Ok, so I know it's not that pricey to let a pro do this, but I'm stubborn that way, so I set off to install a new Dawson Fiber Optic front sight delivered from pistol-gear.com (in 2 days flat)!!
I figured the most important step was to secure the slide for the pounding (read all the horror stories in here). Didn't like vises: no good angle for hitting. Shown below is my setup. C-clamps and large slab of oak on the bottom with small piece of trim on the top to protect finish, covered wood with elec. tape to be safe. The photo doesn't show the nice layer of frost on the slide from being in the freezer (another pearl of wisdom from this forum...)
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Notice I drilled a hole in the bottom piece of oak for the front sight to push into as it (hopefully) came out.
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The brass punch in the above photo immediately sheared off when pushing on the base of the sight, I switch to pushing on the blade, and to a bigger hammer, and the sight came off nicely.
While I was at it I adjusted the drift on my rear sight a bit. In the photo below is what is left of the nice aluminum punch that Dawson included. DO NOT use this to try to remove your front sight as I did first, it will immediately be sheared and trashed.... live and learn. Side note: I black out the dots on my rear sights, I think it gives better focus on the front.
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So, the old sight is removed, time to put in the new sight, and there is no way it is going into that dovetail. Do NOT pound it, I confirmed with Dawson, it will break if you do, it should go in with very minimal tapping. I was able to get a very nice fit by filing down the bottom surface of the sight (below).
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Finished install, doesn't look bad!!! Once filed I was able to install with light taps. For reference, I filed it until all but about 1/8" of the dovetail base would push into the slide by hand. From that point it just took light taps with what was left of the aluminum punch. If you have to tap hard, you're going to tear up the sight you just paid $36 for.....
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Shown below the sight picture. Dawson makes two different width front sights for the XD, .100" and .125". I picked the narrow sight. Wanted to go narrow, at long range the sight doesn't block as much of the target, and I like being able to see in between the grooves a bit.... of course I haven't shot it yet.... will let you know.... it is substantially narrower that the OEM sight.
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This is not something I would have ever considered trying without having read all the threads in here, so I thought I would pass this along in case anyone else is thinking of giving it a go!!
I figured the most important step was to secure the slide for the pounding (read all the horror stories in here). Didn't like vises: no good angle for hitting. Shown below is my setup. C-clamps and large slab of oak on the bottom with small piece of trim on the top to protect finish, covered wood with elec. tape to be safe. The photo doesn't show the nice layer of frost on the slide from being in the freezer (another pearl of wisdom from this forum...)
Notice I drilled a hole in the bottom piece of oak for the front sight to push into as it (hopefully) came out.
The brass punch in the above photo immediately sheared off when pushing on the base of the sight, I switch to pushing on the blade, and to a bigger hammer, and the sight came off nicely.
While I was at it I adjusted the drift on my rear sight a bit. In the photo below is what is left of the nice aluminum punch that Dawson included. DO NOT use this to try to remove your front sight as I did first, it will immediately be sheared and trashed.... live and learn. Side note: I black out the dots on my rear sights, I think it gives better focus on the front.
So, the old sight is removed, time to put in the new sight, and there is no way it is going into that dovetail. Do NOT pound it, I confirmed with Dawson, it will break if you do, it should go in with very minimal tapping. I was able to get a very nice fit by filing down the bottom surface of the sight (below).
Finished install, doesn't look bad!!! Once filed I was able to install with light taps. For reference, I filed it until all but about 1/8" of the dovetail base would push into the slide by hand. From that point it just took light taps with what was left of the aluminum punch. If you have to tap hard, you're going to tear up the sight you just paid $36 for.....
Shown below the sight picture. Dawson makes two different width front sights for the XD, .100" and .125". I picked the narrow sight. Wanted to go narrow, at long range the sight doesn't block as much of the target, and I like being able to see in between the grooves a bit.... of course I haven't shot it yet.... will let you know.... it is substantially narrower that the OEM sight.
This is not something I would have ever considered trying without having read all the threads in here, so I thought I would pass this along in case anyone else is thinking of giving it a go!!
