Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I'm new to 1911 pistols. Have a custom 2011 .40 with caspian slide. It has a plain black front sight and I'm wanting to switch to fiber but overwhelmed with all the choices and sizes. I have a Bomar adjustable rear that I will keep. Rear notch is .115 wide .090 tall. The current front is .175 tall and .115 wide. The front sight cut is .300 front to back. I like the amount the notch is filled currently if anything slightly wider would be better than thinner for a front sight I like a large fiber rod also. Can someone point me in the right direction on what to get? Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcreid06 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) Dawson precision will have whatever you would want in almost any configuration. Might look at the brazos lightening rod too. Edited May 22, 2015 by jcreid06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Dawson precision will have whatever you would want in almost any configuration. Might look at the brazos lightening rod too. Thanks for the response, but that's the problem I'm having.. all the configurations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racknrider Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 If you want bigger try the Brazos in .125 width. Thought I was the only one that liked a wide front sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler2you Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Garmil--sounds like maybe you're unsure about your front sight cut. The first thing you need to do is determine what type of cut you have for your front sight before you start looking at configurations. The 2 most common styles on semi-custom/custom 2011s are probably the Novak and STI/SVI/Heinie profile. You will either need to ask your gunsmith what type of sight cut you have or carefully measure the dovetail. STI/SVI: .300″ X .060″ X 60 degrees Novak: .330 X .075" X 65 degrees Once you've determined which cut you have, you can start looking at the different configurations. Probably most popular are the Dawson Precision or Brazos Lightning Rod sights. Dawson probably has more variety in height./width combos if you're set on matching your existing set-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhounder Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 If you want bigger try the Brazos in .125 width. Thought I was the only one that liked a wide front sight. Same you're not alone, get older hard to see the .90 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Going by those measurement I have the sti cut. The closest dawson sights are ramped isn't a straight or partridge more common for a competition gun? I do like the brazos lightning rod standard.125 leaning toward that right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler2you Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Not sure why Dawson only has the ramped style in the wide (.125") version. Looks like the Brazos Lightning Rod may be your best bet for a Patridge style that wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler2you Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Here's one more option from Caspian if you're OK with a .185T unit: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/sights/front-sights/1911-auto-fiber-optic-dovetail-sights-prod4970.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thsnks tyler. Looks like brazos it is. That caspian is a novak cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler2you Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thsnks tyler. Looks like brazos it is. That caspian is a novak cut. Actually, they have both. The 60H is the STI/Heinie cut and the 60N is the Novak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Oh ok you're right my bad. My sight now is pinned in front of the cut can I just go without on one of these I don't see a spot for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler2you Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Oh ok you're right my bad. My sight now is pinned in front of the cut can I just go without on one of these I don't see a spot for it. Yes, you can go without pinning. In fact, the F/O sights I've dealt with from Brazos and Dawson don't come drilled for the pin. If you haven't installed a sight before, you should probably have a gunsmith do it for you. Most sights come at least .005" oversize, so there's some fitting that needs to be done to get a proper fit to the dovetail. Most of the time, you can remove material from the bottom of the sight a tiny bit at a time until you get a snug fit, put a little red loctite in the dovetail and tap it home. Sometimes however, you may have to remove enough material from the bottom of the sight to where the bottom of the blade will hit the top of the slide. Then you would have to clearance the blade for it to fit. It can be a time consuming and tedious process with lots of opportunities to end up with a useless sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ok got it. Thanks a lot for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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