MTpistolshooter Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I just had a custom Limited 2011 built by a well known smith. After receiving the pistol, I looked it over and noticed the rear sight has movement in the dovetail. Specifically, the base of the sight moves in the dovetail when I press my finger on the base of the sight (towards the muzzle). I shot the pistol and it appears to be very accurate but I am concerned if a Warren Tactical adjustable rear sight should be moving in the dovetail. To be clear, I am not talking about pressing the adjustable top portion of the sight, I am saying when I press the base of the rear sight, I can see it move in the dovetail of the slide. I have attached a couple of pics to give you an idea of the run out I am speaking of. I barely have to press the base of the sight to get it to move in the dovetail. I grip a glass of water tighter in my hands then I am pushing the sight. As a Glock guy, I have always ran fixed rear sights, so they were obviously snug in the dovetail. So is this normal for a Warren Tactical adjustable or something to be concerned with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthoefer Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) No the sight shouldn't move in the dovetail. I have a warren tactical bowmar for my Trojan and it was crazy tight. It took a ton of fitting to install. Unfortunately that read sight shot way high so I went to a Dawson rear. There is a set screw that can be tightened also. Unscrew the elevation screw all the way and lift up the blade. Don't lose the spring. There is a set screw that tightens into the dovetail. Make sure that is tight. Edited October 21, 2014 by bthoefer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotgunone Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) You may want to tighten the elevation screw all the way down counting your clicks, before you unscrew it all the way and tighten the set screws under the blade in the dovetail. You can also put some lock tite in the dove tail before you put the rear sight back in and then lock tite the set screws too. I use blue because it's not as permanent as the red. Then when you go to tighten the elevation screw back in tighten it all the way down and back it out the number of clicks you had it before. It won't be exact but it should get you on paper, if your elevation setting was good to began with. Edited October 21, 2014 by shotgunone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quack Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Contact the smith that built your gun. If you don't want to do that, you can dimple the sight base to tighten it up, along with some loctite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 This leads me to my next question. Does this mean the dovetail in the slide is cut to big or does this mean the smith stoned the sight base too much when installing? I guess i wonder if this is going to be as simple as installing a new rear sight or is it going to involve a new slide? And yes, i do plan on contacting the guy who built the pistol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianATL Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Why not try the set screw and if that doesn't remedy the issue then some loctite. Sometimes the fix is simple if this is the only issue your new gun has count yourself lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 I definitely will try this tomorrow. I truly hope its easily rectified and I can do it on my own. I will report back tomorrow evening. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Loctite, dimpling, etc. might work. Depends on how much oversize the cut is. But even if one of those works, it's really just a band-aid for a botched job. Not cool for a custom build that probably costs some good scratch. I would take it back and get it fixed right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike21STI Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Definitely get the builder to fix it. If you monkey with it he may say that you caused the issue and won't fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I just had this same issue fixed in one of my 2011's. Rear sight was over-machined and would wiggle just a bit in the dovetail. A good local smith replaced the sight for me and the new one is tight as a frogs butt. I'd definitely get the builder to fix it, as a little wobble in that rear sight will mean inches at the target and take my word for it, you won't get that set screw to stay tight without loc-tite and even then it's iffy unless you use the red stuff, which I wouldn't do because you stand an excellent chance of stripping that screw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) I removed the sight screw and I can remove the rear sight from the pistol with nothing more then gravity. It literally just slides right off the slide with zero effort or momentum. At this juncture, I am going to send a video to the builder and get his take on fixing this properly. It would appear the dovetail in the slide was cut too wide, causing the sight to fall out. If it wasn't for the rear of the adjustable sight sitting down into the back of the slide, the sight wouldn't have stayed attached to the pistol whatsoever. Thanks al for your help. I am a long time lurker and truly enjoy the vast info this site has to offer. Edited October 22, 2014 by MTpistolshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Mine was exactly the same way. It's much more likely that the rear sight base was over-trimmed when it was fitted than it is it is that the slide cut was too deep or wide. If it's a well-known smith, I'm sure they'll make it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 I hope you are right kcobean. The sight doesn't appear to be stoned whatsoever, as there appears to be no material missing. I have fitted Dawson, Trijicon, and mepro sights on several occasions on Glocks and you can always tell where you stoned them. This sight on the other hand appears untouched, as all sides are still coated in black, etc. When I have fit other sights, you can always see where material was removed (i.e. shiny bare metal vs., coated metal). Time will tell of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I hope you are right kcobean. The sight doesn't appear to be stoned whatsoever, as there appears to be no material missing. I have fitted Dawson, Trijicon, and mepro sights on