92 fs sight replacement

[Guest lostpass]

I know you can't do much about the front sight but you can get adjustable rear sights and that is what I'm after. The sights are only 57 bucks but the tool to replace them is 130! Yikes. That's a lot of dough for a one time thing. You knowledgable fools think I can pull this off with a punch? I'd probably get a brass punch cause I don't think going willy nilly with a nail set is the best idea but if I went slowly and so forth could I get by with a brass punch?

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I know you can't do much about the front sight but you can get adjustable rear sights and that is what I'm after. The sights are only 57 bucks but the tool to replace them is 130! Yikes. That's a lot of dough for a one time thing. You knowledgable fools think I can pull this off with a punch? I'd probably get a brass punch cause I don't think going willy nilly with a nail set is the best idea but if I went slowly and so forth could I get by with a brass punch?

Hi Lostpass

Someone who really knows how to do it will probably be along shortly. Until then... I replaced my older inox 92fs rear sight with adjustable sight maybe 12 years ago and have been real pleased with the adjustable sight and managed to do it without destroying the gun, but during the process was beginning to wonder whether the gun would survive for awhile.

It is strange-- My newer inox 92FS bought a couple years ago shoots so close to point of aim, from brand-new out of the box, never been motivated to change the rear sight. But with the older one I either hadn't learned to aim good enough or it was a little off because it didn't seem to want to shoot point of aim with the factory sight, though it is an accurate-enough pistol and I like em both. Dunno if the old one needed a new sight or not, though it helped me at the time to have a new sight and the sight has held up fine in the years since.

Maybe some 92's need an adjustable sight more than others? Dunno.

Ordered the sight online from Dillon or Cheaper than Dirt. The man at the gun store told me I needed this tool to change the sight--

http://www.midwayusa...ift-punch-10-oz

I still have that hammer/punch and haven't managed to completely tear it up, but some of the midwayusa user reviewers don't like it much. I like the little hammer but is definitely for light work only. Have wore it out enough that at least once chucked both the nylon and brass tips in the minilathe and re-shaped them because they had got chewed up so bad. But they are supposed to be soft. That's the point. That size hammer is not the only size useful, but it is a nice size to have available. I think they are commonly available at gun stores, recently saw one at Sportsmans Warehouse I think.

Maybe somebody will recommend a better brand or size for changing sights. Do you have a sledge hammer available, just in case?

I may have done it all wrong changing sights. Or maybe you just have to pound the carp out of em. There is a recommended direction to pound out the old sight and to pound in the new one. I had read about that 12 years ago and thought I had the recommended directions correct or then again maybe I was doing it backwards and that is why it was so difficult.

Mounted the slide in a nylon-jaw panavise usually for electronic work. Pretty strong but not the strongest vise in the world. Tapped "gently" on the brass punch for the longest time and the old sight hadn't moved a bit. So started pounding as hard as I could with the 10 oz hammer for awhile and maybe the factory sight had moved but not much.

So I wrapped a towel around the 92fs slide to protect it against hammer strikes in case I would miss the punch with the hammer, and got out the good ole steel ball peen hammer. After a long time pounding the carp out of the thing, the old sight was out and proceeded to pound in the new sight after some initial slight sizing with emery paper to get it started in the slot. Pounded the snot out of the new sight to get it in as well.

I'm a fool about all things mechanical today, but am a mechanical genius nowadays compared to the fool I was 12 years ago. Was deeply concerned that surely I would bend or break the slide with all that pounding, and it is a miracle that the panavise survived. But either the beretta is made out of ultra-strong stuff, or maybe good guns are in general made out of crazy strong stuff. It survived the abuse with nary a scratch and has worked fine ever since.

After replacing the sight, the little brass punch that came with the lyman hammer was mushroomed. Very mushroomed. It wasn't completely ruined but sure didn't look brand new any more. I still have that punch but it has also been re-shaped in the lathe at least once since then.

Cheaper than Dirt (maybe other places) sell not too expensive chinese sets of several sizes brass punches, and sets of several sizes steel punches, and sets of "pin punches" that are steel with little ball-bearings on the tip or something. They are not too bad for an amateur and it might seem overkill but I've noticed just about any tool I've bought, I eventually end up using it for something or t'other within the year. Proving beyond a shadow of a doubt I should have bought that tool many years ago and why did I wait so long anyway?

Anyway, if I was to try it again, would probably want access to some bigger punches than the one that came with the lyman hammer, just in case it is needed.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Guest lostpass]

Holy crap. i think you just gave a gunsmith some work. Thanks Lester but I am not as brave as you!