Smash that like and sub button if you have ever damaged are marred something because you did not have or want to use the specific sight installation tool.

Watching you struggle with that sight made me so happy. I have changes the sights on 4 different M&Ps. Not one we’re able to be removed with a brass punch. I have two destroyed brass punches that just mushroomed from me hammering in it against the sight. I have always needed a steel punch to get it started. Luckily I have yet to damage the sight with the steel punch.

Well done. 👍 I'm a long retired gunsmith and was trained by old school instructors at the school in Trinidad Colorado. After graduating, I apprenticed under an old master gunsmith for four years for zero pay. (I was a peace officer, and worked in the shop off duty). The man was a longtime gunsmith for the Colt Custom Shop, and was unbelievably skilled. This was in the mid 70's. Everything I learned was old school. And that's not a bad thing at all. 😉

I found that I have actually been doing this right all along ! ......"You SHOULD care!" gets him an A+ , Great instruction , a little humor ~ Perfect training video!

I had a S&W handgun that I was changing the sights out on many years ago. I was not aware of the striker safety being under the rear sight. The parts went flying away from me and I had a rough time finding everything. I ended up finding most parts except the spring. I did not have anything on hand that was small enough to fit as a replacement. I contacted S&W about my dilemma, they said no problem and sent me a new spring free of charge. I know these springs are not expensive and at the time neither was mailing one to me, but I still appreciate their customer service and helping me out of a jam.

I don't know why but Caleb always reminds me of Ed Warren from the Conjuring movies. Hahaha he gives off super those cool vibes.

These are the best training video

Dam... At 8:25 Caleb announces " That one was pretty stubborn." What a gentleman! I would have been much more derogatory. However , I'm about to replace the aftermarket sights on my old Zastava M57 ,back to the original ones. This video is exactly what I needed to see. .

You can usually remove those brass tracks with Windex or an ammonia based window cleaner. The blue stuff.

The bigger/heavier and more secure your bench vise is, the better. Also, smooth copper or aluminum vise jaws are ideal to get the maximum energy transfer into drifting the sights out vs uselessly oscillating the entire slide with every hammer blow. The more immovable the slide, the better. If you have a rock-solid fixture, you will require nothing but light taps from an 8oz ball peen hammer to drift out even the most stubborn sights.

I understand some slides have removal and insertion orientation.. With my Springfield, as you hold slide in your hand, with muzzle end of slide away from you, removal is left to right, and installation is right to left.

Very nice. Clear, concise, and great attention to the details. I never miss these whether I need the info at the time or not

I get all my information from Brownells mostly because of their absence of phony "robot speak" or sounding like English isn't their first language. Well done Caleb!

Great tip on using a blueing agent to clean up the brass imprint. It’s a good thing that you mentioned not to drink it -LOL!

I went to M&P Armorers school, the handguns we used in class were very well used and the rear sights basically slid off, the instructor assured the class that the handguns we will be working on outside of the classroom will definitely put up a good fight. Great video, thank you for sharing!

I know I’m a little late to the show but thank you for all the in depth info. Now I feel confident I can install the trijicon hd xr sights on my Glock 23

Caleb you're the best.

TIP: Older S&Ws have 2 plunger/springs under the rear sight, so if your punch stays flat on tenon you're okay, but you can also drift with a large ziplock over e-thing, to catch any boingers.

Just to add, some sight manufactures say to file one of the angles instead of the bottom. Removing from the bottom makes it shorter and less room between the top of the slide and the underside of the sight leaf/blade.

Caleb Best rocket surgeon ever! Good video

Great video

You will have to do a front sight that has a tenon post for securing the sight to the slide

Timing for this video was impeccable lol just got my rear sight in the mail for my s&w m&p 2.0 9

awesome content great tips and tricks: this content is just in time. I have to admit I have not done pistol sights before. it just so happens, that I am getting ready to do a set in the very near future.

It's funny I just got new sight for my gun and was looking to replace them without a sight pusher. I do love old school methods.

High velocity low impact helps tremendously to get it started. Less energy loss on initial impact

Point taken, that you were trying to show the old school way. But if one happens to have the vice (which is the tool I didn't have for the longest), just press it in with the vice....

Good Video. Lots of frustration involved sometimes. I have gone as far as freezing the slide.

Caleb's disjointed fingers are what brought me to this video

M&P's are some of the hardest sights to bang out. I use a screwdriver that fits the space along the bottom. I use a small hammer.

More videos like this please.

That's exactly how I removed my rear sight for my red dot plate. What can I say, I'm cheap!

