How To's

INSTALLING AFTERMARKET GLOCK SIGHTS

In the last decade Glock semiautos have come from nowhere to rank among the most popular pistols in the U.S. According to Glock's own sales figures, more than 50 percent of America's cops and private security agencies now carry Glocks, and civilia. sales more than equal that number. For handgun enthusiasts and tinkerer the straightforward mechanism of the Glock pistol and its polymer frame leave fewer opportunities for kitchentable pistolsmithing than do other, more traditional pistol models, but there is one Glock feature that virtually cries out for customizing attention --the sights.

Replacing the factory-original Glock sights with an aftermarket setup is easy to do with just few tools.

Factory-issue Glock sights on all Glock models and chamberings are molded polymer. The rear notch has a bold white outline to enhance visibility and sight acquisition, but the extremely low profile of the overall design and the fact that their polymer composition makes both the front and rear components particularly susceptible to misshaping from wear or damage from foreign objects have caused the standard sights to be universally disparaged by serious shooters. Fortunately there are several aftermarket accessory manufacturers who offer all-steel replacement front and rear packages for the Glock standard sights-most notably Heinie Specialty Products, Millett, Novak's, and Trijicon. The best news is that the installation of these sights is a very simple and straightforward task--well within the reach of even the most amateur of home pistolsmiths--and you won't need a bunch of tools to do it.

Here's a step-by-step guide to replacing the sights on a Glock pistol--any model or chambering--using a set of Heinie basic black rear and front sights for illustration. The same procedcure applies to any of the other Glock accessory sights on the market that are available in a variety of visibility-enhancing patterns as well as plain black, including Heinie's innovative two-dot Straight 8 system (for daylight or night) and Trijicon's well-known tritium nightsight packages.

Off With The Old...

The first step is to remove the magazine and clear any loaded round from the gun's chamber, then disassemble the gun by pulling the trigger, pulling downward on both sides of the disassembly bar, and simultaneously drawing the slide/barrel assembly forward off the frame. Turn the slide upside down, remove the captive recoil spring assembly and barrel from the slide, and you're ready to work.

Place the Glock slide in a nonmarring vise and use a nonmarring drift punch to drive out the original rear sight. Then center the new rear sight in the dovetail slot with a nonmarring drift punch.

Next place the slide in a vise with nonmarring jaws or place the slide on its side on the edge of a sturdy work table with padding. Inspect the beveled ends of the factory rear sight and you will see a small "step" on one side to use as a platform for a drift punch. Place the flat end of a small punch against this step and drive the rear sight body free of the dovetail notch in the slide. Save or discard the old polymer sight unit, your choice.

You can go ahead and remove the factory front sight at this time or wait until you've installed the new rear one--makes no real difference. But you will have to replace both rear and front because none of the accessory rear sights will work with the factory front blade due to height differences.

To remove the front blade simply turn the slide upside down in your vise (or flat on the workbench with the front hanging out past the edge) and use a small-diameter center punch to drive the little polymer locking stud free. It takes just one light tap from your hammer on the punch, and you'll be surprised at how fragile the setup actually seems.

On with The New

TOOLS NEEDED

• Small center punch
• Nonmarring drift punch
• Light mallet
• 3/16-inch-diameter nut driver
• Loctite No. 271

With both front and rear factory sights removed, first replace the rear with your new unit. A Heinie Glock rear sight can be installed in the dove tail from either side. Its leading edges are slightly beveled for ease in getting it started into the groove. Clamp the slide in your vise or hold securely dow on the workbench and use a nonmarring drift punch to tap the sight to cen ter in the dovetail. One very neat feature of Dick Heinie's sights eliminates the Glock pistols' well-known propensity to always shoot slightly to the right with a rear sight that is visually centered in the slide. Heinie makes his rear sight unit with its notch offset .005 inch to the left so that when the sight looks visually centered on the gun, it is more likely to shoot to point of aim without needing to be drifted to an odd-looking, off-center position.

Before you install the new front sight you should apply No. 271 Loctite to the front sight hole in the slide and to the threaded stud on the sight. Use a 3/16-inch nut driver to tighten down the front sight's nut and threaded post, but make sure the blade is properly aligned before applying your final torque.

Now all that remains is to install the new front blade. First Heinie recommends you make a liberal application of No. 271 Loctite tc the front sight hole in the slide and to the threaded stud on the sight. The No 271 Loctite is the "thread locking" grade of that well-known liquid and is available at any full-stock hardware store. Lesser grades of Loctite may not hold as well. Insert the front blade into its hole, align it visually parallel with the slide, then turn the slide upside down and rest it that way on the workbench against the blade. Place the small nut on the threaded post that is protruding through the slide and tighten it down using a 3/16-inch nut driver. Turn the slide back over just as it begins to snug up to make sure the blade is still aligned properly, then put it back upside down on the bench and apply your final torque. Make it snug, but don't overtighten--that stud is small, and you can twist it off. Now inspect the position of the blade. If the final torque seems to have turned the alignment of the blade slightly, you can use a set of pliers with nonmarring jaws to grasp the blade and turn it a bit into final position without needing to loosen the nut again. Just be sure to use a light, careful, gentle touch. Incidentally, some 3/16-inch nut drivers that you buy at a standard hardware store may be too big outside to fit into the small working area inside the slide. If so, just grind or file them down until they fit to work. Dick Heinie says he is going to offer an inexpensive nut drivera few bucksfor sight installation in the near future, so by the time you read this you might just want to get one of his along with your new sights and save a little bit of time.

Let Sight, Loctite Set

Finally wipe any excess Loctite clean from the slide inside and out, reassemble your pistol, and set it aside for about three to four hours while the Loctite dries. Your Glock pistol now has a new set of rugged all-steel sights of your choice--black, visible-dot, or night-sight system--and you can proudly call yourself a Glock custom pistolsmith (in your own mind, of course). Now go shoot and have some fun.

Reprinted by permission from the November/December issue of HandGunning. Copyright 1996 © PJS Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

HandGunning is not responsible for mishaps of any kind which may occur from use of published loading data or from recommendations by staff writers.