I picked up a set of these a couple weeks back. Installing the front sight was a standard affair, no issues. However, the rear was super tight. Instructions said that minor fitting may be needed, and I did have a fine jewelry file and emery cloth/fine sandpaper to assist, but it was still too tight. Procedure of literally trying to tap it in, remove, file/clean, carefully tap in, repeat (with a vice and plastic punch). Instructions advised that “minor fitting” may be required. I carefully filed/sanded/buffed the areas where it contacts into the dovetail - to the point the finish was coming off and repeated the fitting process. After spending hours trying to tap it in carefully, I used a sight pusher tool to wedge it in and marred up the side of the rear sight. I ordered a new rear sight to replace this as Wilson said they don’t refund/exchange sights if it’s been installed (especially since it could be operator error here), but I did not see anyone else having issues installing these rear sights.
Are these sights out of spec or am I doing something wrong? If the latter, it was an expensive mistake that I don’t want to repeat. Never had issues with installing other sights, namely Ameriglo. I also had a gunsmith who had installed a ton of sights look into it, and he stated he never seen a sight that tight on a Glock before either.
And just to be clear - I’m not bashing Wilson Combat - just wanted some quick feedback so I know not to mess up the replacement I just ordered.
They are oversized due to variations in Glock rear sight dovetails- I on the other hand have had sights that I could have almost pushed in with thumb pressure. When you are dealing with variations like this you always err on the side of too much material vs. not enough
This is also why the sights are not melonited to better match the finish of the Glock slide - early test sights proved near impossible to fit because of this
This ain’t Wilson Combats first rodeo - they were fitting sights to pistols before many of you were born or in diapers. Along the way they learned a thing or two about designing sights
I wish Wilson Combat would offer some sight options for SIG Sauer P series guns.
I just put on a Warren Tactical on my X5 Entry model, and frankly am not real happy with it. Partly due to design, and partly due to my one file stroke too many…had to peen the crap out of the sight dovetail to get it tight again. My fault on that but the rest of the sight is also kind of lackluster. About the only thing I like is the U shaped notch.
The sights are really pretty darned grey. Watching Glock constantly change their color palette over the years has been interesting but they still err on the side of black.
Heinie sights are Melonited and those, while a pain in the butt to fit, can still be fitted. With the word Combat in the name of the sight, wouldnt you prefer a sight that has better anti corrosion properties and is “harder” to fit versus one that is easier to fit and rusts when you look at it wrong? My time in the swamp that is Florida has soured me on any sight that isnt melonited.
I ended having the first rear sight sanded down and cerakoted black after i dicked up the install. The gouges are still there. I can say the parkerizing matches the Glock slide more than the cerakoted, but it’s a moot point to me as long as bare metal isn’t showing. I plan on re-using the first sample I bought, as I’ll get it refinished again. I’d be curious to know how the melonting would affect tolerance. The sight out of tthe box was too tight for the dovetail (LAV did say variances are there).
The finish on this new G17 slide is the weakest i’ve seen yet. I have 5 Glocks with 4 of them being gen 3, and I’ve noticed the finishes getting weaker with newer guns. Off topic there, but just a rant for the slide.
Thanks again to those who gave helpful feedback earlier.
Replacement arrived. Took a lot more filing/fitting than I had thought originally. The Dawson Precision video linked earlier was very helpful.
