Quick Easy Fix for Stock Front Sight on Gp100 Revolver Paint It

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Is anyone using after market iron sights on their revolvers? If so, what ones and how are they working out for you? Also, has anyone done or had done modifications to their OEM sights that showed significant improvement?
I tried an XS Big Dot on my S&W model 60. I carry it as a trail gun quite often and found I did not like the Big Dot for precision shots. I've since removed it. A plus from that installation is that I had widened and deepened the sight channel and find it helps with the OEM front sight.

I've also installed a Millet adjustable target sight on my S&W 617 and I am very happy with it so far. I wonder how it would work with a gold dot front sight blade.

I (and my aging eyes) really would like to know what is working out for others.

Regards,
Greg
gizamo Member

Joined:

Dec 26, 2007

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440
Know what you mean about older eyes...Man, youth is wasted on the young
Guess I went down the other fork in the road....Concentrating on the front sight ~ as I tend to focus more on that. I have found that Patridge sights work pretty well for me. For some reason the red insert style and I do not get along...

Giz
I started using a fiber optic (green) on the front of my DW last year. It has really help me. I also use a white out line on the rear, I just added that to several of my S&W's. I recently added a fiber optic (red) to my 1911. I prefer the green, the red is almost too bright in full sun.
I use one of these on my ruger revolvers, I love them.
www.oneraggedhole.com
MySD guns are all fixed sights since I don't use the sights any way for SD shooting. For hunting,target,etc I would go with some low profile adj. My stock S&W adj's are OK on my 686.
Gold Bead front and stock slot rear.
I do not have any yet. The key word is yet.
You might laugh, but my favorite fixed-sight handgun is a stock Ruger blackhawk - modified by simply removing the adjustable rear sight. The empty slot becomes a huge, very fixed rear sight that allows for surprisingly precise shooting.
Give it a try. It's easy enough to put the sight back if you don't like it.

I got lucky on mine and the windage was just about perfect. Of course, if you do decide to go this route, you'll need to file the front sight down quite a bit to get the elevation dialed in.
Good info, thanks.
I would like to go with some type of higher visibility sight on my model 60. That was the plan with the Big Dot....it was just too big (I may try their standard dot). Does anyone know the height of the HiViz sight blades on the Smith J frames? If one is close to.168" I may have to try and fit one on my 60.

I was going to swap out the front sight on my 617 until i shot a buddy's 1911 with a rear sight face similar to the Millet. That uncluttered surface makes more difference than it would seem at first glance in aiding your focus. It was also easier to change out

That one holer looks interesting. I'm rebuilding my MKII and have a HiViz front sight ready to go on to it. I may have to get some of those aperture sight blades to go with it.

Speaking of apertures, is anyone familiar with those aperture sights you stick on your glasses for target shooting? Some feedback on their use would be appreciated.

Regards,
Greg
Brian, that gold bead is still tempting me for inclusion on the 617.
MikeJackmin,
Funny you should mention a fixed sight Ruger. I have a stainless Bisley Vaquero (5.5" barrel) that is pretty close to right on at 25 yds. By some grace and surface angels (oops, meant angles, but angels is appropriate) I can see the sights on it quite well. Go figure, you would think that with their size and shiny finish the opposite would be true. Now if i could shoot it better
.

Regards,
Greg
Custom front, base plus dovetailed Novak. Rear channel hogged wider to match, elevation is dialed dead-on for 135-140gr (milled at gunsmith after a trip to the range and bringing target back) Works great from 125gr to 158gr. Works very, very well and believe it or not this is my daily-carry CCW piece.
Yeah, well I hang out with Democrats so dang much, I have it in a fanny pack decorated with peace signs from a local head shop. They have NO clue . Makes sense though: it's my "piece".

Other mods: spring kit, SBH hammer, "psychological warfare" on end of ejector rod, modified grips now (rounded at the bottom for a pinkie-under hold, smoothed). Better grips coming soon, good wood with a custom shape along the same lines (gunfighter width and round-bottom).
I have a blaze orange ramp insert millet sight on a Ruger 2 3/4" security six. I have the set of four different color redhawk/gp100 front sight inserts that Ruger did/does make. Sky blue, white, yellow, and some other color.
Jim,
Years ago when I had a Super Blackhawk, I went the opposite direction and put a Blackhawk hammer on it. After looking at the two in this thread, I would guess a Bisley style hammer was the inspiration for the Super Blackhawk hammer. Anymore photos of your carry piece?
Moonclip,
How well does that sky blue insert work?

Regards,
Greg
I hear you, Greg. My solution is two fold:
1) i only by revolvers with adjustable sights - at least the broad rear blade and post front give you more meat to work with.

