JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
Messages
15,624
Reactions
27,667
Im glad I started with the cheapest Glock sight to learn on, they are plastic and distort easy. I do have an old school Fisher brand universal sight pusher.

Centered, functional but ugly... will be replaced so I want to do it right.

What is the proper way to install the rear sight on a Glock?
1717828274768.jpeg
 
Ive never been able to move a sight with a delrin punch. I couldnt find info on the web if Glock dovetails are tapered or not but I did find a good youtube video from Iraqvetran8888 that showed install right to left. That aligned with a tiny notch on one side of the sight so I assumed that was for pushing in on but after halfway I looked and gah everything was distorted.

Heres a pic of my sight pusher for reference, its an old school design that was once popular.
1717830308185.png
 
Ive never been able to move a sight with a delrin punch. I couldnt find info on the web if Glock dovetails are tapered or not but I did find a good youtube video from Iraqvetran8888 that showed install right to left. That aligned with a tiny notch on one side of the sight so I assumed that was for pushing in on but after halfway I looked and gah everything was distorted.

Heres a pic of my sight pusher for reference, its an old school design that was once popular.
The channel is not tapered and direction doesn't matter. Which direction you go depends on which pusher you are using (flat or angled) and which hand you prefer using to work the gear. The vast majority of my sights are slant sided so I'm near always going right to left and right hand cranking. Flat sided, the direction is left to right because I prefer a right hand crank.

I used to use one very similar to yours for quite awhile. I've never once mangled a sight... even the cheapo plastic OEM's... but it is important to get the pusher contact point just about dead center of the dovetail and those cheap universals can be a real PITA to get aligned properly. If they are slightly out of alignment it increases the torque on the sight and can make the push significantly more difficult. If you're only doing one or two every once in a very great while, those cheap ones work just peachy. The main downside is they are for crap when trying to make minor sight windage adjustments. The gear threads are too course to get any precision.

This is mine that I still have and well worth keeping in a field repair kit. Darn near what you have.
1717836061966.png

This is the one I switched to. Infinitely easier to align and use and capable of minute adjustments. The glonk tool in the handle is pretty darn decent, too.

There's no real trick I'm aware of. Clean the dovetail and sight well then crank'er in!
 
Last Edited:
MGW sight tool. Under 100 on amazon.
Just add lube to threads once in awhile and itll last for years. Had mine since 2014. Oh and always install right to left.
IMG_2071.png
 
Last Edited:
What is the proper way to install the rear sight on a Glock?
View attachment 1895477
Lookin at that photo enbiggined... it kinda looks like you might have been using the flat side of your pusher (vs. slanted) and the slide was set too low(?) There should be some plates of varying thickness to adjust the height of the slide (raise/lower) so the pusher is just clearing the bottom of the channel. Not up high on the upper part of the sight like that.

Or.... someone mangled it and put that gash in before you... and those real light marks near the base are your slanted pusher marks?

1717836998345.png

That should be perfectly smooth/flat, and if it was deformed like that before you tried installing it... with the plastic undoubtedly bulged to some degree... it would certainly make it more of a chore getting it compressed into the dovetail. :D
 
Last Edited:
I used to use one very similar to yours for quite awhile. I've never once mangled a sight... even the cheapo plastic OEM's... but it is important to get the pusher contact point just about dead center of the dovetail and those cheap universals can be a real PITA to get aligned properly. If they are slightly out of alignment it increases the torque on the sight and can make the push significantly more difficult. If you're only doing one or two every once in a very great while, those cheap ones work just peachy. The main downside is they are for crap when trying to make minor sight windage adjustments. The gear threads are too course to get any precision.
I bought it years ago to replace sights on my 1911s but you are right its not easy to align or use at all. I never messed up the 1911 sights but those were metal sights... I did not suspect the plastic Glock sights would be "that soft". But I can see now how if its not perfectly centered then it will induce side leverage which increases friction...
 
Lookin at that photo enbiggined... it kinda looks like you might have been using the flat side of your pusher (vs. slanted) and the slide was set too low(?) There should be some plates of varying thickness to adjust the height of the slide (raise/lower) so the pusher is just clearing the bottom of the channel. Not up high on the upper part of the sight like that.

Or.... someone mangled it and put that gash in before you... and those real light marks near the base are your slanted pusher marks?

View attachment 1895499

That should be perfectly smooth/flat, and if it was deformed like that before you tried installing it... with the plastic undoubtedly bulged to some degree... it would certainly make it more of a chore getting it compressed into the dovetail. :D
Correct on all points. I thought about reversing the pusher block but its a real pita to unthread on the tool and there is a little rectangle notch molded into the one side of the Glock sight I assumed was designed to align a pusher block with. I was close but didnt see I wasnt exact until after it was too late... I started to slide easy at first so it gave me false confidence I was doing the right thing... I diverted my eyes to watching the opposite side move into position and when I looked back... gah, I screwed up. The light mark on the bottom was my attempt to fine tune the centering with a plastic drift (again, to no avail).
Eventually I did get it perfectly centered so the sight will be functional. Its a 6 dollar sight so a good way to learn a lesson the hard way.

