XS Big Dot on 637?

[steelhead]

I put a XS Big dot on my 640-1 and the 24/7's on my Kimber and have been amazed at the change in sight picture and how much my shooting has improved with them.

I want to do the same for my 637 but it does not have a pinned front sight. Is there anyway I can replace the fixed front blade with a big dot?

I thought that maybe the front sight could be milled to the point where the big dot would slip over and then be pinned through the remaining material. Does that sound like it might work?


Thanks

 

[Paul Gomez]

It can be done, but it will cost you.

The barrel taper on the J-frames is a 'cosmetic dimension' not a 'critical dimension'. This means that there is no set barrel dimension on the old barrels, which limits you to having a handcut dovetail for a big dot front sight. Time consuming and spendy.

It would probably be more cost effective to trade in/sell your old gun and pick up a new pinned front sight model and have a big dot put on the new gun.

 

[Jim March]

True on all counts, *except* that...if the gun he's got now is a good one, tight, small gap, shoots well, my personal preference would be to go ahead and have the factory sight base chopped down and a custom dovetailed Big Dot put on.

Basically, if you buy a new gun these days, you have to factor in the possibility that it'll be an outright lemon, or the cylinder gap will be "in spec" at .008" or similar. The checkout helps of course...but it's not infallable.

If his current gun ISN'T a real sweetheart then by all means, swap .

 

[mattz357]

Posting pics of the 640-1 will help us help you... or at least help me decide if I want to put a big dot on my 640-1.

 

[steelhead]

The XS sights on the 640 have significantly enhanced the sight picture and my ability to get on target quick and fire off an accurate shot. They have also allowed me to engage targets out to a farther distance than with just the irons. Before the XS sights, I had to concentrate more to get the same results. Now, I can do so with little effort and/or having distractions affect my aim and impact point.

As it stands, I do well with the 637 and I really like the lightweight over the 640. But once I switched over the to XS sights on the 640, I got to thinking if I could carry over those same improvements to the 637.


Here are the pics of the 640-1 and 637.

 

[seeker_two]

Color me ignorant, but...

If you already have a CTC Lasergrip on your 637, why would you need a Big Dot?...

IMHO, I'd just put some glow-in-the-dark paint on the front sight & call it good...

 

[steelhead]

I rely more on the my sights and my ability to hit things with them. Also, the lasergrips, while nice to have, aren't always practical and batteries can fail. Also, the lasergrips do nothing for you in the daylight. I do have glow paint on the 637 but I really like the sight picture/performance of the 640 with the XS. That is why I was looking to see if it could be done.

 

[Jim March]

Good sights are faster than a laser! A laser should always be treated as a "backup", "secondary" sight system...or even relegated to a training tool.

Lasers should be primary ONLY when you're shooting into a dimly-lit area (where you can still make out your target!) and your gun is in total zero light so you can't see the sights at all (or in the case of these snubbies, front sight tritium and not rear at best).