flyfishdave
07-14-14, 21:22
Sorry, no scantily clad women posing with the VP9 but did manage to get some pics of the slide with the charging inserts removed, as well as the inserts themselves, and with the 10-8 rear sight installed.
First, my apologies for the poorly exposed iphone pics, but wanted to get these pics taken quickly and posted to share.
Here's a photo my Macgyver sight drifting setup. It's basically a Gen1 BJ Tool & Machine Universal Sight Pusher. Works well with slides with parallel sides but the newer generation of slides with complex contours and non-parallel sides complicates matters as difficult to drift sights can cause the slide to cant within the tool when pushing hard. I've been clamping wood blocks to the base of the tool and the top of the slide to minimize this slide twist for many years now but recently discovered they have a Gen2 version that incorporates a clamp that accomplishes this task much better.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2927/14654107121_690e0006bc_c.jpg
The HK factory rear drifted out with ease. The last two guns I worked on were a M&P Shield and a Kahr P380, both had rear sights the appeared to be welded to the slide or milled and formed on the slide itself so I may be biased when I say the HK sights floated out of the dovetail.
Here's a semi-nude pic of the slide with the rear sight removed:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14470656580_a586379bcf_c.jpg
Close up of the charging inserts, removed from slide, as detailed in my other post:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14470706129_db99f64faf_c.jpg
Upon examining the flattened inserts, I would advise against grinding them out of the slide. They are too small and there is no way of holding or securing these things, and even if you found some magical way to work on them, it would be impossible to get the two flats/planes perfect to match the slide contour. If you don't like the bulge, either wait for the factory version or just grind them on the slide directly, as discussed.
Okay, here's the FULL ON NUDE pic of the VP9 slide - no insert and no rear sight:
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2915/14470656060_9332880e30_c.jpg
While it looks okay bare, the undercut nature of the channel leaves a sharp edge when grasping this area. I would recommend against removing the insert completely.
Note, if you look at the inside of the insert, you can see a hollowed out area that I suspected was hiding inside. When looking at the flattened inserts, you can see faint rectangular outlines appear, which correspond to this hollow area. Given this, exercise caution if you choose to flatten your charging inserts and don't get too aggressive when taking it down.
10-8 rear sight, installed on VP9 slide with flattened inserts:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3908/14655102134_4a86aa1f7a_c.jpg
With exception of the 10-8 rear sights for the Shield (how ironic), all my 10-8 rear sights for 1911's, EMP, Glocks, and full size M&P's required some degree of fitting. Like most quality products, some degree of gunsmithing will be required and is well worth the effort to achieve a good fit. Proper tools certainly will help in this endeavor.
My preferred sight picture:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14470722858_9d907250bf_c.jpg
....well, almost. Just waiting on some Dawson fiber optic fronts. Due to focal length, subject to lens distance, shaky iphone, etc, this is not the exact sight picture when holding the firearms at arms length. The gap of light around the front sight is in fact less than what is shown in the pic. Nevertheless, a plain rear (10-8 when available) with a high-contrast front has been my defacto setup for a number of years now. Even my wheelguns have an identical setup, using an Apex u-notch rear blade instead. Once the Dawsons arrive, I'll update this thread with a new pic.
Dave
First, my apologies for the poorly exposed iphone pics, but wanted to get these pics taken quickly and posted to share.
Here's a photo my Macgyver sight drifting setup. It's basically a Gen1 BJ Tool & Machine Universal Sight Pusher. Works well with slides with parallel sides but the newer generation of slides with complex contours and non-parallel sides complicates matters as difficult to drift sights can cause the slide to cant within the tool when pushing hard. I've been clamping wood blocks to the base of the tool and the top of the slide to minimize this slide twist for many years now but recently discovered they have a Gen2 version that incorporates a clamp that accomplishes this task much better.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2927/14654107121_690e0006bc_c.jpg
The HK factory rear drifted out with ease. The last two guns I worked on were a M&P Shield and a Kahr P380, both had rear sights the appeared to be welded to the slide or milled and formed on the slide itself so I may be biased when I say the HK sights floated out of the dovetail.
Here's a semi-nude pic of the slide with the rear sight removed:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14470656580_a586379bcf_c.jpg
Close up of the charging inserts, removed from slide, as detailed in my other post:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14470706129_db99f64faf_c.jpg
Upon examining the flattened inserts, I would advise against grinding them out of the slide. They are too small and there is no way of holding or securing these things, and even if you found some magical way to work on them, it would be impossible to get the two flats/planes perfect to match the slide contour. If you don't like the bulge, either wait for the factory version or just grind them on the slide directly, as discussed.
Okay, here's the FULL ON NUDE pic of the VP9 slide - no insert and no rear sight:
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2915/14470656060_9332880e30_c.jpg
While it looks okay bare, the undercut nature of the channel leaves a sharp edge when grasping this area. I would recommend against removing the insert completely.
Note, if you look at the inside of the insert, you can see a hollowed out area that I suspected was hiding inside. When looking at the flattened inserts, you can see faint rectangular outlines appear, which correspond to this hollow area. Given this, exercise caution if you choose to flatten your charging inserts and don't get too aggressive when taking it down.
10-8 rear sight, installed on VP9 slide with flattened inserts:
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3908/14655102134_4a86aa1f7a_c.jpg
With exception of the 10-8 rear sights for the Shield (how ironic), all my 10-8 rear sights for 1911's, EMP, Glocks, and full size M&P's required some degree of fitting. Like most quality products, some degree of gunsmithing will be required and is well worth the effort to achieve a good fit. Proper tools certainly will help in this endeavor.
My preferred sight picture:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5487/14470722858_9d907250bf_c.jpg
....well, almost. Just waiting on some Dawson fiber optic fronts. Due to focal length, subject to lens distance, shaky iphone, etc, this is not the exact sight picture when holding the firearms at arms length. The gap of light around the front sight is in fact less than what is shown in the pic. Nevertheless, a plain rear (10-8 when available) with a high-contrast front has been my defacto setup for a number of years now. Even my wheelguns have an identical setup, using an Apex u-notch rear blade instead. Once the Dawsons arrive, I'll update this thread with a new pic.
Dave