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Removing 1911 Dovetail Sights

Horney toad
How do you remove these dovetail sights? I have a rock island .45 and was thinking of an upgrade.

Also what kind of sights would be a good upgrade?
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • nononsense
    Horney toad,

    Dovetail sights need to be drifted out using an aluminum, brass or nylon drift tapped with a lightweight hammer.

    As to the upgrade, it would be more help for us if you could explain what type of shooting you'd like to be involved with so as to narrow down the field of choices.

    Best.
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  • mark christian
    For decades BoMar was pretty much the default replacement rear sight but I understand that they have closed operations and are no longer in production. STI has a good reputation and might be worth a look.
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  • Spartacus
    STI adjustable tritium 3 dot sights(bomar style) s/b under 100 bucks for the set.
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  • dcs shooters
    We also need to know which model Rock Island you have. If the front sight is not dovetailed in the slide it will depend on what type of shooting and the sights you want to put on.
    The higher end RI 1911,s have Novak type on them and are just a remove and replace type.

    EDIT, That RI has Novak sights on it. They are the ones most go to for replacement ones.
    If you need a diferent front, look at the fiber optic ones.
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  • Horney toad
    http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/876/products_id/411539799

    It does appear to be a dovetail. As far as type of shooting, just general purpose I guess, not any competition. Some plinking and target practice. I'm very much a novice as far as handguns go. Thanks all for the helpful input.

    sight.jpg
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  • 511pe
    I'm not a fan of STI except for their great slides. To remove a dovetail sight just use a micrometer to measure both side widths of the sight's dovetail base to determine the the smaller one to decompress it's interference crush fit to the slide. Drive it out from the smaller side out to the larger side. Some expert smiths or builders will slightly paean down the very tops of the dovetail slot to enable a better crush fit. Both ways can be done together. Keep in mind, compression is key to the service life of the sight. Some expert builders will drill and roll pin the sight blade for a stronger hold. Red thread locker added to the sight basses is an incidental waist of time. Red Thread locker likes to crumble over time and can be a challenge to remove unlike the blue#242. Also it's important to relieve the sight blade bottom before the installation because the blade might twist or distort. If the rear sight fails to tap out, it may have been set with a hydrological press at the factory. To remove it you may have to use a hand grinder and small cut off wheel to cut out the center of the old sight to reduce its holding strength, then drive it out with a sight pusher tool. The factory sights if done correctly will be far better than a reworked assembly. I have little issue with the standard GI 1911 sights up to 30' but that's me. I loved the old Millet double stake on (not a dovetail design) front sight the best but I don't think is made any more. The rear dovetail can be forgiving with set screws to facilitate the compression fit. It's desirable because it can easily be drifted to zero in right to left if your sight is non-adjustable. I'd keep the factory front and change the rear to an adjustable height model along with a tighter barrel bushing for long range shooting. If you can see the front sight easily, I wouldn't mess with it. Check out Nitesiters. If they fit, and you like them, their cheap enough. Way brighter than tritium. Best of luck.
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  • dcs shooters
    quote:Originally posted by 511pe
    I'm not a fan of STI except for their great slides. To remove a dovetail sight just use a micrometer to measure both side widths of the sight's dovetail base to determine the the smaller one to decompress it's interference crush fit to the slide. Drive it out from the smaller side out to the larger side. Some expert smiths or builders will slightly paean down the very tops of the dovetail slot to enable a better crush fit. Both ways can be done together. Keep in mind, compression is key to the service life of the sight. Some expert builders will drill and roll pin the sight blade for a stronger hold. Red thread locker added to the sight basses is an incidental waist of time. Red Thread locker likes to crumble over time and can be a challenge to remove unlike the blue#242. Also it's important to relieve the sight blade bottom before the installation because the blade might twist or distort. If the rear sight fails to tap out, it may have been set with a hydrological press at the factory. To remove it you may have to use a hand grinder and small cut off wheel to cut out the center of the old sight to reduce its holding strength, then drive it out with a sight pusher tool. The factory sights if done correctly will be far better than a reworked assembly. I have little issue with the standard GI 1911 sights up to 30' but that's me. I loved the old Millet double stake on (not a dovetail design) front sight the best but I don't think is made any more. The rear dovetail can be forgiving with set screws to facilitate the compression fit. It's desirable because it can easily be drifted to zero in right to left if your sight is non-adjustable. I'd keep the factory front and change the rear to an adjustable height model along with a tighter barrel bushing for long range shooting. If you can see the front sight easily, I wouldn't mess with it. Check out Nitesiters. If they fit, and you like them, their cheap enough. Way brighter than tritium. Best of luck.



    HUH [?][?]
    How do you paean the top of the dovetail [?][?] Are you saying peen it [?] And just is a hydrological press [?][?] Do you mean hydraulic press [?]

    He's just wanting to upgrade Novak type sights for some reason.
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  • 511pe
    Yes, hydraulic press. I think it was a recommended by the spell check as was the peen misspelling. You have a great attention to detail. To peen the top of a dovetail, secure the slide within a padded vise, take a lucky penny and tap one end against the top corners of the dovetail slot one edge at a time. Yes, peen it. Or peen as mentioned, and drill through the sight blade or base and install a small roll pin. Sorry about the confusion/misspelling. I'm fond of Novak's rear adjustable sight. A tighter barrel bushing will reduce the shot pattern at longer distances. Front dovetails are rather delicate so one sight change may not compromise the integrity of the slot but constant changing of the sight will. Reworks are usually not as good as a factory non-reworked original. With an adjustable rear sight, the front sight height is not to critical as long as it can easily be seen. To shoot higher on the target, click up the rear sight. Too tall front sights can snag or are more at risk for denting as they stick out more.
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  • tsr1965
    You might want to be careful about what sights you pick for your upgrade. I know for a fact that at least some of the earlier RIA 1911's had a different sized dovetail than what the American shooting public are used to. I would check this out first.

    Best
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