Custom Rear Sight for Mark III

woodspirits · Post by **woodspirits** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:38 pm

I have owned my Mark III Hunter with 6 7/8" barrel for one year. I love it except for the rear notched sight. I just ordered a Mark III 22/45 model with 4 1/2" barrel for cheaper training in regard to my larger caliber polymers.

I really like the AA .22 conversion on the G26 (shown in the photo) but it is very ammo sensitive. It will eat RN minimags all day very reliably but not much else. To make a long story shorter, I want to delegate some of the training duties to the new 22/45 since I know from my classic Hunter that it will digest the tons of bulk .22 that I have accumulated.

However, I want the rear sight similar to the bracketed Glock sight. I have some high carbon steel sheets on hand that are the same thickness as the ruger stock sight blade. I would have to cut a sight out the same size as the stock Ruger sight but use a rectangular cut-out and paint a white bracket on the edges. I would have to use a Dremmel and/or a lathe with chuck to shape the hard steel.

Could I then blue the steel to darken it? Or do any of you guys have a simpler solution for the rear sight? Many thanks again.

PS: My Hunters have the adjustable notched (V) rear sights with the Hi-Viz front sights. I really like the fiber optic front sight but not the stock rear blade.

recumbent · Post by **recumbent** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:40 pm

I have the same MKIII hunter I hated the V notch rear sight and replaced it with a rear sight from another ruger i had, it is a square notch rear blade. I like it a lot better.

I have been thinking about the Williams fire sights. Their rear sight looks pretty good to me.

http://www.williamsgunsight.com/gunsights/pistol.htm

Might be a solution for you.

To answer your question yes you can blue the steel.

lindertw · Post by **lindertw** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:58 pm

woodspirits, I double-checked the factory rear sight blade that I replaced on my MKIII 22/45 and it already has the U-notch milled in. All that's required is for you to paint it the color of your choice.

If you want something the same blade for your Hunter, you can order the 22/45 sight blade from Ruger or Numrich and then install/paint it; although it sounds like you have access to the tools/materials needed to make it too!

woodspirits · Post by **woodspirits** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:23 pm

Thanks guys! That was a "duh" on my part.....that I could order one already made and save hours custom making one....I am embarrassed for such a dumb question.

recumbent: I have the Williams Fire-Sights on a single-six and they are very nice and very bright. They look kinda flimsy compared to the original Ruger blade sights but have held up well for the past year. I bought the single-six in 1976 and it shoots more accurately for me with the FireSights than I was ever able to shoot with the stock sights.

Since I have embarrassed myself by not even thinking of a stock rear sight, I will admit to my first brain fart with the original Mark III. When I first purchased it and took it to the range I was really disappointed with it. The elevation was reasonably close but I would shoot from one side of the target to the other by several inches......couldn't understand why.

I concluded that it was the sights and hopefully not the gun......I thought that I could just not shoot with the Hi-Viz sight and the V-notch. So I removed an UltraDot from a Savage .17 rifle and mounted it on the Hunter.

At 25 yds. it was scary accurate. Several months later while cleaning the Mark III I thought that I felt the front sight move. Sure enough it was loose. I then removed the red dot sight and tightened up the front sight and took it back to the range. Deadly accurate again, with the stock sights...........gee, it only took me six months to find the loose front sight. I certainly need some help from you great people.

lindertw · Post by **lindertw** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 5:30 pm

no worries - spending a few hours with raw materials and a mill/lathe would be right up my alley!

re: the front sight. My salesmen recommended I remove the front sight and clean off all the oil, then reinstall with a little blue loctite prior to my first range visit; otherwise I might've had the same experience.

Glenn · Post by **Glenn** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 8:38 pm

Ruger sells some hi-viz sites in their catalog. I've been kicking around the idea of upgrading my MKIII 22/45 sights....