front sight visibility

telohf

January 18, 2012 06:03

I have a model 36 Smith&Wesson snubnose .38 that I use for backup and off duty. It has the plain old black front sight that is really hard to see. I have tried a couple types of paint to make it easier to see but it always comes off after a short time. Is there anything out there short of a new front sight that will work? Thanks for your time.

0

• 

  tsr1965

  January 18, 2012 06:11

  If I remember correctly, those sights are an integral part of the barrel. Meaning they are not a pinned in insert. A good pistolsmith can change that, so you can put in any sight you want to.
  
  Best

  0
• 

  nmyers

  January 18, 2012 06:59

  Even if you had a gunsmith mill off the existing front sight, there is no replacement that would line up correctly with your "grooved" rear sight. And, there is nothing as low profile & snag proof as what you now have (except for a hammerless J-frame).
  
  S&W current models are available with either their HIVIZ fiber optic or tritium front sight. Rather than spend $200 installing one of these on your M36, you may want to trade in on a new model with sights that meet your requirement. OTOH, none of the newer models will be as compact as what you now have.
  
  You didn't say specifically what paint you tried. I have used red nail polish on a stainless steel S&W with success. Last time I checked, Brownell's had some dayglow sight paint that I would consider trying.
  
  Neal

  0
• 

  dcs shooters

  January 18, 2012 08:06

  I had a tritium night sights put on my 640.
  If your 36 is a newer one, with the wider sight blade, they can do it.

  0
• 

  gravley

  January 18, 2012 10:01

  I have used the dayglo finger nail polish for years. The key is to get the sight very clean and grease free. Use acetone for the last cleaning. Several coats allowing dry time in between each coat. I can get a nice thick coat by holding the area to be painted level in a wood vice. Sometimes the barrel is vertical to get the right angle.

  0
• 

  62fuelie

  January 18, 2012 10:52

  By definition a back-up is reserved for close range encounters, I would encourage you to work on instinct shooting appropriate to the "fire-fight in a phone booth" type of encounter. A smith can cut a dovetail in the existing blade similar to the original S&W M-66 sights. Many manufacturers offer a variety of high visibility materials for this application.

  0
• 

  TANK78Z

  January 18, 2012 11:25

  a good gunsmith can cut a proper dovetail into the front sight and fill it with a special "epoxy" type colored material, ( sold by Brownell's ) when done correctly it looks just like the red ramps on S&W factory sights. This way you can also choose the color from white to yellow to red to orange and a few in between. I have installed many front sights using this method over the years, never had one fail, and they look great too.

  0
• 

  beantownshootah

  January 18, 2012 11:30

  For a $0.25 solution, I currently have two or three coats of bright red nail enamel on my model 36 and its perfectly adequate.
  
  The nail polish seems to hold up fine, and if it rubs off, re-applying it is pretty trivial.
  
  Day-glo orange would probably work even better. One of these days I'm going to get around to putting on high quality (watch-type) luminous glow in the dark paint to make the sights stand out in the dark.
  
  One good tip to make any luminous or day-glo colored paint stand out more is to put down a base coat of WHITE enamel first.
  
  When done, you can coat the painted layer with a clear coat to make it more durable.
  
  You could probably *carefully* paint over your colored paint with a thin layer of clear epoxy to make it virtually indestructible.

  0

Please sign in to leave a comment.