SP101 brass bead front sight

[Waveski]

I now have a brass bead as a front sight on my SP101. It was not easy to find a bead sight with a threaded post which was small enough to drill and tap into a milled down SP101 blade sight. Lots of trial and error.

I will be glad to share more info later ; it is late here and work comes early. I hope that the images are interesting to the group.

 

[M-Cameron]

looks good.....but i would mill the factory front sight down a touch more to make it flush with the barrel

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Cool man!

 

[Waveski]

The original front sight is shaped to overlap onto the top of the barrel rib. I determined that it was necessary to maintain this overlap in order to keep the sight base stable - to prevent it from rocking back and forth. That is why the sight base stands proud of the barrel surface it is mounted into.

The image of shows the front sight , milled down and ready for drilling and tapping to receive the threaded post of the brass bead.

 

[AZAndy]

I like it, but am curious as to any effect on drawing from a holster.

 

[Waveski]

No resistance with my Bianchi suede IWB holster. The new sight is the same height as the original ; not tall enough to catch or bind. Top is rounded. The only way it could catch is if the muzzle and sight protruded from the open bottom of a holster , but I never carry that way.

The good part is : the original front sight looked to me like a little black brick. With my vision I had lots of difficulty with sight acquisition. The new bead sight jumps out at me , even in poor light. We actually turned the little bead on a lathe to achieve the correct width and height. You can see the turn marks. I decided against polishing the turn marks smooth because I believe that the tiny facets reflect light better than a would smooth surface.

The original sight was unacceptable to me. I did not like the appearance of a HiViz on a good looking revolver with Hogue CoCobolo grips. I decided I wanted a brass bead , partly because it would be visible , and also because it would be unconventional. It wasn't easy , but now I have my one-off custom brass bead front sight.

A quick trip to the range late yesterday confirmed that my idea was a good one.

 

[beag_nut]

Nicely done work, but I fail to see any benefit.

 

[Waveski]

The benefit is that the original front sight was a fat little black brick which was difficult to visually acquire , and the new sight is very visible and easy to put on target.

There have been discussions here on more than one occasion of the inadequacy of the front sight of the Ruger SP101.

Just for fun , here is an overall image ---

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Looks nice....

but, it'd never work for me - I'd snap that sucker right offa there.


Especially the way I treat my Rugers.


Todd.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Good work on the install! I am a big fan of the brass bead front sight on a revolver, and especially on a gun that just won't look right with tritium.

Here is a comparison of two of my .38s&w's, one with the original half moon front, and one with a brass bead I installed a few years ago.

I certainly think it helps!

 

[Waveski]

Dang! And here I thought I had blazed a new trail. Turns out I was following someone else's wheel tracks.


In the case of your old topbreak you were able to simply mill the blade flat , then drill and tap right into the top of the barrel? If so , it must have been easier than all the waltzing around I had to do.
"just won't look right with tritium" --- That would apply to your revolver. The bead looks it belongs on your - Iver Johnson?

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

In the case of your old topbreak you were able to simply mill the blade flat , then drill and tap right into the top of the barrel? ...The bead looks it belongs on your - Iver Johnson?

Yes, the gun with the bead is an Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless. The gun had a 3 1/4" barrel originally, but I was yearning for a snub nose so I cut and recrowned it at about 2". I initially tried to epoxy the half moon sight back on, with no success. This was when I opted for the bead. It was fairly simple to drill and tap the barrel rib and install. The depth ended up being ever so slightly too much for the amount of meat on the underside of the rib, and you can see where the drill actually bulged the metal out under the bead without breaking through.

I do slightly regret cutting it down as it is a blackpowder era gun, and waiting to get a hold of a smokeless capable gun would have been better. Still, with proper ammo the little owl is my favorite "everywhere" gun in this configuration.

 

[farm23]

I like the looks a lot and can see the benefit of better sight acquisition. Some of the old ones had a gold bead but that is really not an option now.

 

[sawdeanz]

Hopefully i'm not veering too far off track but what is the easiest way to clean up an old brass bead short of buying a whole bottle of polish for a tiny little part.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

Hopefully i'm not veering too far off track but what is the easiest way to clean up an old brass bead short of buying a whole bottle of polish for a tiny little part.

I would use a pair of vicegrips to hold the peice, and go to work with a little rolled up bit of 1000 grit wetordry sandpaper.

 

[Waveski]

Anything acidic, my son once used ketchup. No kidding. Vinegar works too. Or , rubbing compound via q-tip.