Kimber - non-standard front sight dovetail! Need help!

[TarpleyG]

I just acquired a Kimber Custom Classic and One of the things I need to do is replace the tritium front sight with a Dawson FO. I even ordered the standard Kimber sight and it'll be here this week. I removed the existing front sight so I could compare the dovetail to my two other Kimbers because it looked 'bigger'. Well, wouldn't you know--Murphy's law--the damn thing has a .370" dovetail vs. the standard .330" dovetail. I am not even sure Dawson builds a sight for this cut. Is this a standard cut for another sight maker? The rear has been cut for a Bomar and it currently wears a Caspian version of that sight. Can someone help me???

Greg

 

[Jim Watson]

I never heard of a .370" front sight dovetail. What brand is the tritium sight you want to replace?

I guess you could use a rifle FO front sight, they are on a 3/8" (.375") dovetail. That could be filed to fit but I don't know if the depth of the dovetails would be compatible. Note that when looking at the Marble's chart that they figure overall height of the sight from the bottom of the dovetail, not just the height of the blade as is usual for pistol sights.

Other suggestions:
Call Dawson (and Brazos, Caspian, EGW) about a custom dovetail.
Contact EGW about welding up and recutting the dovetail to a standard size.
Paint the existing sight blade. I painted a Trijicon red-orange around the lamp and it is quite visible, day or night.

 

[TarpleyG]

Jim,

I was snooping around the Brownell's catalog and as near as I can tell, that front sight I have is an Ashley/XS sight. Looks just like this one. I am not happy about this as it will forever be a problem if I have to change sights again. BTW, this sight doesn't even fit that tight so whoever cut the dovetail or fit the sight did a piss poor job of it. I will contact Dawson tomorrow morning to see about a custom job but I doubt they'd do it affordably. I may be stuck untilizing the original sight and some Loctite (which is how it was secured).

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/st...I-AUTO+24/7+BIG+DOT+TRITIUM+EXPRESS+SIGHT+SET

Greg

 

[Jim Watson]

Well, to quote a usually reliable source (me) I would also call EGW and ask about welding it up. They don't list that exact job, but they only charge $50 to rework the breechface.
http://www.egw-guns.com/egw.htm

 

[TarpleyG]

I'd rather not mess with the slide. It'll have to be refinished then and it's NP3. I sent George Smith over at EGW an e-mail asking for a quote on a custom sight for it. Will let you know what he says.

Greg

 

[Jim Watson]

Ouch.
No, I would not want to burn through a $200 finish job if there were any other alternative.

Oddball proprietary sight installations are one of my pet peeve hotbuttons.
If it doesn't fit a GI dovetail or a Bomar relief, I am not interested. I have a couple of Springfields, one with Novak, one with their own Bomaroid adjustable that are serviceable, but I would not have paid to have it done to a standard slide.
Once Novak popularized the cross-dovetail front sight, everybody should have jumped on the .330" bandwagon. (Although my FLG may be right, the .300" Heinie front looks more in proportion.)