keeper Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I have read in past posts, that many of you have replaced the factory rear sights with the sights of other manufacturers. What are the disadvantages of the factory sight? What are the advantages of the others? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemepharmd Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Can't speak for anyone else, but here's my opinion. I prefer a solid black rear sight, and my 625 came with a white outline rear sight. Also, there are different preferences on the width and depth of the notch. I wanted a deeper notch than the original one on my 625. For target shooting, the factory sights are fine, but for competition, there is usually something out there that you would prefer over the factory ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sahlberg Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 The factory rear blade is too small so I changed mine to a large Millet and opened the knotch to a full 1/4" (.250) so that I can acquire the SDM Fiber optic front sight faster. As far as accuracy is concerned with a smaller knotch, this is a fable as your eyes and brain can center the "light bar" on each side faster in that wider knotch than you can with a tighter knotch. I also changed my fiber optic red to green and like it better on overcast days. I shot real PPC (50 yds) for 15+ years before switching to IPSC / ICORE / Steel and have Bomar Aristocrat Ribs on those guns. I also opened up the rear sight on those and gained better accuracy with a 596 / 600 accuracy over these 10+ years. Almost 55 now, I cannot see the lines on the blade of any front sight anymore with or without bi-focals. Those fiber optic sights are both quick and kind to my ailing eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 I think the factory sights are just fine, actually. I used them for years with no problems whatsoever. I did eventually switch my competition guns over to the Millett plain black target rear sight (these, sadly, seem to be discontinued now), but it's mostly just a preference thing. They do give a nice non-distracting sight picture, but the truth is your visual focus should never be on the rear sight anyway.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nashvillebill Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Rear sight is just a notch that you look through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemepharmd Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) Yes, changing from white outline to plain black rear sight probably didn't affect my shooting. The main problem was that the notch was too short. I could only see about 1/2 of the fiber on the SDM when the sights were properly aligned. The other half was below the bottom of the notch. That was definitely a problem for me. Edited February 16, 2009 by chemepharmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 The main problem was that the notch was too short. I could only see about 1/2 of the fiber on the SDM when the sights were properly aligned. The other half was below the bottom of the notch. Same here, but a file fixed the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nashvillebill Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Sight blade replacement kits are available from S&W and they are cheap. I like the tallest blade with the notch filed deeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Sight blade replacement kits are available from S&W and they are cheap. I like the tallest blade with the notch filed deeper. +1 The .160 and .196 blades will allow you to cut a deep enough notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chemepharmd Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) Sight blade replacement kits are available from S&W and they are cheap. I like the tallest blade with the notch filed deeper. +1 The .160 and .196 blades will allow you to cut a deep enough notch. Thank you. Learn something new every day. The rear blade on the original gun was too short for a file to work. The notch went down to the "round thing holding the blade" (for lack of a better name). Didn't consider a taller factory blade myself - by now you can tell that I'm not much of a gunsmith . However, since it went to Carmoney for his magic, he was generous enough to install one of the now-discontinued Millett's, which works great . Edited February 16, 2009 by chemepharmd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeper Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Thanks all for the info. Last year i filed a V notch in the factory rear. I seems to work OK. As mentioned , when shooting I'm never conscience of the rear sight. i only seem to use it when shooting smaller steel plates. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chizzle Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Yes, changing from white outline to plain black rear sight probably didn't affect my shooting. The main problem was that the notch was too short. I could only see about 1/2 of the fiber on the SDM when the sights were properly aligned. The other half was below the bottom of the notch. That was definitely a problem for me. I'm thinking about adding an SDM front to my 5" 625. What height front and what height rear blade would you recommend so that I can see the entire front fiber? I think that I'll need a .300 tall front, and a tall rear blade with the notch filed deeper. Is that what you're doing? Sincerely, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Yes, changing from white outline to plain black rear sight probably didn't affect my shooting. The main problem was that the notch was too short. I could only see about 1/2 of the fiber on the SDM when the sights were properly aligned. The other half was below the bottom of the notch. That was definitely a problem for me. I'm thinking about adding an SDM front to my 5" 625. What height front and what height rear blade would you recommend so that I can see the entire