New to me Les Baer

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Wed May 13, 2009 8:56 am

I just made a deal on gunbroker for a used Premier ll. It was made in 96 and has the 1 1/2 inch garentee and looks to be in great shape. The one issue is that it has a fixed rear sight. I need an adjustale rear sight for bulleye shooting. My question is, can I replace the rear sight myself or do I need to send it back to Les Baer.

laportechaarlie · Post by **laportechaarlie** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:37 pm

You got yourself a great gun there. Any gunsmith can replace the sight for you.
Charlie

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:09 pm

You may want to consider having the rear adjustable sight installed with a low mount. This means having the rear of the slide milled to lower the overall height of the sight. Having a lower rear sight means not needing a shark fin (very tall) front sight on your slide. If the front sight isn't dovetail mounted then it can come loose easier the taller the profile. Believe me there's nothing more frustrating than having a front sight fly off in the middle of a match.

R,
Bullseye

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Wed May 13, 2009 11:38 pm

Ok sorry I gave out bad info, I do not have gun in hand yet. It does have a MMC adjustable sight. But I do not think it is suitable for bullseye shooting. Is this going to be an easy fix? Or am I going to have to go to a gunsmith and have some real work done?
Woody

Post by **Bullseye** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:20 am

That sight would not be optimum to use for bullseye competition shooting. Until you actually shoot the gun, you won't really know if it is suitable for practicing. Right now the question is where the gun is sighted for the distance you are planning on shooting. Bo-mar is not producing any more sights but Champion is making sights of a close copy to the original bullseye shooter's favorite rear sight. Having micrometer adjustable rear windage and elevation adjustments is a big plus in competitive shooting sports with iron sights. You could also consider mounting a red dot sight on that pistol and leave the iron sights alone.

R,
Bullseye

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:29 pm

Thanks Bullseye for the reply. Couple of more questions: is puting on a Champion sight something I could do? Would I also need to replace the front shight. Ok One more question dose the P2 have Bo-Mar BMCS dovetail cut
Thanks, Woody

Post by **Bullseye** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:38 pm

Woody,

There are many variables to this question. Without seeing the actual pistol I cannot be specific in my answers. Also, I do not know what your machining capabilities are or what kind of machine tools you have at your disposal.

Adding a new sight is more than slapping a new one into the dovetail slot. Each manufacturer has their own variation of dovetail measurements. The Les Baer Custom has a 60 degree dovetail like the Bowmar brand. Does the pistol you are getting have this cut or another one for the brand of sight that is currently installed on it? The LBC low mount is a blended cut and that would lessen the chance of needing a new front sight blade.

You could install the rear sight if it has all the required cuts, including the relief cut for the elevation screw.

You may have to install a new different height front sight. Does the pistol have a dovetail front or is it a tenon (staked on) mounted sight blade? If you don't have a staking tool then mounting a new one is not practical for a self help installation.

Les Baer also has an adjustable sight called a Rolo. This is a lower profile adjustable sight but it requires the slide to be relieved for the rounded rear leaf of the sight. The Rolo is a copy of an older style bullseye adjustable target sight, pre Bowmar production. A Rolo sight can be installed on a slide with out a 'melt' cut and still use a normal height front sight.

This is the best I can do for now.

R,
Bullseye

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:39 pm

WOW is much more complicated then I thought. My machining skills are slide the old one off, slide the new one on. So this dose not sound like something I can do myself.
Ok how about putting on a red dot sight? During my reading I have heard that most bullseye shooters use a slide mount, is that your experience also.
I have found that Clark and Marvel make rails for 1911s. The slide would have to be tapped and drilled. I talked to a gunsmith today. He would charge $25 a hole. Does this seem like a fair price, and would you have a recommendation on either the Clark or Marvel rail.
Again it is probably move complicated then I imagine.
Thanks
Woody

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:25 am

Most shooters do go with the slide mounted. The main reason is that as the pistol gets broken in, the slide rails could loosen. If you have a tight barrel-to-slide fit and are using slide mounted optics (or irons) you will not notice an accuracy loss. The reason is that even with this bit of play in the frame-to-slide fit, the slide mounted optics are still oriented in-line with the barrel, so your zero will be the same. With frame mounted, your optics aren't oriented to barrel -- so if your frame to slide fit loosens your zero will change from shot to shot.

As for the other 2 questions, no clue

Post by **Bullseye** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:04 am

For the cost of adding a rail, $25 a hole is a fair price. Some smiths charge a little less but price is usually driven by location. Getting everything aligned properly and tapping the holes with a 6-48 tap is a tedious process.

Either version of weaver rail is acceptable, their both good products.

R,
Bullseye

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Sat May 16, 2009 9:27 am

Thanks for the input, I fell better about the whole thing now.
Woody

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:22 pm

What seemed, to me to be an eternity I finally got my P2. I took it out to the range and it was wonderful.

Post by **Bullseye** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 6:30 pm

That looks like a mighty fine pistol Woody! Enjoy it well.

R,
Bullseye

woody57 · Post by **woody57** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:13 am

I got my Ultra Dot slide mounted on the Les Baer. My question is about recoil springs.Right now it has the 16 1/2 pound spring. I have a 14 # and a 12.5 # spring. I am reloading using Clays, 3.6 grains and 200g SWC. Should I start with the 16# or should I just put in one of the other springs in to start out. Is this going to be trial and error to see what works best or are there general guide lines to follow. Any suggestions would be helpful,
Thanks
Woody

Post by **Bullseye** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:58 am

The rule of thumb is use the heaviest spring that cycles the pistol. You can start with the 16# spring but with a slide mounted scope you'll likely end up with the 12.5# or even a lighter weight one. The scope adds a lot of mass to the slide. It doesn't hurt to try the heaviest spring first, changing them is not a big task.

R,
Bullseye

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