This video was a big help and thank you for taking the time to help others.

Very well done! Before watching I thought I couldn’t do it. Now, I’m sure!

I've also used wood to secure my slide for the same kind of install work. Seemed to work ok as a suitable replacement if you don't have pads.

Something to add: If you run into a dovetail that was cut a few .001"s deep or an undersized sight (manufacturing tolerance stack or overzealous stoning) it can easily be remedied by a piece of shim stock made from the appropriate feeler gauge cut to the same size as the sight and "glued" to the bottom of the offending sight. Or peening the bottom of the sight to rase a burr to take up those .001"s. A little grease on the dovetail will also keep the dovetail from galling during installation. I personally prefer to shim it rather than the peening method.

I would like to suggest that you can also use some tape to hold the cardboard to the vice jaws so it will be easier to keep in place and not have them move around while putting slide into them.

I just got a hellcat pro yesterday took it to have my Night sights installed, and the so-called gunsmith beat the hell out of my front and rear sights. There’s brass all over my brand new gun.

You can use a pencil eraser to remove brass marks from the punch too.

I had a shop install a set of night sights on a brand new gun . They used a installation tool , marred up the rear sight , And charged me .

A welcome video Caleb, the M&P sights can be a pain sometimes but you made quick work of this. I wish they were all this easy. I'm about to go off, talking bout cases where it isn't easy, maybe my fellow enthusiasts/gonsmiffs/legit smiths can share thoughts. Have you ever attempted to remove sights that are nearly Fn impossible to remove, even with a pusher or properly sized punches? I'm an armorer for a local shop and have come across a few. We get our tools from Brownells and I use an MGM pusher on the daily, great tool that I've installed hundreds of sights with. But they're not all so easy... Let me say some M&P front sights are incredibly hard to get moving, esp. their suppressor height sight models. I try and give good solid whacks with your triangular brass punches, but the sights steel actually gets dented/peened due to it just tanking the force without moving. So much for softer metals not being able to damage harder metals 👀 They absolutely can, with relative ease, even, ask me how I know... We also had a Springfield RO 1911 with an off-center rear sight that I couldn't get adjusted, so we sent it to Springfield, and we get it back with a huge freakin' indent where it looks like even THEY had a bear of a time getting it centered right. So in these cases, what's a guy to do? Heat the area up? Oil it up? And how the hell do these companies get these sights so tightly driven in in the first place, I'm guessing with some type of specialized press?

Very good video caleb, nice detail appreciate you

Good info. thanks to you and Brownells for the demo.

Thank you for all the videos and the shared knowledge. Just a suggestion... It would be really good and easier for us, if the links for the tools used in this video could be made available at the description as well. Again thank you, for your time, wisdom and for the good prices Brownells! Cheers, hope everyone have a great week ahead.

Good job Mr Dapper .

Not a scientist… just play one on TV lol 😅😂 Keep it up, learning a ton!

Some sights just are too tight and need the manual method! If you take your time there's no issue. Might sometimes need some solvent if the sight is glued too much also.

I use plywood to do that. Work great.

Excellent presentation, thank you.

My guy casually has an AT4 in his gun safe

My brother walked in the garage while drifting out a Glock sight: "Tappy tap taps..." :D

Great video 😎👍🏻

Great! Thanks much, Caleb.

More How-To videos please

In removing the factory rear sight on my S&W Shield pistol, I discovered that the set screw on that sight had been set with red loctite. It wouldn't budge. Using a tip from the web, I used a soldering iron to heat the set screw for about 30 seconds, and the set screw came out without a lot of trouble. I used blue loctite on the set screw of the replacement sight. In fitting the rear sight you took a bit of material off the dovetail bottom of the sight. Has this always worked for you, or have you found times when the base of the sight that rests on the slide prevents the sight from dropping enough to make the cut on the dovetail bottom effective? In such a case, you'd have to remove material from the angled sides of the dovetail.

Bought all the fancy sight pushers and I still just use a punch and masking tape. M&P’s are definitely super tight though.

Great tips. Thanks

Love to see you try this technique on a Springfield xd lol them suckers are the hardest to move!!!!

I like the how to videos 👍🏻

Very useful video.

I wish I knew all of this before I did my sights like 2 years ago. Lol! Bought an expensive pusher and didn't know about sanding them down. 🤦‍♂️

Man really tried to sneak an at4 into that safe like we wouldn't notice

You can walk with a wooden leg You can pick up things with a wooden hand You can eat with wooden teeth But you can not see with a wooden eye. Always protect your eyes 👀

A couple pieces of 4 to 5 oz leather would make a better pad for your vise than the card borad, if your jaws have beep grips it could go through your card stock, my opinion.