Now I have to contemplate if its worth the investment in a proper sight tool.... I only have two builds I want to install sights on and thats it. Though Id like to play around with sight options on one to cowitness with an RMR.
 
Correct on all points. I thought about reversing the pusher block but its a real pita to unthread on the tool and there is a little rectangle notch molded into the one side of the Glock sight I assumed was designed to align a pusher block with. I was close but didnt see I wasnt exact until after it was too late... I started to slide easy at first so it gave me false confidence I was doing the right thing... I diverted my eyes to watching the opposite side move into position and when I looked back... gah, I screwed up. The light mark on the bottom was my attempt to fine tune the centering with a plastic drift (again, to no avail).
Eventually I did get it perfectly centered so the sight will be functional. Its a 6 dollar sight so a good way to learn a lesson the hard way.

Now I have to contemplate if its worth the investment in a proper sight tool.... I only have two builds I want to install sights on and thats it. Though Id like to play around with sight options on one to cowitness with an RMR.
Yeah. That's part of what drove me to invest in a better pusher. The "fidget factor". It can be such a process getting the alignment just right... every single time, but for 25 bucks, and a little time and aggravation invested, it's still a dandy little tool. For just a few small projects... 25 bucks is 25 bucks, right! 👍

The killer is when making fine adjustments. It's really bad at that. Having to remove your slide for test fire after every adjustment only to discover you went a just a hair too much, or not enough, you gotta reload your slide again to go back... crap! Rinse and repeat until you get it where you want it. The "fidget factor" got to be too much for me.🤣

Punches "work", but I've never had great success with any type of fine alignments. Some sights can have an incredibly tight fit, and the way my mind works, consistent even pressure has got to better for your slide and sight than the severe shocking blows that may be required with a punch(?) The potential to mar/damage them has got to be greater too(?) Also, being able to make adjustments in the field without a vise is a plus.

Having a decent tool just sitting in the drawer though I find the main benefit is just that I'm exponentially more likely to go back and actually make fine adjustments that I previously would have just ignored and compensated my sight picture for. Overall, improving the accuracy of my handguns.

So, there's that..... YMMV
 
The cheaper Ebay pushers will have coarse threads driving their push pads.
They'll work OK but you had better do your prep work like Dave Dawson shows in his excellent How-To video posted above.
If you just have a couple of sights to do, you might consider finding a smith that is using a MGW Pro.
This pusher has a rugged frame and fine threads, so it can deliver smooth power to do a mar-free job.
 
Appreciate all the replies. Im contemplating buying a dedicated sight pusher since my first run at this is the cheapest sights and I will be upgrading them. I just need to think about how often I may want to change them out.
 
Ive never been able to move a sight with a delrin punch. I couldnt find info on the web if Glock dovetails are tapered or not but I did find a good youtube video from Iraqvetran8888 that showed install right to left. That aligned with a tiny notch on one side of the sight so I assumed that was for pushing in on but after halfway I looked and gah everything was distorted.

Heres a pic of my sight pusher for reference, its an old school design that was once popular.
View attachment 1895481
I've replaced sights on my Glocks with a similar sight pusher. The sights were Mepro's and I used scraps of old business cards to protect the sight, putting the card scrap between the sight and the sight pusher. I'll try to get pictures.
 
The killer is when making fine adjustments. It's really bad at that. Having to remove your slide for test fire after every adjustment only to discover you went a just a hair too much, or not enough, you gotta reload your slide again to go back... crap! Rinse and repeat until you get it where you want it. The "fidget factor" got to be too much for me.🤣
Oh then that part your doing wrong, there is a way to measure exactly if a rear sight is centered if you have calipers. I got mine centered under .010" even while marring them up. Test fired today and they shoot very accurate.
 
I've replaced sights on my Glocks with a similar sight pusher. The sights were Mepro's and I used scraps of old business cards to protect the sight, putting the card scrap between the sight and the sight pusher. I'll try to get pictures.
The business cards held up to pressure and stayed in place? Thats a really small driving area to align up even without aligning protecting strips.
 
The business cards held up to pressure and stayed in place? Thats a really small driving area to align up even without aligning protecting strips.
They sure did. The key is to get as low as possible on the sight, leverage and patience are the keys.

Here's the sight pusher used:
IMG_0982.jpeg

And the new rear sight on a G19, Gen2, sights were pushed from Left to Right:
IMG_0984.jpeg IMG_0983.jpeg
 
They sure did. The key is to get as low as possible on the sight, leverage and patience are the keys.

Here's the sight pusher used:
View attachment 1896011

And the new rear sight on a G19, Gen2, sights were pushed from Left to Right:
View attachment 1896009View attachment 1896010
Thats the same sight pusher I have. Crude but functional... and finicky to align. Yes, you will learn patience mastering this one... :p

Im amazed the card shims held on the pusher anvil, I will give that a try next time.
 

Upcoming Events

Subsonic Rifle Match
  • Eugene, OR
Roseburg Rod and Gun Club Gun Show
  • Roseburg, OR
Redmond Gun Show
  • Redmond, OR

New Classified Ads

Back Top