Front sight fell out of dovetail on Colt 1911 XSE

M

M1ke10191

New member
So I was cleaning my 1911 and when I flipped the slide over, out came the sight! I don't see a screw or anything (not sure if I lost it or not), but the sight is easily able to slide in and out of the dovetail, so there has to have been something holding it there prior. Any thoughts?

EDIT: Looking back I see the hole where a screw would have gone. Looks like I'll have to either get in touch with Trijicon or Colt for a replacement screw.
 
Yes, I had similar thing happen on my Ruger Mark II as the site became loose at the range. I would assume they loctite these at the factory, but mine didn’t appear to have any residue. So, not sure it these screws need to be removed periodically and reinstalled with new thread locker or not.
 
I'm fairly sure the sight should just be held in by tension, though some loc-tite never really hurt. Could be (probably) the sight or notch in the slide is a bit out of spec. Is this a new gun? Seems odd to just drop out all of a sudden.

An easy fix for your local smith regardless.
 
Or you can try to do it yourself. If the sight is metal. Put the slide in a secure vise and remove the front sight, take a small tapered punch and using a hammer lightly tap the flat area beneath the front sight. Work slow and do a few taps at a time, check the fit of the sight, remove if still loose and repeat. What your doing is displacing metal a little bit at a time until the sight will be friction fitted into the dovetail again. The punch will raise a "bowl" of metal with each tap, so it keeps everything in place. Use a brass or plastic hammer to tap the sight back on and your done.
that's what I have done in the past anyway.:)
 
A little Threadlocker is probably a good idea here.

I would probably ask my gunsmith to handle this, but that's me.

The XSE is a terrific .45 so enjoy.
 
+1 What mannyCa said. This allows adjustment at the range and then you could lock tight it if needed after adjustment.
 
Front sights are generally secured with a pin - if that - rather than a screw.
It's easier to pin the front sight in place than to make a dovetail that's tight enough to hold the sight on its own.
The front sight on my Springfield RO could be easily pushed out of the dovetail after the pin was driven out.
 
Front sights disappear with regularity. I had a fiber optic on my Glock vanish. At a match, a shooter with a Walther had the aftermarket sight sailed in a beautiful arc that we watched. However, an attachment part fell through the hole from the sight and jammed tight against the slide and the barrel. That gun was out of commission.

The best was a guy with semi and a laser, flashlight combo. He was quite the tactical Timmy. As he started to shoot, it fell off his gun and hit the ground. The laser went off and the flashlight started to strobe. It was a disco moment!
 
So I was cleaning my 1911
Click to expand...
See what happens when ya' go overboard with this cleaning stuff?
They just get dirty again, anyways. :)
If the sight was being assisted to staying place with something like loctite, the cleaner could have dissolved it.
Might try reapplying some after using mannyCA's advice.
 
The odd thing is there is no tension whatsoever in the dovetail. I can easily side the sight in and out from one side. That leads me to believe there should be a screw or pin holding it there that I lost, yet there are no holes in the slide to retain either a screw or a pin.

The gun was purchased used from my LGS with those sights already installed, too.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
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Most dovetailed sights are just secured with an interference fit. Even though the dovetail cut in the slide and the sight dovetail are supposed to fit together securely, I have found that most front sights require some fitting. Some sights will have a hole drilled through the top of the sight blade and into the slide and a 1/16th. roll pin installed to secure the front sight. Much less commonly there will be a threaded hole in one side of the sight base to secure the front sight with a set screw.

Anyway, I feel your pain;) The front sight departed to parts unknown on my Colt Special Combat Government, purchased new last month. I have fitted a number of dovetailed front sights and could have bought and installed a new front myself, but decided to ask the nice folks at Colt to replace this one this time. I confess I'm not real upset about the front sight departing. This occasionally happens. Not a big deal IMHO and I'm sure Colt will install a new one that fits securely.
 

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The front sight on the vast majority of factory guns suck, anyway.
Perfect opportunity to install a new/better sight.
 
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