Sig P229 Night Sight Installation Issues

[PureBS90]

I have been trying to install an Ameriglo front sight on my Sig P229 and it keeps breaking. The rear sight was a breeze to install, but with the front sight, I've broken two Ameriglo product number SG-212-230 when installing. The first attempt I made, I tried using a brass punch and inevitably broke the wing of the sight. On my second attempt, I went to a local gun shop and asked to use the professional sight pusher. This also resulted in the wing snapping and frustration me even more. I have contacted Ameriglo and so far have had no response. Their website did say they were moving facilities to Georgia and would be delays in responses to email or phone messages until 2/17/15. I have attached an image of the sight I am trying to install. How should I proceed? Thank you all for your help.

-Blake

[Coal Dragger]

Well first of all you should probably invest in a triangle needle file to adjust the dovetail on the sight. You will also want to invest in a nice flat grinding stone, sharpening stone, or fine to medium bastard file. I prefer to use a bastard file. You should also look into a punch that is square in shape, made of aluminum, and that has a tip that is relieved in such a way that it will push on both the dovetail base and the sight blade at the same time. Dawson Precision makes these handy little punches by the way.

So to start you'll want to insert your slide in a vice with padded jaws, I use wood blocks with masking tape. Snug the slide up in the vice enough to hold it in place but no more. Then take your handy purpose built punch, mask it with some tape to avoid marring, and using a small hammer try to start the sight into the dovetail. If it doesn't want to go, then tap it back out and remove material with your files a little bit at a time and try again. Do not gorilla the sight into the slide dovetail, you will **** it up. As you have already learned. You shouldn't need any more force on the punch than moderate taps with your hammer to install the sight. Once you get it fitted tap it out, degrease the dovetail in the slide, cold blue the sight dovetail, apply a high temp thread locker to the dovetail and reinstall. Clean up any excess thread locker or filings and you should be good to go.

You can of course use a sight pusher as well but you still need to adjust the sight dovetail. I usually remove material from the bottom first and then one side of the dovetail. One trick you can use is to hit the side you are cutting and the bottom with magic marker. Then it will show you where metal needs to be removed.

[PureBS90]

On my first attempt, I used a padded vice and a punch. I was able to tap the dovetail base but after it was halfway in place, the base became impossible for the punch to make contact with and I was forced to switch to a plastic punch and had to lightly hit the sight blade for the remainder of installation. And as you can see in the attached image, the wings keep snapping. And just yesterday, I used the sight pusher thinking the vice and punch method was just too rough of a way to install, and again the sight broke. With each installation attempt, I didn't try to gorilla the sight in. I think the idea of a job specific punch that can hit the base of the dovetail and the sight blade at the same time makes sense. And I am looking at the Dawson DP Front Sight Punch product number 098-012.


31696

[MJLman]

Here is a thread I started about the exact same issue with my 229.

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?112748-Ameriglo-Customer-Service

Call them up once they finish their move and maybe they'll send you a replacment. Regardless, I couldn't get it right despite my experience installing numerous others sights in slides. I didn't "gorilla" mine either, but a sight pusher was what I went with the second time around. Good luck....I'm willing to bet they will help

[Coal Dragger]

The dovetails on SIG pistols are small for sure, which is why a punch made for front sight installation is a must. Plus the shallow dovetails give you much smaller thinner bases on the sight itself.

[opmike]

You guys know you can remove a little material on the sights, right? It doesn't have to be hydraulic press tight to not shoot loose.

[MJLman]

You guys know you can remove a little material on the sights, right? It doesn't have to be hydraulic press tight to not shoot loose.

Umm.... Yes. Thanks.

[PureBS90]

I am currently waiting to hear back from Ameriglo. I will try and call them again tomorrow during normal business hours and see if that helps for me to get a response from them. Hopefully they will offer to send a replacement front sight and maybe even offer to install them if I ship my slide in.

[varoadking]

Which direction are you installing from?

[PureBS90]

From the shooter's perspective I am installing from left to right, pushing the sights towards the extractor.

[varoadking]

Which direction are you installing from?

Well, ya got that right. Dunno what the problem might be other than a guy I trust very much told me that the Ameriglo sight he installed for me was very soft. The front sight bears the punch marks to prove it.

[PureBS90]

My guess is a combination of a soft front sight and a super tight dovetail. The rear Ameriglo went in just fine, in my experience of installing numerous sights, the rears have always given me more fit issues than the front sight. In my second attached image, (the one of the two broken sights) you can see that the base of dovetail snapped and the front sight blade was damaged too from the sight pusher. I believe that both pieces need to be a bit beefier to prevent damage like this from happening.

[Bret]

PureBS90, can you clarify your installation procedure? Did you file the bottom of the front sight? Typically, when I install front sights, I file the bottom of the front sight until I can put it half way in the dovetail by hand. I then put the front sight in the freezer for a while. Finally, I put some Locktite in the dovetail, get the front sight out of the freezer, press the front sight in by hand as far as it will go, and then tap it the rest of the way in with a plastic punch.

[PureBS90]

I was able to put the front sight a little less than half way in the dovetail by hand without filing any material off or tapping. I then used a plastic punch striking the base of the sight and once the base was all the way in the dovetail, I had to lightly tap the sight's blade. On my second attempt I used a local gun store's sight pusher and this too snapped the sight.

[PureBS90]

I just got off the phone with Ameriglo and they are sending me a replacement new front sight for free. I left a voicemail message and told them that I had broke two sights when trying to install. They returned my call and are sending me a new front sight to install. Great customer service in my opinion.