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Stock sight removal tip

15K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  Demp223 
#1 ·
I signed up to this forum just to post this one tip that helped me remove my stubborn front sight.

Rear sight came off like a normal dovetail with some elbow grease, but front sight would not budge. I wasn't comfortable using my air chisel for this task so instead I decided very careful use of my dremel was the solution. I started making a cut ever so slowly through the sight getting more and more nervous I would cut into the slide like I have seen in other posts.

Then I looked up and saw my 4" mini hacksaw! This allowed me to very slowly and precisely cut a deep enough slit to relieve some pressure and allow the front sight to be knock out with a tiny tap of the hammer, no damage to the finish or dovetail channel.

These tools can be had for a few bucks at most anywhere with plumbing supplies since they are commonly used to cut copper and pvc piping, but it worked like a charm for the front sight removal!

Hopefully this will be a benefit to someone trying to get these pain in the a$$ sights off their XD
 
#4 ·
I signed up to this forum just to post this one tip that helped me remove my stubborn front sight.

Rear sight came off like a normal dovetail with some elbow grease, but front sight would not budge. I wasn't comfortable using my air chisel for this task so instead I decided very careful use of my dremel was the solution. I started making a cut ever so slowly through the sight getting more and more nervous I would cut into the slide like I have seen in other posts.

Then I looked up and saw my 4" mini hacksaw! This allowed me to very slowly and precisely cut a deep enough slit to relieve some pressure and allow the front sight to be knock out with a tiny tap of the hammer, no damage to the finish or dovetail channel.

These tools can be had for a few bucks at most anywhere with plumbing supplies since they are commonly used to cut copper and pvc piping, but it worked like a charm for the front sight removal!

Hopefully this will be a benefit to someone trying to get these pain in the a$$ sights off their XD
Youre in luck.... There is a thread for this....

Pro tips
 
#5 ·
Sometimes Dremels should require a tax stamp.

Best way to remove sights is to invest in the correct sight removal tool or to send it off to someone that has it.
I won't say that your wrong, but I have done a variety of pistol sights with the old brass punch and hammer method, but for whatever reason the xd front sight was near immovable.

And me, like many others around the Midwest, are stubborn and don't like to pay for a tool that will get 1 use or pay someone to do a job we are capable of.

So I just shared a method that worked for me by starting a cut with the dremel and then slowly and carefully cutting through it with a small plumbers hacksaw until enough material was removed from the sight to easily push it out with a punch.

Is this method for everyone? Absolutely not! Some men aren't even sure how to change a tire these days! But for me it was easy, and worked like a charm and the pistol still looks as good as new.
 
#7 ·
Sometimes you have to use what you have available to get the job done. Good old American ingenuity which some people just don't have any more. Good job on taking a risk and seeing a job through successfully with the tools you had at your disposal.
 
#8 ·
Sometimes you have to use what you have available to get the job done. Good old American ingenuity which some people just don't have any more. Good job on taking a risk and seeing a job through successfully with the tools you had at your disposal.
Wait... from what I've gathered from this forum you're supposed to make me feel stupid and inadequate for successfully doing a task because you would have either sent it to a "professional" or done it a different way... I guess those of us with the gene allowing us to think critically and solve problems for ourselves are a dying breed haha
 
#9 ·
don't think everyone here put you down. Your gun, your tools, your knowledge, your choice. You shared and that is supposed to be prime mission of this forum.

Guess what I did about four or five years ago when replaced stock sight on XD9 with a fiber optic. After trying brass punch, no go, researching and reading all XD are tough, I chose my path. Air hammer with round tip chisel ... and lots of prep. Wrapped slide with pieces of mdf and gun tape leaving only sight exposed. Practiced the tap on a piece of scrap steel. Put the point against dove tail, one quick tap on air trigger, poof .. it budged. Switched to brass punch and hammer. Done. Gun fine.

Do I recommend that as a solution for everyone/anyone? Hell no. My choice, my risk. Just like you.

But guess what ... about a year and half ago a shooting buddy asked me to do same with his XD. He knew risk but trusted me. His gun also fine.
 
#12 ·
I just replaced all three of my XDm 4.5 (2-45, 1-9mm) front sights with green HiViz sights which are very similar to the stock fiber optic one on my XDs 3.3 9mm which I really like.
Put them in freezer for about an hour and brass tapped them right out with 20 oz hammer and tapped new HiViz right in. Piece of cake. Count me three times lucky I guess.
 
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