several occasions on Glocks and you can always tell where you stoned them. This sight on the other hand appears untouched, as all sides are still coated in black, etc. When I have fit other sights, you can always see where material was removed (i.e. shiny bare metal vs., coated metal). Time will tell of course. Ugh. Well, let us know how it turns out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 If anyone is interested, I uploaded a video on youtube of me removing the rear sight for the first time. If you go to Youtube and search "2011 rear sight loose," its the first video that pops up. Thanks all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kratos Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have the same sight...the set screw needs to be tighten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Watched your vid - how are you able to move the sight base to and fro with the elevation screw tightened down? Also, it looks like the set screw was never tightened either when you removed the elevation screw & slid the sight out of the dovetail. Your pistol looks like an Akai and, while the dovetails are not quite "snug" on my two Akai's with that sight, it has never given me a moment of trouble in thousands of rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) If I tighten down the set screw, it does tighten the sight up, so I can see using blue Loctite and tightening the set screw to "solve" this problem. My only concern is, if this should be the "solution" or not. Shouldn't the dovetail be the primary "hold" for the rear sight in lieu of a set screw in Loctite? Every rear sight I have ever installed, as well as every gunsmithing tutorial on rear sight installation I've viewed, always has the rear sight tight in the dovetail, and the set screw being the secondary hold so to speak. In this instance though, its just the reverse. The dovetail is not holding the sight whatsoever. Instead its just the set screw. Is this setup the "correct" set up or is this just a bandaid on a rear dovetail being overcut? If you were Max Michel, would you agree this is no big deal, or would you demand your rear sight be tight in the dovetail (Though I doubt Max Michel needs sights). This is what I am trying to determine. I am not trying to cause a fuss with the 'smith, rather I want to know for myself. When I decided to have a custom 2011 built, money wasn't a primary part in the decision making process. Rather, I wanted a quality, top shelf 2011, so when I shot like shit, I knew it was me and not the equipment. On a side note, I hope everyone knows my goal of this thread was never to call any 'smith out, hence why I have not named anyone. Rather, I just wanted other custom 2011 owners to chime in with their opinion on the matter. This way, I could be better suited in understanding if this is a concern or not. I've been a precision rifle shooter for many years but custom pistols are new to me. Thanks all Edited October 22, 2014 by MTpistolshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Well, if you bought a new custom rifle and the action was a little loose in the stock, would you be happy if someone told you to just crank it down with some loctite? Probably not. The sight should be snug in the dovetail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 That sight is SO loose in the dovetail that it will be able to twist off bore-axis. Even with the set screw cranked down and loctite applied, there is no guarantee that the sight won't shift/pivot and change POA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 So, with the elevation adjustment screw turned all the way in clockwise and the sight blade in it's lowest position, you were still able to move the sight base front to rear a noticeable amount? If that is the case, could someone explain how that's possible to me? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) So, with the elevation adjustment screw turned all the way in clockwise and the sight blade in it's lowest position, you were still able to move the sight base front to rear a noticeable amount? If that is the case, could someone explain how that's possible to me? Thanks I can't find anywhere in this thread that he said this. He did say he could tighten down the little set screw to snug the sight up. The elevation screw shouldn't be part of the retention mechanism of the sight. Edited October 23, 2014 by kcobean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) This was the part that puzzled me: I just had a custom Limited 2011 built by a well known smith. After receiving the pistol, I looked it over and noticed the rear sight has movement in the dovetail. Specifically, the base of the sight moves in the dovetail when I press my finger on the base of the sight (towards the muzzle). "Towards the muzzle" indicates front to back movement to me! Oh yeah, I completely agree about the elevation screw not being a retention device. Edited October 23, 2014 by titandriver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTpistolshooter Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) This was the part that puzzled me: I just had a custom Limited 2011 built by a well known smith. After receiving the pistol, I looked it over and noticed the rear sight has movement in the dovetail. Specifically, the base of the sight moves in the dovetail when I press my finger on the base of the sight (towards the muzzle). "Towards the muzzle" indicates front to back movement to me! Oh yeah, I completely agree about the elevation screw not being a retention device. Let me clarify titandriver. Initially when I was looking over the gun, I noticed when I pushed on the side of the rear sight where it goes into the dovetail, I could get the sight to move side to side in the dovetail a few millimeters each way. When I said the word muzzle, I was attempting to convey how I was pushing on the side of the sight that is closest to the front or muzzle of the sight (or directly above the dovetail vs the back side of the sight nearest the hammer). I hope this clarifies why I used the word muzzle. I should've been more clear. My concern is how the rear sight freely moves side to side in the dovetail with zero resistance. Thanks Edited October 23, 2014 by MTpistolshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titandriver Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Ahhh...... thanks for the clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now