2) If possible, I buy the red ramp front/ white outline rear, or I switch to it (change the rear blade and paint the front ramp).

3) if you want to get a REALLY eye-friendly system, I find the "Hi-Viz" system really, really eye-friendly. It has a v-notch in the rear, and a fiber optic post in the front. The fiber optic dot drops right into the cradle of the "V" and you are aligned instantly, and it's easy to keep it there. I don't have it on a revolver, but I do on a 1911 I built a while back. It is great. Here's a poor photo, but you get the idea.

This is indoors, no flash, low/indirect light, and it still gathers up ambient light and gives a nice "dot." You can easily change colors - blue, red, orange, etc. What you can't see in the photo well is the rear is "V" (actually in this case a full diamond, this is a caspian Bo-mar style unit), and the idea is to cradle it there, which is very easy and intuitive to do.
Ah yes... finally get good at shooting after 30 years and the eyes go all to Hell. Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor!
There are SO many options to purchase I couldn't possibly list them here. Lot's of smiths are now putting S&W J frame sights on SA guns, so that is a known quantity. I tried the ORH sights... not very accurate at paper. Very fast on first shot, but does not have the accuracy I like.

What I tried on existing sights (after all, we can't all afford to try every brand of sight on every gun, right?) was to go to Hobby Lobby and buy 3 small bottles of Flourescent paint. It doesn't glow in the dark (as far as I know) but it that really glowing color type.

Anyway, I got read, green and orange. I applied a small dab on several different revolvers' front sights until I found which one I could see in more lighting conditions than the others - especially near dark. For me it was the green.

I then tried some experimenting. I wanted to see how well I could shoot a Single Six .22LR I have at longer range. So I got a single hair to apply the paint one serration at a time until I was hitting a frying pan at 100 yards every time. Then I coated only the upper portion with the paint, so I now have a front sight regulated at 25 and 100 yards... I can guesstimate in between!

I did another CF revolver with the green paint just on the top of the front blade and then made a single line on a serration, also at 100 yards. I can shoot that gun suprisingly well with open sights now. Between the bright sights and a stick on pinhole type sighting device I can see too!
No, the original Colt Bisley was the inspiration for the Ruger Bisley hammer and trigger; the two are very close. See also this accurate repro:
http://cimarron-firearms.com/Bisley/Bisley.htm

The grip frame is another matter. Ruger's most likely source was a famous custom Colt called the "Number 5", owned and partially designed by Elmer Keith. These reproductions of that gun are by Gary Reeder:

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/revolvers/number5.htm

http://www.reedercustomguns.com/revolvers/images/num5_1.jpg

In a Colt SAA or the Bisley variant, the grip frame is two-piece. The #5 grip frame is made by combining the backstrap of a Bisley with the frontstrap and triggerguard of an SAA, and doing some re-shaping. Ruger appears to have used the #5 outline as a starting point but then made it longer, which makes sense as Mr. Keith wasn't a big fellow and the Rugers gaining the "Bisley" grip frame were larger than a Colt SAA.

There's also more than a hint of Freedom Arms influence in the Ruger Bisley grip frame but as with the #5, the hammer and trigger are pure Colt Bisley.

(None of this is meant to condemn the Ruger Bisley. It is what it is and is highly regarded for it's recoil control tendencies. It's just not historically accurate.)
Two 3" 44 magnums (chromed 29 on the left and 629 on the right):

Meprolights on the 29, C&S Extreme Duty fixed on the 629. I prefer the C&S, but they need to be set up for the load you intend to always shoot.
Kramer.
That's a pretty persuasive photo for using a HiViz sight. Thanks for posting it.
Jim,
Thank you for the background on the Ruger Bisley; much appreciated.
When I suggested that a Bisley hammer might of had some influence on the Super Blackhawk, I was referring as to how the Colt Bisley hammer drops the spur down and flattens it out some. As you point out, the influence can definitely be seen in the Ruger Bisley.

Speaking of Elmer Kieth didn't he mark some of his front sights with gold bars in a manner similar to that which Markbo describes in painting his Single Six's sight.. BTW, thanks Markbo for that informative post.

rbmcmjr,
Looks like you put some real effort (and it paid off) into those 29s
I like the look of that C&S Extreme Duty. I have thought about having my J frame done in something similar by DL Sports

Regards,
Greg
gb6491, the colored Ruger sights are ok but I didn't like them as much as I'd think, they look kind of goofy also as the whole thing is made of the bright colored plastic, not just the front sight blade.
I just ended up putting the orange colored insert on a black ramp front sight from my Redhawk .41mag on my GP100 as I shoot the GP more often.

I put the less visible all black front sight from my GP100 on my Redhawk.