front fiber? I think that I'll need a .300 tall front, and a tall rear blade with the notch filed deeper. Is that what you're doing? Sincerely, Chuck Yes. A .300 front with a S&W .160 rear seems to work out well. You deepen and widen the rear notch to suit. Mine's .110 deep .165 wide. Guess I'm going to have to try a really wide one per Bill Sahlberg's post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357454 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Most of my revolvers have factory sights however I generally install a taller front and rear sight to increase visibility. I have a fiber optic sight on one of my 625s and like it on overcast days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The factory rear blade is too small so I changed mine to a large Millet and opened the knotch to a full 1/4" (.250) so that I can acquire the SDM Fiber optic front sight faster. As far as accuracy is concerned with a smaller knotch, this is a fable as your eyes and brain can center the "light bar" on each side faster in that wider knotch than you can with a tighter knotch. I also changed my fiber optic red to green and like it better on overcast days. I shot real PPC (50 yds) for 15+ years before switching to IPSC / ICORE / Steel and have Bomar Aristocrat Ribs on those guns. I also opened up the rear sight on those and gained better accuracy with a 596 / 600 accuracy over these 10+ years. Almost 55 now, I cannot see the lines on the blade of any front sight anymore with or without bi-focals. Those fiber optic sights are both quick and kind to my ailing eyes. Here is a pic of Mine. I think the rear is about .190. I agree that it is faster and that accuracy and precision does not suffer at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 It's whatever you.. Your eye and your brain like. My match 625 has LPA's because I prefer the LARGE flat face over the Millet and S&W, probably from growing up shooting High Standards and the Bomar rib on my dads Gold Cup. Probably why I like the Bowen rear sight for single actions. I learned the hard way (read expensive) through trial and error that I CAN'T shoot a narrow front or wide set sights, accurately or fast. Best bet is to try as many different things as you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alellis Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 The factory rear blade is too small so I changed mine to a large Millet and opened the knotch to a full 1/4" (.250) so that I can acquire the SDM Fiber optic front sight faster. As far as accuracy is concerned with a smaller knotch, this is a fable as your eyes and brain can center the "light bar" on each side faster in that wider knotch than you can with a tighter knotch. I also changed my fiber optic red to green and like it better on overcast days. I shot real PPC (50 yds) for 15+ years before switching to IPSC / ICORE / Steel and have Bomar Aristocrat Ribs on those guns. I also opened up the rear sight on those and gained better accuracy with a 596 / 600 accuracy over these 10+ years. Almost 55 now, I cannot see the lines on the blade of any front sight anymore with or without bi-focals. Those fiber optic sights are both quick and kind to my ailing eyes. Here is a pic of Mine. I think the rear is about .190. I agree that it is faster and that accuracy and precision does not suffer at all. Hi Festus Where can I get one like that al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
41mag Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 These work good ... http://www.topgunsupply.com/sights-lpa-sights-smith-wesson/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festus1 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 (edited) alellis, the rear sight is a Millett size .410 that I used a round file to widen and deepen some. The front is a .300. The Millett size .410 is the only rear I have found that has room to cut out deeper. Chris Edited August 14, 2009 by festus1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 These work good ...http://www.topgunsupply.com/sights-lpa-sights-smith-wesson/ Pat, how does that rear notch look on those? Much deeper than stock? Anybody that can add pics of their sight pictures...like festus1 did... that would be a huge plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adweisbe Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Pat, how does that rear notch look on those? Much deeper than stock? Anybody that can add pics of their sight pictures...like festus1 did... that would be a huge plus. I asked this question a while back and got a great photo response. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=857429 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwx40x40 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 These work good ...http://www.topgunsupply.com/sights-lpa-sights-smith-wesson/ Wish the would do a wide .140" plain black version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badkarma Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Really like the Millet rear sight... too bad they stopped making them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooney Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 I use the LPA (widened rear) and Protocall Design's (see the dealer forum here) .100 wide front (green fiber) on my 625. Provides a very nice sight picture, but I really like really narrow front sights... I use an SDM on my 617 though, and formerly had an SDM on my 625. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted September 8, 2009 Share Posted September 8, 2009 I use the LPA (widened rear) and Protocall Design's (see the dealer forum here) .100 wide front (green fiber) on my 625. Provides a very nice sight picture, but I really like really narrow front sights...I use an SDM on my 617 though, and formerly had an SDM on my 625. Same changes to the 625 but I put a Protocal Design front on the 617 with the Millet rear I took off the 625. 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