Drifting the front sight?

:welcome: Welcome to our little corner of the web!

You could loosen the set screw in the rear sight and drift that. The front sights are known to be extremely tight.

Thanks for the reply.

In the owner's manual it says to leave the rear site alone unless you are a certified service person so I didn't touch it.

Would you please let me know if there are any other steps besides removing the set screw before I start with the hammer and punch?

If you read these boards you will read about a lot of people that replace their own fire control parts with Apex Tactical kits, the first step in the installation of the striker block is to remove the rear sight, I will make this recommendation, that you don't move the sight very much as it retains the spring on the striker block. If you see a silver cover under the sight I would stop right there. BUT, if you have to move the rear sight that much there's a bigger problem.

All you have to do is loosen the allen head screw, its and SAE size so no need for a metric wrench, and I recommend using a good quality American made allen wrench and a brass drift.

To demonstrate what I'm talking about, this is a video showing the installation of the Ultimate Striker Block by Apex Tactical, Randy Lee of Apex removes the rear sight, and it will show you what I'm talking about for the little spring loaded cover under the sight, its nothing to worry about, just be aware of it. Most shooters do this job themselves, they don't send it out.
https://youtu.be/kEaVMxkp8PM

The front sight on my Shield was off centered and it too was hitting 3 inches left of center at 10 yards. My brass punch would not budge it, so I ended up using a steel punch with the slide in a padded jaw vice. I did get the front sight moved to center, but I also marred the sight slightly. So I carefully dressed the sight base edges with a file and applied cold blue. It is not noticable at all to the untrained eye, and the Shield is dead on now.

For the Shield, about every 0.006" (about the thickness of average 3x5 index card) of sight adjustment movement will move the point of impact ~ 1" at 25 yards.

The easiest solution to your front sight concern has already been offered to you - adjust the rear sight.

The sights on the Shield can be tight due to their sight base configuration that is different than others. S&W has incorporated a front and rear "ridge" on both sides of the sight base, presumably to assist the hydraulic arbor press to install the sights straight and smooth at the factory. These little ridges seemingly are the culprit.






You can use either punches or a dedicated sight pusher to adjust the sights.

If available you can use a sight tool pusher with the gun specific "shoe" to fit the slide rails.






However, even MGW cautions that the tool is not designed to remove factory “tight” sights.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/12...duct/128643/maryland-gun-works-front-and-rear-sight-tool-s-and-w-m-and-p-shield


Some at Apex Tactical recommend against using any sight tool pushing based on the rear sight design of the Shield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh-e__0bF8Y


If using punches, there are a few important principles:

1. properly secured in a padded vise (copper jaw vise inserts shown) in order for the force of the punch tip to fully deliver its impact to the sight base.





2. tape protect the slide and brass punch tips.


3. shape the end of the brass punch with a file to maximize its surface contact with the base of the sight.



4. loosen the red loctited 1/16" set screw with a high quality tool so you don't strip the hex engagements.




5. Prior to attempting to move the sights, use a penetrating oil and be patient for a few minutes. Even if you do everything correctly, a brass punch may deform and not displace the sights.




6. It may ultimately require a steel punch. Use a tapered "starter" punch as it will deliver the most force to the sight base.



7. check the centering of the sight with calipers if you must.





Here's an example of some Ameriglo sights installed using these methods.



As someone mentioned, if you see this situation, you have drifted your sights way too far !




Caution: Pseudo-science and / or amateur photos may be embedded in this post.

mp9werks:

Excellent tutorial and photos!

I hope the mods make it a stickie.

Way to go Werks! :thumbsup:

My suggestion would have been trigger control as my experience is that small mistakes are magnified on a gun with a short sight radius. It took me a few months and alot of practice with my first Shield to become proficient shooting it. I finally did though and never touched the sights other than having TruGlo TFO's installed, so it is possible. Hope this helps! :smiling:

I know you said that the gun if off at 25 yards, but the Shield was not meant to be used as a competition gun. It was designed to be a self deference weapon and in that case your shot will be more likely to be around 10 to 20 feet! Check your groups at this distance.
If you are determined to move the sights, I recommend moving the rear sight!

Mp9werks, outstanding tutorial and photos! Thanks.

Boy, Mp9werks went above and beyond!

Never had any issues drifting the sights. Put the slide in a vise, get an appropriate driver and hammer, and use your man muscles. Piece of cake

vice
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noun
immoral or wicked behavior.

synonyms: immorality, wrongdoing, wickedness, badness, evil, iniquity, villainy, corruption, misconduct, misdeeds;

criminal activities involving prostitution, pornography, or drugs.
synonyms: immorality, wrongdoing, wickedness, badness, evil, iniquity, villainy, corruption, misconduct, misdeeds; More
an immoral or wicked personal characteristic.

plural noun: vices


vise
vīs

noun
a metal tool with movable jaws that are used to hold an object firmly in place while work is done on it, typically attached to a workbench.

Just sayin'.

Thanks for all of your posts. The pictures were really well done.

I put some painter's tape on a steel punch and got a bigger hammer. The front site is now centered. I checked with a digital caliper.

Went to the range and used my range bag as a rest and shot again using the pad of the finger as I have seen on the Jarret videos. I was not sure how to do the trigger on a pistol like this one, but now I know why I need to use the same positioning as when I shoot my 1911.

It is shooting right on if I really concentrate. 3-4 inch groups over 6 magazines. Multiple bullseye hits so I am sure that this pistol can hit the target now if I do my part.

Hopefully I can do better later. I am the first to admit I am not a world class shooter.

The trigger pull is so heavy I am dry firing a lot to try to smooth it out. I think I need to do the Apex kit. I have carried a 1911 as a EDC for 23 years and I have only tried out other types of handguns until I bought this Shield.

The range I shoot at is very strict and I need to find another one. You have to use their target stands and they only fit in pipes set in concrete at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. You are not allowed in front of the firing line. I will start another thread to find out about shooting clubs in my area.

I understand that this weapon is for only short distances and I would love to find a place in Benton County AR where I can shoot closer that does not charge by the hour. I think I will go to an indoor range just so I can see where I am at 7 yards.

I've had plenty of experience with flying springs, never did one of these though.

Recently I found a recoil spring plug for a 1911 that took flight about 2 or 3 years ago, it was in a shadowbox for the lights above the curtains, I went to change a fluorescent light tube and...what the heck is that? Finally got my hands on it and realized what it was! No wonder I couldn't ever find it on the floor, it was about 7 or 8 feet above the floor!