Springfield Champion sights and trigger replacement/adjustment?

[Stand_Watie]

Let me start by saying I don't have any experience with gunsmithing/repair, except for basic items like stripping down to clean, replacing a few H&R revolver hammersprings - and firing pins in Thompson center .22 rifles.

I am handy with a wrench, but if what I'm asking about is beyond my ken, I'd much appreciate being told to just take the pistol to a smith. Secondarily, if you are of the "you ought to try to do the modifications yourself" camp, I'd like recommendations of what/where-to-buy type of tools I should use - in particular, I'd noticed that regular screwdrivers seem to scruff up the screws when disassembling firearms - do they make a particular type that is made of brass or such and where would I buy them?

I just recently bought a Springfield champion and like it a lot. My two main gripes that I'd like to fix are

a) I'd like to put "white dot" sights on it

b) The trigger is very stiff; I'd like a smoother, softer pull.

Suggestions?

 

[Jim Watson]

The rear sight is in a dovetail, and can be changed out with a brass punch. You need a vise with padded jaws to hold the slide absolutely steady.

The front sight is staked in. It is removed by breaking it out with pliers, helpful to grind the swaged over end of its shank inside the slide. A replacement is best put in with a special little offset staking punch and a vise or clamp setup to hold the sight straight.

You can get "drop-in" hammer, sear, disconnector, and spring sets claimed to give trigger pulls around four pounds. Prices $100-$150. They are not guaranteed to work without fitting and adjusment, though sometimes they will. A good gunsmith could give you as good a pull on the factory parts for less money.

I am NRA Mechanically Inept and would take those jobs to my gunsmith. I am fortunate enough to have a local man who really knows his way around the gun.