Sites on a Snub Nose 642

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Dave1911

New member
The SS colored ramp lining up with the metallic "U" in the back is not so easy to see. I have painted sights on another gun and it did not turn out as good as I would have hoped.

Does anyone have a good and cheap recipe for making the SS sights a bit easier to pick up. I see that many of the Smith revolvers use a red ramp. I also have a fluorescent green Testors paint that did not turn out to well on a black site with white dots. It was too dark on those sights.

I am thinking about red nail polish on the ramp. And maybe a few dots on the back site. Maybe a different color. Probably something dark to stand out on the metallic background.
 
Birchwood Casey used to sell sight paint that came with two colors; orange and white. You used the white as a base coat and then topped it with the orange paint. It worked very well on my S&W 637. Even if you cannot find that, Testors paint applied in the same manner should work.

I also used a little blue painters tape to get a well defined painted sight.
 
I painted the front ramp bright red on my 642, and with my tired old eyes, it didn't help much. In reduced light, it doesn't help at all, probably because the blade is so thin.

I have come to the conclusion that the tiny, shiny little rear notch is never going to work for me, and the narrow, shiny or red blade is never going to be easy for me to see.

For me, that gun is a point-shooter, period. Not necessarily a bad thing after you put some serious training into it. You can develop your point shooting skills remarkably well if you work at it. At less than 12 or 15 yards, you can achieve reliable combat accuracy and outstanding speed, which should be about perfect, right?

I recently saw a 3" 642/Centennial on another thread, with an adjustable rear sight and a red ramp up front. That would be my ideal pocket-carry self defense handgun.
 
For me, that gun is a point-shooter, period. Not necessarily a bad thing after you put some serious training into it. You can develop your point shooting skills remarkably well if you work at it. At less than 12 or 15 yards, you can achieve reliable combat accuracy and outstanding speed, which should be about perfect, right?
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Yeah. I agree. I have been practicing at 5 and 8 yards. Rapid follow ups with rough siting. I am confident I can get 3 to 5 in the torso at 5 yards with rapid follow ups. But it would be nice to get the sights a little better. I would like to be able to double action the inner rings of the targets a little more consistently. But maybe I am asking for more than I can get from this platform.
 
Dave, even in DAO the 642 and the like can consistently make center shots at 25 yards on a standard human silhouette target. you'd be surprised what slow fire, trigger control and proper sight alignment can do with a 2" J frame.

however, the J frame is best at close range, but it is good to know you can center punch a bad-guy at 25 yards if you take your time.
 
I use nail polish on mine. Walmart has a ton of bright colors to pick from and are cheap.

I use gloss white as a base, and once that dries, I use one of the brighter colors. The gloss white base makes the second color a lot brighter.

Ive done this with anything that doesnt have tritium and needs something eye catching.

I agree with JERRY, with a little practice, good COM and even head shots at 25 yards with the 642's shouldnt be a problem at all.

I also tried a pair of the CT "boot" grips on one of mine, and the laser still drives me crazy, and for me, actually makes things worse. I do better without them. Mine are for sale if anyone is interested. Basically NIB. :)
 
For me, finding grips that pointed naturally helped much more than fussing around trying to see those tiny sights. It took me a few tries till I found a set that pointed at my desired point of impact. The elevation was way cockeyed on the first few sets I tried, requiring a very unnatural grip.

Changing my presentation helped when I absolutely had to see the sights. I bent my strong-side elbow a lot more than I used to, bringing the sights several inches closer to my eyes. It made the sight picture a lot better than it had been. Not good, but better.

A point shooting training regimen might help. I started with Speer plastic bullets and a target frame with a piece of carpet hung a few inches behind it in my garage. It is a fairly quiet, cheap way to start getting the muscle memory burned in. I read everything I could find on the subject back in the day when I had a job, and incrementally moved the target back further and further until I had outgrown my garage!

It's not that hard, but it takes some disciplined practice. Let's be honest, at lunging distance, you need to focus on the threat. You normally don't have time for any kind of sights, no matter how easy they are to acquire.
 
I also tried a pair of the CT "boot" grips on one of mine, and the laser still drives me crazy, and for me, actually makes things worse. I do better without them. Mine are for sale if anyone is interested. Basically NIB.
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Im thinking about trying a set on a 342 that i have. Pm me with a price.
 
I use appliance white touch up paint as a base coat. After it is dry apply the nail polish of your choice. The white base makes it brighter. It lasts for a long time.
 
Does anyone have a good and cheap recipe for making the SS sights a bit easier to pick up. I see that many of the Smith revolvers use a red ramp. I also have a fluorescent green Testors paint that did not turn out to well on a black site with white dots. It was too dark on those sights.
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Orange fingernail polish. Works OK on my Taurus 605 and Charter Undercover. Good enough that I can actually distinguish the front sight and use it.

(The Charter's rear sight has a wider notch, that gives an easier (for me) to use sight picture. It would be gunsmith work to widen that out on the Smith, and of course it has to be done right the first time.)
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I just put some bright orange finger nail polish on. Looks good in the house. We'll see at the range. I was going to put a white undercoat in White Out but the White Out is very thin and messy.
 
And keep in mind that if you intend to use that gun for self defense, the lessons learned and the habits formed on a square range can get you killed in a lethal confrontation. Killed dead.
 
Khromo

And keep in mind that if you intend to use that gun for self defense, the lessons learned and the habits formed on a square range can get you killed in a lethal confrontation. Killed dead.
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The entire world isn't all about concealed carry or self defense. Sometimes a guy just likes to paint the front site...
 
I got mine used and it came set up as below. It looks like the previous owner drilled a bit and affixed a brass bead. I like the arrangement very much.

 
Red model paint works pretty well on a front sight.

As for grips, the factory grip wasn't bad, but didn't work with speedloaders, so I got some Pachmayrs that are even better and didn't need to be modified for speedloader use.
 
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