Dovetailed J-Frame Sights

S

ScotchMan

New member
My biggest complaint, by far, with revolvers, is their sights. Even with adjustable sights, that black notch with a black front ramp is far inferior, for me, than your basic three dot setup on any semi-auto. Every time I seriously get into revolvers again, I always end up getting frustrated with the sights and going back to my autos.

Recently I came across the 640 Pro Series and I had a bit of a revelation. Here is a revolver with the same sights I am used to on semi-autos. And the best part, if you look closely, is it appears S&W just added dovetails right on top of the existing fixed sights!

Side-by-Side.jpg


If that is the case, it should be a relatively easy operation to have a gunsmith add this capability to ANY revolver! Can you imagine a revolver with dovetails which will accept, say, 1911 sights? The possibilities are endless. This is great, because the 640 Pro isn't exactly what I want in a revolver. A 642 Pro with dovetailed sights would be.

Anyone know of someone who has tried this before? Anything I'm missing that would rain on my parade?
 
Cutting a dovetail into the top strap is somewhat of a risky proposition. Especially if the gun is an alloy frame. The dovetail weakens the frame at a critical point. Maybe go for a dozen years with no problem, then suddenly have a failure.

If such guns are factory made, well and good. But an add-on could spell trouble. I'd advise against it.

I zoomed in on the S&W link you posted. The dovetail slot is not in the top strap per se, but in the frame behind the top strap, which is a wolf of a different color.

Bob Wright
 
At one time, Jim Clark's son was doing that, as a one-off project for select clients. His solution was simpler, he simply milled out the little notch in the rear sight, then cut the front sight off the revolver and cut a dovetail into the top rib for a tritium or a high-vis sight.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XCkTSf0swcQ/Sme_iImm7KI/AAAAAAAAGFM/HWUBIKOP8N8/s1600/J%2Bframe%2BTRITIUM.jpg

Very clean installation. I like it, but the last time I looked at the Clark website, they weren't accepting customer guns for modifications.
 
You can buy replacement sight blades(tritium) for the pinned fr sights. Pinned and glued, that is pretty solid.

With the rear, I don't really need improvement....maybe a wide U milled in the current sight to be fancy... It would also be nicer if the area or whole gun was black cerakoted.
 
Here is a revolver with the same sights I am used to on semi-autos. And the best part, if you look closely, is it appears S&W just added dovetails right on top of the existing fixed sights!
Click to expand...

One of the big name smiths will do that. I forget who right now.

I would also question how much you'd need the new rear sight. Assuming you're OK with the square notch rear, you should be able to do what you want with a dovetailed front sight. Adjustable for windage by the application of hammer and brass punch. Adjustable for elevation by replacing the sight with a taller or shorter one.
 
Cutting a dovetail into the top strap is somewhat of a risky proposition. Especially if the gun is an alloy frame. The dovetail weakens the frame at a critical point. Maybe go for a dozen years with no problem, then suddenly have a failure.

If such guns are factory made, well and good. But an add-on could spell trouble. I'd advise against it.

I zoomed in on the S&W link you posted. The dovetail slot is not in the top strap per se, but in the frame behind the top strap, which is a wolf of a different color.

Bob Wright
Click to expand...

From what I can tell on the 640 Pro, the sight is behind the top strap. The D&L solution looks functional, but it has three screws along the top strap, which I'm not sure is necessary. It looks like all S&W did with the 640 was just mill in dovetails.

And for the people who mentioned the rear, I need the rear more than the front! There is at least a front sight on the J that I can paint or whatever, but there is no rear sight to speak of at all.
 
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