Sight adjuster tool WTF???

[AWD]

Should this cost $40.00 more than the damn sights?

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=235730&t=11082005

AWD

[rkwallace]

I feel the same way, does anyone know of a redneck version that works as well?

[Scooter]

It's called a nylon or brass punch.

[the_fallguy]

More material, longer machining process, more parts, and less demand = higher cost

I personally use a padded vice and brass drift punches to adjust my sights. If you want to go that route, make sure to only push against the base of the sight, not the top.

[AWD]

Yeah, I ran a search and realise the punch thing works... just wondering if anyone has run across one on sale or something. I have been told they work really well. And I have no vice so I'm screwed either way.

AWD

[Scooter]

Get a block of wood and have someone hold the gun, then use a punch.

Sight pushers are one of those things you see at gun shops, rarely seen on the bench of a good gunsmith.

[ARKAY.357]

[QUOTE=AWD;633854]Should this cost $40.00 more than the damn sights?

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=235730&t=11082005

AWD[/QUOTE

If your not too handy with a hammer and punch, I think 125 bucks is not a bad deal for a lifetime tool. Let it be known in your shooting crowd that you will install sights for 20 bucks, and recoup your investment.


JAT;

ARKAY

[Renegade]

Sight pushers are one of those things you see at gun shops, rarely seen on the bench of a good gunsmith.

How does a good gunsmith install an HK sight then?

[Scooter]

Using a brass punch. There's nothing a $100+ sight pusher can do that a $7 brass punch can't do. There's plenty a $7 brass punch can do that the sight pusher can't.

[Renegade]

Using a brass punch. There's nothing a $100+ sight pusher can do that a $7 brass punch can't do. There's plenty a $7 brass punch can do that the sight pusher can't.

I knew that was going to be your answer, but I tried to not believe it.

The brass punch has lots of problems from possible bad alignment to inflicting tremendous G force on the sight. That is why they invented sight pushers. A properly made sight pusher will provide perfect alignment, minimum and constant force spread out over a larger surface area. A punch just cannot do that, especially with a close tolerance sight. What is worse, and I have seen it, is when the punch cannot get the sight in, the gunsmith thinks this means it is time to machine the sight or the dovetail until it is out of spec and fits easily. Ouch.

[ARKAY.357]

Using a brass punch. There's nothing a $100+ sight pusher can do that a $7 brass punch can't do. There's plenty a $7 brass punch can do that the sight pusher can't.

Well, nobody 'splained DAT way!

Good point;

ARKAY

[Sobriquet]

Isn't a nylon one a better idea?

[Big Bore]

I hate nylon punches. If anything is tight they just shred and you end up ruining the punch, or worse, when it shreds the body of the punch can ride up on the sight and bend the blade when you are installing very thin bladed sights. Don't ask me how I know. I use a brass punch and then a little CR-10 to remove any copper marks left.
But if you are doing a lot of sight installs like I was about 15 years ago, and installing quite a few sights with very thin and tall blades with beads on top like the Williams Streamline, a sight pusher is a God-send. I broke two sights because of the nylon punch breaking (1) and another from being careless and not using enough light to see properly. I got a sight pusher and never broke another one.
For HK sights, well, I just don't do enough of them and they are a lot more robust than the hunting blade/beads I was doing before so for them a dovetail file-for the site-a brass punch and wooden vice does the trick.
A cheaper version of the HK sight pusher can be had from Top Glock (http://www.topglock.com/category/1128-Glock_Tools.aspx) made by Maryland Gun Works (MGW) and is also sold by Midway but Top Glock is much cheaper.

I had a P.O. P12's slide machined for night sights many years ago by a highly recommended 1911 smith. When I sent the sights with the smith they glowed in the dark brightly. When I got the pistol back the front sight no longer glowed. MMC replaced the front sight but said to inquire about the method the smith used to installed them. I asked the guy and he said he installed the sights, after milling the standard slot, with a punch. There you go. MMC sights are over sized and he milled the slide, then installed the sight. He did not fit the site to the slot he milled. So, when he drove that sucker in there with a punch he had to whack it hard, really hard. That broke the Tritium bulb but it took a few days for the Tritium to leak out. That is why when he got done it worked, but when I picked it up it was dead.
Crap like that happens to me all the time so what I was amazed about was that MMC replaced the site even though it was obvious that the smith had screwed it up. Yah, I know, time to find a better smith or do it yourself, so when it came to my HKs, that's exactly what I did, I did them myself.

[swenk]

Does anyone know why that pusher says it wont work with tactical slides?
I have a few USP's, but then main reason I would buy one would be to put tall night sights on my tac.

[smschulz]

Honestly, if you only want to change sights on just one gun the pusher is a tough decison. If you have serveral of the same brand that a SP can work on they are wonderful. It has made it easy for me on my HK's (5) and Sigs (9). I have a Sig specific and a B & J universal that I have used on HK Berretta and a 1911. I do theink the specific version work much better. It's either that or get handy with a punch. I prefer the sight tool by a large margin.

[smschulz]

Does anyone know why that pusher says it wont work with tactical slides?
I have a few USP's, but then main reason I would buy one would be to put tall night sights on my tac.
My universal B & J PM500 from MidwayUSA works fine with the Tac, Expert and Elite and my Compact too. The HK MGW one may have a problem with the tall front and even the rear ~ not sure. Never had tried it.

[straightgrain]

Like others have said... If you are doing just one gun or are facile with a punch, then a pusher is not a good choice.

A punch is not a good choice if you have no skill with one or are mounting tritium. I know that tritium sights *can* be successfully mounted with a punch. But I also know how many times I have seen those vials shattered because somebody wasn't paying attention with a punch.

I have more USP's than I care to admit. And several friends have some. It was a good spend to make a needed task easy and simple.

[MarcDW]

Send me the sites + $20 and I do it on my site pusher!

[straightgrain]

I do something similar. Generally, it's for free for friends. But I usually have it in the range bag. If somebody with an HK USP needs sights adjusted or mounted, you gimme some ammo and I tweak the sights. It's more than covered its cost!

[Scooter]

after milling the standard slot

Wow, this guy is a genius. Everyone with half a brain knows you always modify the cheapest part. At that point, I would get him to pay for a new slide since it will be tougher for you to get a new sight on that slide.

It is standard procedure to file down a sight to make them fit. Sights have to be made oversize in order to deal with the tolerance stack up.