Or how to turn a 10-minute job into 90 minutes and not finish.
I decided to replace the Hunter Hi-Viz sight with a standard front sight and a square notch rear blade. I ordered the blade and the Williams Fire Sights caught my eye.
After about 55 minutes of trying to figure out where I put the small pin punches I gave up and put the Williams front sight on with the square notch rear blade. I'm sure the way to find the small punches is to buy another set. This time I'll put them in an orange case with a blinking light. The front sight is easy to see.
Williams Fire Sights, almost
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
Yes. Fortunately all my small Allen wrenches hadn't disappeared into the void. Took a couple minutes longer to swap he blades than I remembered when I did it on the single six a few years ago. My MKII GC has a square notch rear and a Dawson Precision fiber optic front. I've liked he GC better than the Hunter. They were essentially the same gun except for the sights. The Williams and Dawson front sights look almost identical.Bullseye wrote:A small sized Allen wrench works in a pinch for changing out rear blades.
R,
Bullseye
The Williams rear sight replaces the Ruger rear that is pinned into the dove tail. I couldn't find something small enough to punch that pin out.
Did I just miss something so obvious as swapping the Williams rear blade for he Ruger?
Nope. It looks like you have to replace the whole thing. I finally found a pin punch small enough to remove the pin. It seems to want to come out the left side so you have to punch the right side.greener wrote:
Did I just miss something so obvious as swapping the Williams rear blade for he Ruger?
The front and rear fiber optics show up very brightly in room light. The rear fo's seemed to disappear when I pointed the pistol at a bright window.
We'll see how it works at the range.
The Williams sights worked very well. Took a few rounds to zero at 7 yards, then some more zero at 15 yards. It was easy to line up the front and rear but I had to break a tendency to focus on the rear.
For comparison I took the GC with the Dawson Precision front and Ruger square-notch rear blade. I shot it a bit better, but I've been shooting that pistol with those sights for several years.
The Dawson and Williams front fiber optic are about the same diameter and look the same when aiming. If I were going to spend money on new open sights, I think I'd buy the Dawson front.
They way my eyes are getting, I should be spending money on red dot sights. I'm not shooting the Rugers as well as I did a couple three years ago.
I also took the Taurus PT1911 and the 1911 target build. I felt like I shot both of those better than the Rugers. Of course when your hole is twice the diameter your groups look tighter.
For comparison I took the GC with the Dawson Precision front and Ruger square-notch rear blade. I shot it a bit better, but I've been shooting that pistol with those sights for several years.
The Dawson and Williams front fiber optic are about the same diameter and look the same when aiming. If I were going to spend money on new open sights, I think I'd buy the Dawson front.
They way my eyes are getting, I should be spending money on red dot sights. I'm not shooting the Rugers as well as I did a couple three years ago.
I also took the Taurus PT1911 and the 1911 target build. I felt like I shot both of those better than the Rugers. Of course when your hole is twice the diameter your groups look tighter.
No, you have to replace the whole elevation assembly on the rear sight for the Williams. Not that hard as you found out. Just have to tap out that elevation pivot pin. That's where I can use a small Allen in a pinch, the pin doesn't typically need that much coaxing to depart the sight base.
Bigger holes can tend to eat up the center of a target rather nicely.
R,
Bullseye
Bigger holes can tend to eat up the center of a target rather nicely.
R,
Bullseye
The pin didn't want to move from the left side but moved from the right side and out the left. I'm sure it didn't matter, but I started on one side and got it The change was easy.
I like trying to shoot the centers out of targets. Also, the range I go to uses cardboard target backers and checks them in an out to make sure you don't shoot the rebar target frames. The owner is afraid of ricochets but absolutely refuses to use wooden frames. He doesn't like putting multiple targets on the backer. I put multiple targets on the backer and bringing back a piece of cardboard with a 3x3 hole pattern.
I like trying to shoot the centers out of targets. Also, the range I go to uses cardboard target backers and checks them in an out to make sure you don't shoot the rebar target frames. The owner is afraid of ricochets but absolutely refuses to use wooden frames. He doesn't like putting multiple targets on the backer. I put multiple targets on the backer and bringing back a piece of cardboard with a 3x3 hole pattern.
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
I didn't realize how long ago I put the Fire Sights in. For the last 4 months my retirement entertainment has been going back to me old job for 50 or so hours per week. I took advantage of a 70+ day yesterday and went to the range. It was one of those days that my eyes just didn't want to work until I got to the Hunter with the Fire Sights. The sights were clear and easy to see. They are a heck of an improvement over the sights that came with the Hunter.
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
I figured you had been busy since we didn't hear much from you. Nothing like retiring, heh? I figured your Mrs. had the To-Do list hanging over your head but I guess you can't stay away from the old job site. Some days things just come together, especially when you can see well.
R,
Bullseye
R,
Bullseye
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
It was amazing how quickly I went from retirement to back to work full time. I'm down to one thing I said I was going to do, then I'm back to retirement.
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
Good luck with the retirement, second time around. My FIL had to retire 3 times before it finally took around age 70, same with my own Dad except he farmed & raised cattle & horses. Dad finally rented out the crop land, then sold off the range cattle a few years later. Never could sell the horses, they were his pets- had around 50 head when he finally passed away.
My bride & I have the retirement conversation periodically since I turned 60. We both decided that everyone we know who has retired, now has less free time than they had before. Our decision, at least so far, is that we don't need to retire until close to 70. We both have office jobs that we love, and have a fair amount of freedom. I figure that what I do is sit around, drink coffee, and BS with my clients/friends...Which kind of typifies what a lot of retiree's would like to do. If anything I may take a few more days off in the spring & summer to go & shoot prairie dogs.
Al
My bride & I have the retirement conversation periodically since I turned 60. We both decided that everyone we know who has retired, now has less free time than they had before. Our decision, at least so far, is that we don't need to retire until close to 70. We both have office jobs that we love, and have a fair amount of freedom. I figure that what I do is sit around, drink coffee, and BS with my clients/friends...Which kind of typifies what a lot of retiree's would like to do. If anything I may take a few more days off in the spring & summer to go & shoot prairie dogs.
Al
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” – George Washington
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
The only thing that changes when you retire is the venue where the socialization takes place. I see plenty of retired folks meeting at fast food restaurants in the morning hours to sit and "chew the fat".
R,
Bullseye
R,
Bullseye
Re: Williams Fire Sights, almost
It seems I'm drifting into retirement more slowly than I thought. Still answering questions and writing a bit of VBA code to fix a transfer. At least I can do it from home. The boss retired. We've had very little time in almost 40 years that both of us have been home at the same time other than vacations. Interesting adjustment.