M&P night sight installation

[ruchik]

So one of the dots on my rear sight fell out, and I figure now's a good time to get me some good night sights. I'm going to pick up a set of the Ameriglo night sights; what I was wondering is if there were any local smiths around here anyone can recommend. I live in Sunnyvale, CA, and Kerley's, Reed's, Target Masters, and Gun Vault are all within driving distance. If anyone has had experience getting their sights installed at any of these shops (or someone else in the vicinity), please give me a recommendation.

[Twist18]

Head over to Kerley's, they'll take care of you.

[Mr.Caketown]

Why do you want night sights? there not as useful as you think

[NorCal Einstein]

Reeds recently installed front and rear sights for me. I'd say they did an OK job, nothing to really sing home about. I was charged $50

One of the places really close to you would be US Firearms Co. I've never got work done there before, but someone told me either a former Reeds gunsmith or employee is the one who started that business. If you can't find out any more about them and the work they've already done for other Calgunners, it might just be worth stopping by one day to see what the vibe is like.

[supersonic]

Why do you want night sights? there not as useful as you think

Oh, please.

[shootdamoon]

Don't be afraid to replace them yourself. Replaced front and rear sights on my M&P 9mm with a steel punch, hammer and vise. No marring or scratches. 15 min top.

[k1dude]

Don't be afraid to replace them yourself. Replaced front and rear sights on my M&P 9mm with a steel punch, hammer and vise. No marring or scratches. 15 min top.

How do you know if they're lined up properly? Do you have to test it at the range to verify and then adjust accordingly?

[NorCal Einstein]

Don't be afraid to replace them yourself. Replaced front and rear sights on my M&P 9mm with a steel punch, hammer and vise. No marring or scratches. 15 min top.

And why steel punch over a brass punch? You miss with steel, and that's not going to be forgiving.

[GUNFREAK]

And why steel punch over a brass punch? You miss with steel, and that's not going to be forgiving.

I'd stay away from steel punches unless you're very careful. I would prefer to use brass instead.

[shootdamoon]

How do you know if they're lined up properly? Do you have to test it at the range to verify and then adjust accordingly?

I used a ruler with mm measurements and just made sure the sights where dead center on the slide frame. Took it to the range to test and it was right on at 10yds. Just used it this weekend at Chabot 2 Gun and the shot placement was right were I was aiming. I might have gotten lucky but centering it to slide frame will get you very close unless you want bullseye games accuracy. For tactical and HD it will work. You can fine tune if needed.

And why steel punch over a brass punch? You miss with steel, and that's not going to be forgiving.

M&P's are notorious for having difficult to remove front sights. The brass was just too soft. The brass would deform and the sight didn't even budge. More strength was needed. This is only one of many ways it can be done.

Front sight removal and install
Step 1:
Prep the slide.
-Remove the slide from the frame.
-Remove the barrel and spring from slide.
-Add padded cushion to both sides of the slide and clamp it into the vise firmly in a horizontal direction with the front sight pointed towards you. (I used the side rubber panels of my workout/gym/garage floor mat)
-Use painters tape and cover the area of the frame around the sights. You can choose to add as many layers as you feel comfortable. 1 or 2 will do. If you do slip, this will help to protect it.

Step 2:
Prep the steel punch (Off the top of my head I do not recall the size punch. Just make sure the width of the punch does not exceed the width of the front sight channel.)
-Cover the tip area of the punch with painters tape. 2 or 3 layers will do. Do not pad the tip too thick as you still need a good surface area to contact the sight base.

Step 3:
Remove the front sight.
-The sights are directional.
-To remove you must push the sight towards the bullet extraction side.
-With the slide's front sight pointed towards you as you are facing it, line up your punch to the right of the sight and make sure to have a good surface contact horizontally with the sight base (not the sight blade). Very important to be flush with the base of the sight and not the slide to prevent marring the slide. Gloves are recommended as you are holding the punch in place with left hand.
-With a steel hammer in your right hand, take a good whack at the punch. Very important, it needs to be a strong forceful whack and not light tapping. The front sight is on there pretty good.
-Once you get the front sight moving then you can do small taps to nudge it out.

Step 4:
Install new Front sight.
-Rotate your vice so that the slide's front sight is now pointed away from you.
-Place new front sight in the correct direction into the sight channel. You will push it in from the bullet extraction side.
-You want to get the new sights to go in by hand almost half way.
-If the sights do not go in that far you will need to file the front sight. Filing is different for each mfg. The most common is to file the bottom side of the sight while others say file the sides. This is sight dependent and refer to mfg instructions.
-Once you get close to being able to push the sight close to half way, you can proceed to punch it in. You do not want to over file and risk having a loose sight. A little goes a long way, take your time and do not use power tools to file.
-You should remove the painters tape from the punch and re-apply new tape for a cleaner surface area.
-Proceed to hammer the punch. The slide is in the opposite direction now but you will still punch from right side.
-Once close to center of slide you can then take measurements and tap to as close to center as you can get it.

That's it! Sights could have been done faster then the time it took me to write this process. However, if this can help anyone out then it's all good. Rear sight is way easier as it is not that tight. Simply loosen the sight set screw and apply the directions used for the front sight. One important item to be aware of is when the rear sight is almost off, make sure you cover the striker block hole because that spring will go flying and may be hard to find.

Good Luck and practice safety. Please make sure your pistol is not loaded!

[Z.1]

Or maybe if you're lucky there's a calgunner near you who would loan you their sight tool?

[scootle]

Why do you want night sights? there not as useful as you think

sure, any "good shoot" should include lighting of some kind if it's dark or dim (flashlight or weaponlight)... but having the glowing dots isn't exactly a liability either.

i'm still waiting for Ameriglo to get the I-Dot Pro back in stock for the M&P. i already ordered a set for my G19.

i'll let you know where and how i get them installed once i have them in-hand. as it is, though, since I may be shipping my M&P9 down to Apex for parts anyhow, i might just get the sights and ship them with the pistol to them and have it all done at once.

[code33]

A laser bore sighter works well for this. The final test is at the range.

How do you know if they're lined up properly? Do you have to test it at the range to verify and then adjust accordingly?