I need to make some adjustments on my pistols. I could easily do what I need to with a drift but I try not to pass up the opportunity to get a new tool. I don't know much about these things just from what I've seen from pricing to random reviews. It seems to be all over. Right now I'm leaning tword the Wheeler tool but I can be swayed to something else if it will be a better tool. What does our collective think?
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Sight Pusher Recomendations
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I have used this one here
(but it is currently unavailable from Bozos) ... but this style even adjusts Sig sights which are typically REALLY HARD (you could spell that "impossible") to drift with a punch.
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I have that one and I have marred every single sight! That said, if you don't mind the marring and the need to flip the slide every time you push too far, this is good enough. I got used to mine but it's starting to wear out: the frame is aluminum and the bolts are steel so the threads are chewing up the frame the more you use it.
If you want a proper pusher, get the MGW Armory Sight-Pro Universal Sight Installation Tool
I'm in the camp of MGW is probably the best thing out there and almost always in stock.
The company adapts quickly as well. They were quick to come out with G42/43 adapters when those pistols came out.
The company adapts quickly as well. They were quick to come out with G42/43 adapters when those pistols came out.
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That MGW is quite a piece of tooling. Definitely in a different class than the one I have! The one thing I found odd is that they push against the vertical portion of the sight instead of the dovetail (where the counteracting forces are). It may work and the fact that people do love this one would suggest that it does, but I'd be concerned that I would shear the riser right off of the dovetail on a sight that is really stiff.
Daddy Mac
NES Member
I have the Wheeler and it's just ok. Does the job but the Sig 365 XL I just worked on today was a bitch. Had to load up the sight pusher and then tap on it with a plastic mallet to drift the front sight. I wasn't getting any movement with a good deal of pressure and didn't want to overload the tool. It worked out fine, made a very small adjustment and I guess for the price I'm happy with it.
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Some guns, like Beretta 92FS, have a taper in the cut out such that the sight is much easier to push out in one direction than another.
)I have the Wheeler tool and have used it more than a couple of dozen times -- mostly to remove rear sights on M&P autos for installing Apex DCAEKs for people. It works fine, but with all of these tools, the important thing is to do the set up slowly and carefully.
For me, the hard part is getting the sight back to where it was before I removed it, i.e., "centered." I don't want to scribe a line on the sight and slide and a pencil mark doesn't last. So what I've come down to is putting a thin (about 1/8") "stripe" of blue painter's tape on the slide and sight base, then carefully slicing a the tape as the point where the slide and sight base meet. On reinstall, lining up the edges of the painter's tape is as good as I can get it.
For me, the hard part is getting the sight back to where it was before I removed it, i.e., "centered." I don't want to scribe a line on the sight and slide and a pencil mark doesn't last. So what I've come down to is putting a thin (about 1/8") "stripe" of blue painter's tape on the slide and sight base, then carefully slicing a the tape as the point where the slide and sight base meet. On reinstall, lining up the edges of the painter's tape is as good as I can get it.
I'm in the MGW camp. I have the Glock & M&P specific ones and the Pro Universal. They are extremely well made. Your wasting your money buying anything less because eventually you'll end up with an MGW when you break the cheap one on a stubborn sight. The MGW is really a bargain for what it is, I couldn't buy the materials and machine my own and do the anodizing and stuff for any less than they sell it for.
I just use a caliper to center the rear sight in the dovetail, measure each side of the dovetail on the outside of the sight and get it as close to equal on each side as you can or your patience allows. I've never had a modern pistol that needed the rear sight pushed off center for an acceptable zero.
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if you have a modern handgun that truly needs the rear sight drifted off center to correct the windage I'd be very surprised. I center my rear sight on every pistol, I've never had one far enough off for it to be noticable inside of 100yds. If your shooting consistently to the left or right with more than one handgun it's probably you, not the gun.
I would use that method but the last time I tried it the sight flew off and my hot step mom got her head stuck in the dryer looking for it while she was butt naked and I pulled a hamstring helping her get unstuck.
Mesatchornug
NES Member
Sounds like something for the 1st world problems thread
Amputee Marksman
NES Member
I have a few MGWs, all model specific. I have run into a few instances where they were not capable of breaking free a front sight that had never been removed. I had to use a punch and hammer to loosen the sight.
In all fairness to MGW I also have a universal Wheeler that has had the same problem.
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1903Collector
NES Member
I cried once, now it just sits in the drawer. MGW for Glocks/Trijicon sights
I have this one as well. I bought it to replace the sights on my CZ-75 PCR with Tritium sights. I tried drifting the sights with a punch but quickly realized that was a fool’s errand. It worked quite well.
BREWINZ
NES Member
MGW Sight Pro. I've used it quite a bit over the years. For Sig, Glock, FN, S&W, etc. It's a very professional tool. Clearly designed to withstand years of daily use. It's a substantial piece of hardware.
Buy once, cry once. I don't regret it for a minute. It's paid for itself when I consider gunsmith labor charges and/or potentially damaged sights.
Buy once, cry once. I don't regret it for a minute. It's paid for itself when I consider gunsmith labor charges and/or potentially damaged sights.
