Stake a front sight....

[Guest FIST]

Any particular thing I need to know before attempting this? Not looking for any one particular firearm, just general knowledge. I like to tinker and a few of my pistol's have been begging for night sights.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Why are you going to stake?

If it is because the sight doesn't fit as tight as it should this is a better way to do it. I remove the sight then dimple the area in the dovetail underneath where the sight would sit. This swells up the metal making the sight fit much better and it is not noticeable when the sight is installed. You can tell by the shiny area. All it needs is a few dimples on each side and make sure to do the same on each side, that is the same number of dimples and the same locations.

Never stake a sight from the outside. It makes the job look hacked and ruins a decent firearm.

If this is for a 1911 that has an tenon then it needs to be staked to stay in place. There is a special tool to do this and it isn't cheap. I would take it to a smith to have the tenon of a 1911 front sight staked in place.

Dolomite

[Guest FIST]

The pistol's in question are a Beretta 92FS and a Kahr CW 9. Neither have a dovetail cut for the front sight. Is there other ways to change out a front sight without the dovetail?

[quietguy]

Kahr has a Glock type replacement sight for the CW9. It isn't designed to be staked.

Also check you Beretta to make sure that it is staked. Most I have seen are milled as part of the slide, not staked.

[Guest FIST]

Ok, thank you. For the milled style is there any options for replacement?

[quietguy]

Ok, thank you. For the milled style is there any options for replacement?

There are always options. You can have the slide milled to take a staked or dovetailed sight. One word of caution is that Beretta doesn't give you a lot of material to work with. You can also have the factory front sight drilled to accept a tritium vial or bead.