I take my pistols to a gunsmith , someone that knows what their doing

That's what the neighbors be hearing cause he be slayin em! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have the M&P and had to drift the rear sight maybe about .2 mm to move the poi. Even that much too 5 really good taps to move it. Looks like once it gets off center it goes alot easier.

Another great video 👍

One question i have is , how do you know if the front sight is centered without measuring it with a caliper tool ? i have often wondered about that, some gunsmiths that i do know have always used a sight pusher tool, could never figure that out, i liked the tutorial video you made, thank you

ASMR moment there removing the brass stains

Maybe it's just me, but I've never just "Eyeballed" a sight when installing. I measure both sides until I'm within .001 of DNC, (Dead Nuts Center). I picked that up working in the Military as a Weapons Instructor/maintainer and found that a few gun shops I've worked for since held the same standard. True it takes longer, but I've never had one come back and on my own guns, never had one that was off.

Bob Ross of guns

Asmr for gun lovers

Man I wish I would of seen a video like this earlier. Recently I sent a local gunsmith my range handgun to install a new set of sights and extract a stripped grip screw. He did a fine job on the screw but once I got the gun home I noticed significant scratches near the sight. He must have been using a steel punch. I have a set of brass punches. If I would of just done a little more research then I would of saved money and my handgun from getting scratched.

great video...

Nice padded vice jaws..

Striker on 1911. JMB is cutting RPMs.

👍👍thanks Caleb

Aluminum plates could be used in the vice as well.

Most firearm manufacturers and their certified armorers will tell you to drift the sights in and out from one side only, typically the side with the ejection port. In this video, you punched the rear sight out to the right and the front sight out to the left.

Please get rid of the background music. It makes it harder to understand Caleb. Thanks.

great vid,, full of usefull info!

I feel like this dude was born 50 years late.

Pro tip Caleb: never sat "Rag" it sounds dirty, and no one wants to have that image of a Rag. Instead say "Towel". I really enjoy these videos, so I would like to add my professional input, to teach you.

Why not heat the slide assembly then hit the sight with keyboard cleaner (upsidedown) to freeze the sight for easy disassembly? For install put the new sights in the freezer and heat the slide

I destroyed a Ruger SR1911 slide trying to replace the front sight. Well, I gouged it up. Made me so pissed at myself. I found a replacement slide for it. Damn that made me mad.

I need some Brownells Alumihyde, I tried using aluminum black on the inside of an 80% receiver and it wouldn't work. I knew around the anodizing it may not, but the inside is raw aluminum..., The Alumihyde would be better and protect the lower better anyways, plus I can redo my handgun slide as well

Put the sight in the freezer overnight or longer. That’s the only way to press some bearings

I bought a Pedersoli Mississippi rolling block rifle from Cabela's. It shot low. I took it back to Cabala's. Cabala's sent it to a gunsmith. I got the rifle back all well and good. I shot the rifle; the new front sight was lower. I was able to sight in the rifle.. I took the rifle out of the box 3 months later. The front sight and dovetail were encrusted in rust. I removed the front sight and removed the rust. I only had one small pitted spot on the front sight. What did the gunsmith do to cause the rusting? I had oiled the rifle well. I was grateful I checked the rifle when I did.

Some sights are directional, keep that in mind. Also, if a new sight is too loose in the dovetail, use a punch to add a dimple or two to the bottom of the sight.

thanks

What if your front sight is a bit loose ? I heard dimpling the bottom with a center punch

Would adding Rocksett to the dove tail be a acceptable method of correcting a loos sight/slide interference? This is how Sig “repaired” my Legion P938 front sight.

Zebra fish can regrow retnia if you're wondering 😂

I think it might be helpful to have an overhead camera view

Is there a taper to factory dovetails? Direction to drift out, and in? Some say yes, some no. Help!

Can you answer a question? What if you have a 1911 with fixed sights, it's shooting low. Can you adjust for that? Or do I have to buy a new rear sight?

Can you give me a model number for the stone please.

Maybe I just don't understand something but doesn't someone make a gauge or template or SOMETHING to ensure that the sights are centered. I would think that would be really important. Just "eyeballing it from side to side doesn't seem precise enough to me. If I've missed something could you please explain. Thanks

Aren’t M&P sight dovetails directional? I’ve had issues with them and sig being that way. Any thoughts on that?