that it basically fits against both the the sight blade and the sight base. Pretty neat. Seems like a good tool and I wonder if anyone has actually used this tool to remove the original front sight. Thanks

 

[Zerodefect]

Yeah I have a few of those. They are quite soft. I don't use them.

I file my sights very little so they are way tighter than usual. The setscrews in my Glocks and Kimbers do nothing. Just there to fill the hole. I press fit my sights. That Dawson pusher just bends and fails. I do usually leave a small dent or mark on the sight when I hamer it in with a steel punch. But it deosn't look too bad. Usually a little cold blue helps.

I use a steel punch because it "sticks" well and deosn't slip. I never push on the blade, just the foot. Use the largest punch you can. You can even grind a huge punch down into a rectangle punch about the same size as the foot of your sight to get the most contact area. Less denting, scratching that way.

 

[gunsrfun1]

Thanks Zerodefect. He sure makes it look easy in the video, but it wasn't a Kimber he was working on. I may just try to get the original front sight out with a steel punch as you recommend, and if it doesn't budge, I may just have Dawson do the whole job for $26.