What are the different sight options for a .45?

[rojocorsa]

I more or less inherited this old mixmaster 1911 that seems to be mostly USGI parts and a "Crown City" frame.

*I did look up Crown City and learned that most of their stuff was garbage, but this specific frame seems to be fine.

I shot the pistol on Sunday. The gun fired but it FTEd every single time causing jams and double feeds. I checked the tension and it had none whatsover. I pulled it out and saw a seam on the part, so I'm thinking it was a crappy MIM part. I tried adding some tension but I am not sure it worked either. I plan on getting a decent Series 70 extractor and fixing that.

Here is a mandatory picture of what I have.


As you can see, the top half is USGI. It's fine. It seems to work (except for that shit extractor) It wasn't the ammo or mags because I shot those out of a 100 yr old Colt and those items worked as advertised.




Anyway, two things-----

1) How/where do I find someone to modify this USGI slide for better sights? How much does work like this usually cost?

2) What are all my sight cut options? (I know of Novak or Bo-mar). I am sure there are others.

Thank you Gentlemen.




(I would also like to change out the stocks to something flatter, and get a flat MSH, and a longer trigger); I probably should get an ambi safety since I am LH.


ETA: I sure as hell wouldn't mind if the end result looked something along these lines.

[Chuck]

Take a look at Brownells.com to see a large variety of sight options.

Slides are inexpensive to ship.
Be certain of the smith's skill before making a choice.

[rojocorsa]

Or perhaps I should just ask:

Are there any simple mods to improve USGI sights as they are?

[ruchik]

Take a look at this offering from Harrison Customs. Well-known high-end 1911 gunsmith, and manufacturer of some very excellent 1911 parts. This particular sight is designed to fit original USGI rear sight cuts, and is designed to allow one-handed manipulation of the slide using face of the rear sight.

You may also take a look at Novak's offerings if you want tritium drop-in replacement parts. The front sight, no matter what replacement rear sights you go with, will have to changed along with the rear sight.

[chrismartin]

I had my slide cut for Novak sights. There is a TON of sight options with that type of dovetail.
For this case, I went with a Dawson fiber optic front sight and a 10-8 U notch rear.

On the extractor... While you are getting a new extractor, I'd consider getting a new firing pin stop as well. When fit together, the firing pin stop will prevent the extractor from "clocking" (twisting in the channel)

Harrison Custom has a great new FP stop that dropped into two of my guns.

http://shop.harrisoncustom.com/hd-20...iring-pin-stop

It has a small radius at the bottom that helps take away some mechanical advantage from the slide (makes it a little harder to cock the hammer, which ends up reducing felt recoil a bit, helps prevent the slide from out running the magazine, etc) It's a great part. I used to use EGW oversized stops, but I'd go Harrison first, less work to fit than the EGW, but still really good.

[rojocorsa]

Guys, thanks for those links to Harrison!

That sight is pretty much exactly what I needed. (For some reason when I made this thread yesterday I forgot that there was such thing as a standard rear sight dovetail. D'oh!) I'd rather not screw around with a Novak cut because I honestly don't need it.

I'll admit that I am not at all that experienced with pistols outside of occasional shooting at a square range. Is it a big deal if that sight does not come with the two white dots? That's the only thing that got me concerned about that Harrison sight. I noticed that the old school MEUSOC doesn't have white dots, and those guns were intended for serious use...


One last question, is it worth it to get a new barrel for this gun at all? (Or should I just worry about getting decent sights and go learn how to actually shoot?)

[QuickStrike]

Take a look at this offering from Harrison Customs. Well-known high-end 1911 gunsmith, and manufacturer of some very excellent 1911 parts. This particular sight is designed to fit original USGI rear sight cuts, and is designed to allow one-handed manipulation of the slide using face of the rear sight.

I chose this one rear sight + his commander style ring hammer for a retro/classic build. Gonna be awesome...

[ruchik]

Many shooters, especially professional ones, actually prefer running a plain, blacked out rear sight with a dot or colored front sight. Less clutter in the sight picture when aiming. I am fairly sure you will have to get a new front sight, though. Check out Meprolight, I think they have a set or two for 1911's with USGI sight cuts.