Front sight replacement

cdhknives

cdhknives

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I have another learning project. This is a very lightly used NEF R92 that shoots everything left...roughly 3/4" per 5 yards. There is a slightly visible cant to the front sight blade. Basically if I line up with the left edge of the front sight it is fairly close. The sight appears to be staked in but I can't tell much more..pic attached. My machine tools are limited to my old Atlas 10x36 and the Atlas milling attachment. I do have some 1x3 blocks and clamps plus a T slot cross slide I could also try for workholding.

Rear sight is a groove on top of the frame, so that is not an easy place to fix this IMO but I am open to ideas.

Some brainstorming by myself lead to a few options:
  1. Mill in a dovetail and install an adjustable sight (front, back or both). Will be ugly. Will work. Will really stretch my equipment and machning skills.
  2. Heat up front sight with a torch. If it is soldered in that will soften and I can straighten it. Dunno if it is soldered, brazed, or pressed but leaning toward pressed/staked.
  3. Pin/screw on a 'corrected' front sight in place of the existing blade. Since it shoots high also a taller sight pinned to the correct side of the front sight would work. Will be ugly, should work, should be within my abilities and tooling.
  4. Remove old sight and replace with an aftermarket pinned sight that fits the slot which I assume is a half moon cut into the barrel. Drilling the pin hole(s) will be a challenge with the curved starting surface but I can probably get my milling attachment and an endmill to make it work.
  5. Grind off old sight, fill-n-smooth with JB Weld, drill and tap for a pin front sight.
7I35uXY.jpg
 
I would cut a dovetail and new sight. I did same on one of my rifle barrels, when I had my Atlas lathe and a Palmgren milling vice.
Pierre
 
According to New England Firearms, the rear sight is adjustable. Best to work on that end, unless the thing is completely wonked up front.
 
Working the rear sight isn't attractive to me but I guess it could be done. The pistol already shoots high and lowering the rear sight would not be feasable IMO. Raising it with a dovetailed drift adjustable sight would work but be higher and raise the POI even more.

BiUJ1Kw.jpg
 
I'd go with a dovetail front sight. I don't think they're particularly ugly, and they are certainly the most functional. Any soldering will likely ruin the finish. From the sounds of it the divot for your current front sight is cut badly, or it should be holding the sight correctly left-to-right, so that's probably not worth fussing with.

GsT
 
Have you tried looking at your hand position when shooting? Can have a major effect on point of impact. Add some thickness to the left grip or thin the right grip?


The front and rear sights work together. Based upon the photo, a new rear sight will naturally have to sit higher. This will mean milling a flat and a couple screws or pins to hold to the top of the frame.

Therefore you need to raise the front sight to compensate for the new rear sight and even raise it a bit more. Once this is done, you have to shot with the expected ammo on target, file the front sight down to lift the point of impact up to center With the rear sight (if adjustable) in a middle setting.
Pierre
 
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I understand why you ask. I am shooting off heavy leather bags, barrel and under grip, double action. It isn't my grip. Shooting freehand matches the results from the bags.

Yeah, the rear sight would make the shooting high problem worse unless I milled the whole top hump off the frame. That really tall front sight is kinda ugly by itself though, and it isn't exactly a target pistol to begin with. Maybe flat top the frame and install a rail and red dot?o_O:laughing:
 
That's a different rear sight variant than I saw when I looked up the model. Maybe you can heat up the barrel and bend it to the right in a vise... or go with the dovetail front sight. I know, tough choice.
 
Well this turned out a bit different than I imagined. Once I confirmed the existing sight is staked in, I decided I had nothing to lose by trying the brute force method. I put the delrin jaws on my vise, clapmped the front tight, and bent it over. It was remarkably easy, so the machined groove must be loose. After the second adjustment the front sight is aligned better than I could have expected. Now to find some of the wicking loctite (290 IIRC) to lock it in place. It isn't 'loose' but I am sure being wrenched around did nothing for how secure it is fixed in place.
 
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