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are all sight pushers created equal?

greencobra

greencobra

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I'm looking for a sight pusher. it started as a glock only sight pusher but after an amazon search, i'm thinking maybe a universal one is now in order. almost all of them have 4.5 to 5 star reviews and range in price from 35 bucks to 140. don't know why the big difference in price. my top 2 requirements are A. push the sight right or left (pretty simple) B. don't mar the finish. they all seem to do both with ease. anything i should know before i throw a dart and pull the trigger on one of them?
 
Only one I have and use is the MGW pusher for Glocks. It's expensive but it's built like a tank. I have used it with Trijicon and Mepro angled sites with no marring.
 
I bought this one to remove the stock sights and install Truglo TFX sights on my SR45. It worked well but wasn't the easiest thing to use because you need to hold the slide, the tool and turn the nut with your own wrench. Once you get the hang of it it's not bad. You also want to use a piece of cardboard or a business card to protect the slide from scratches. I had never used any sight pushers before or since so I have no frame of reference for comparison.

It removed the old sights and allowed me to install the new ones without damaging the gun or the sights and the TFX sights have tritium vials so you have to be super careful. This tool is kinda clunky but it does the job as long as you go slow and be careful. If I were a gunsmith I would buy something better but for for the average guy who has a few different guns that may get the sights replaced this was ok. The extra large one was easier for the SR45 and it came with all of the extra blocks so it seemed like a no brainer to go with that over the smaller standard tool.

http://sightpusher.com/product/xl-handgun-sight-tool/
 
Carl in Ct said:
I bought this one to remove the stock sights and install Truglo TFX sights on my SR45. It worked well but wasn't the easiest thing to use because you need to hold the slide, the tool and turn the nut with your own wrench. Once you get the hang of it it's not bad. You also want to use a piece of cardboard or a business card to protect the slide from scratches. I had never used any sight pushers before or since so I have no frame of reference for comparison.

It removed the old sights and allowed me to install the new ones without damaging the gun or the sights and the TFX sights have tritium vials so you have to be super careful. This tool is kinda clunky but it does the job as long as you go slow and be careful. If I were a gunsmith I would buy something better but for for the average guy who has a few different guns that may get the sights replaced this was ok. The extra large one was easier for the SR45 and it came with all of the extra blocks so it seemed like a no brainer to go with that over the smaller standard tool.

http://sightpusher.com/product/xl-handgun-sight-tool/
Click to expand...

i put mine in a vise. made the swap a lot easier
 
Some sight pushers are made with some seriously soft metal.
I bought a cheap universal only to have the threads on the pusher strip on the first try. I also bought a cheap sight pusher for the Swiss rifle....laughable.
Some tools you can go cheap others not so much.
 
mac1911 said:
Some sight pushers are made with some seriously soft metal.
I bought a cheap universal only to have the threads on the pusher strip on the first try. I also bought a cheap sight pusher for the Swiss rifle....laughable.
Some tools you can go cheap others not so much.
Click to expand...
huh! some stuff i just didn't think about, glad i threw it out there instead of doing an impulsive buy.
 
greencobra said:
huh! some stuff i just didn't think about, glad i threw it out there instead of doing an impulsive buy.
Click to expand...

I bought them off eBay I can't find them on there anymore.
It was very similar to this one.... Fn junk.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/272242239862

The Swiss tool was a piece of black pipe with a bolt threaded into it. ... not the nice "machined" product advertised
 
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Where are you located. I'm sure there are others like me that spent good money on a pusher that now sits. If you are in the Woburn / Wilmington area you are welcome to borrow my angled Glock pusher.
 
I have one I bought on ebay. I can't compare it because it's the only one I've ever used. It works the way it is supposed to.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
Realtor MA said:
I have one I bought on ebay. I can't compare it because it's the only one I've ever used. It works the way it is supposed to.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This is all I ask for..... funny one of the responses to my emails to the bad tool was.....yeah it's (the tool) not as strong as some of these tight sights.
The only reason I like the sight pushers is it makes small adjustments a lot easier than smacking shit around with a hammer and punch around the firing line.
 
Firearm specific sight pushers seem to work a lot better then the universal types, unless you want to spend a lot of $ on your universal sight pusher.

- - - Updated - - -



PS I would rather buy my tools from Brownells than Amazon.
 
I tried to beat the rear sight off my SR45 before buying the pusher. I beat the snot out of it and it didn't budge. The sight pusher didn't have much trouble with it. No bending, no breaking, no stripping. Turns out the rear sight had something resembling red locktite from the factory under it, wasn't going anywhere until I put the sight pusher on it. I did have to file the new sight to get it to fit. That is normal and can be tricky. I actually used a flat diamond sharpening stone and rubbed the sight evenly on it. That took material off the bottom evenly and I checked it very frequently which brought it to a nice tight fit. I used the sight pusher to install it.
 
Most of them don't work worth a damn. I have a couple kicking around I'd probably give away.
 
Carl in Ct said:
I tried to beat the rear sight off my SR45 before buying the pusher. I beat the snot out of it and it didn't budge. The sight pusher didn't have much trouble with it. No bending, no breaking, no stripping. Turns out the rear sight had something resembling red locktite from the factory under it, wasn't going anywhere until I put the sight pusher on it. I did have to file the new sight to get it to fit. That is normal and can be tricky. I actually used a flat diamond sharpening stone and rubbed the sight evenly on it. That took material off the bottom evenly and I checked it very frequently which brought it to a nice tight fit. I used the sight pusher to install it.
Click to expand...

Removing a sight can be tricky if you didn't install it. Loctite can cause problems. If I run into trouble removing a sight, I resort to heat, if possible. You need to know what you are dealing with. Some striker fired guns, Glock and S&W M&P for example, have plastic or polymer internal slide parts that must be removed before applying heat.
 
Gammon said:
Removing a sight can be tricky if you didn't install it. Loctite can cause problems. If I run into trouble removing a sight, I resort to heat, if possible. You need to know what you are dealing with. Some striker fired guns, Glock and S&W M&P for example, have plastic or polymer internal slide parts that must be removed before applying heat.
Click to expand...

I took the slide off and didn't see any plastic or polymer parts on the SR45 but that's a great tip.
 
universal. It works fine. don't listen to the NES nay sayers. If you want to borrow it that's fine too.


ETA I'm not saying there aren't better options. But I am saying the thing gets the sights off in short order.
 
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My wife just bought me new sights for my M&P 9c. I just ordered this sight pusher Wednesday, got it today, and just swapped out my sights. I marred the finish on the slide and sights very very slightly. It could have been avoided by putting some kind of cushion on there. This is my edc and the finish is less than perfect already so I really didn't care. After using it I don't know why you would spend 4x more on something more fancy.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262388824652
 
MGW has just come out with a great universal sight pusher, but it costs $319. Worth every penny if you have a use for it.
 

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