Beware and save yourself some headache

[mrortega]

I have a "couple" of Glocks and my 27 and 30 were dead on the money accurate out of the box. Because I have trouble picking up the white sights in bright sunlight I've put Tru-Glos on all of them.

However, lately I have been disappointed in the accuracy of both of the above mentioned guns. I've bought expensive ammo from several local gun stores because my beloved Speer Gold Dots just weren't doing it for accuracy like they had been. While cleaning my 30 the other night I noticed that the front sight wobbled a little. Tru Glos by their design are long to accomodate the fiber optic element. Because of that the pin that drops through the slide is at the front end with most of the sight trailing. To fix this I thoroughly cleaned the sight and hole in the slide. I then put a couple drops of blue Loc Tite on the sight fore and aft of the pin. I reinstalled the sight then let sit overnight. I did this on both guns.

With the front sights now tight both guns are again 1 holers at 5 yards and just a little clover leaf at 10. Plenty good for me. If you are having a problem with accuracy check your front sight before spending big money on new ammo like I did. Hope this helps someone here.

 

[Kick]

Nice post.


Thank You for the information!

 

[7.62asprin]

I'll have to keep that in mind, its always good to save some green.

 

[minx]

Had a Ruger mKIII 22/45 with a front sight issue. Shooting at 25yds, thought ammo, too. But I was sure it was technique. Then I saw the loose sight. Used Loc-tite, fixed it.

Loc-tite is deactivate by heat. Blue failed after about 500 rounds. Red has worked so far.

 

[jeremy]

Loc-tite is deactivate by heat. Blue failed after about 500 rounds. Red has worked so far.

I think it is Loc-Tite 291 (?!) that is made for retaining Sleeves inside of Engines...

 

[EPD1102]

Another thing that we used to do, especially on those long fiber-optic sights, was to put a bead of black loc-tite, nail polish, or something else along the whole length of the sight. It really locked everything in place.

 

[VERT]

Good to keep in mind. I have a Hi Viz fiber optic front sight on my G35. When I installed it at the shop I asked about loc-tite and the shop owner told me he had never had a problem with the front sight becoming lose. I could see how it could very easily. I use blue loc-tite on gun related items. Never considered heat being an issue.

Another thing that really helped me out was a black sharpie. ????? Well that white U on the rear sight of factory Glock sights is bad. I had to black that sucker out.

 

[M67]

Glad you fixed the problem, but..

With the front sights now tight both guns are again 1 holers at 5 yards and just a little clover leaf at 10.

isn't 5 yards kind of.....close?

What type of groups were you getting with the sight loose?

 

[jmiller676]

Glad you fixed the problem, but..



isn't 5 yards kind of.....close?

What type of groups were you getting with the sight loose?

You never know what a self defense situation distance is gonna be. The reason proper drawing technique is important is because it sets you up to for an arms length and closer distance.

 

[VERT]

Glad you fixed the problem, but..



isn't 5 yards kind of.....close?

What type of groups were you getting with the sight loose?

A lot of practical pistol work is done at 3, 4, 7, 10 & 15 yards.

 

[cartmanfan15]

A lot of practical pistol work is done at 3, 4, 7, 10 & 15 yards.

Took a handgun class or two and we practiced pretty close too. Hopefully a pistol is being used in pretty close range as a self defense option. How far out would someone expect to be extremely accurate with a pistol? I would think not much farther than 25 yards at most?

 

[mrortega]

Good to keep in mind. I have a Hi Viz fiber optic front sight on my G35. When I installed it at the shop I asked about loc-tite and the shop owner told me he had never had a problem with the front sight becoming lose. I could see how it could very easily. I use blue loc-tite on gun related items. Never considered heat being an issue.

Another thing that really helped me out was a black sharpie. ????? Well that white U on the rear sight of factory Glock sights is bad. I had to black that sucker out.

I was careful to not get any Loc Tite in the screw hole. What I did just flowed in around the pin and completely filled the post hole.

 

[mrortega]

Glad you fixed the problem, but..



isn't 5 yards kind of.....close?

What type of groups were you getting with the sight loose?

Not when you consider the average distance in a shooting is 5-10 FEET. I don't have a link to any statistics but I read that on the internet so it has to be true. A cloverleaf hole at 10 yds is plenty good for a head shot and a 3-4" group is plenty good at 20 yards. Past that distance, unless it's in my house, I don't want to have to explain to a jury why I shot somebody at 60 feet!

 

[rcdouble2]

Thanks, for a great tip. Rountinely the rear sight gets all the attention.

 

[jgreiner]

I have the Fiber Optic front site on my S&W......and i found the GREEN rod to be hard to pick up. After switching to a red one, I couldn't believe the difference. I have never considered myself to be colorblind, but it became pretty obvious to me which color I see better. I would venture to guess this is true of most people. They will see some colors better than others.

Also, guns are a bit like V-Twin motorcycles. They both generate a lot of jarring and vibrations, which causes parts to come loose. you are exactly right in using loc-tite. I carry a tube on my bike.

 

[marshallartist]

I've bought expensive ammo...

Isn't it all expensive ammo these days? I think you meant expensiver?

 

[seadoodr.]

Had a Ruger mKIII 22/45 with a front sight issue. Shooting at 25yds, thought ammo, too. But I was sure it was technique. Then I saw the loose sight. Used Loc-tite, fixed it.

Loc-tite is deactivate by heat. Blue failed after about 500 rounds. Red has worked so far.

They also make a red H/T (high temp) that i use, get it through the honda shop I work at. Works good on high heat applications.

 

[M67]

A lot of practical pistol work is done at 3, 4, 7, 10 & 15 yards.

I was thinking that at 3 yards, if you had to defend yourself, it would be more point shooting than actually using the sights. Then again, I never had to do it, so I don't know.

How far out would someone expect to be extremely accurate with a pistol? I would think not much farther than 25 yards at most?

On my .41 mag and 22 Buckmark, I have my sights sighted in at 30 yards. I routinely shoot them further than that. Those are "target pistols" I suppose though.

Max I've ever shot my 1911 was 60 yards. Not the best groups, but I wasn't used to that bullet drop.

Elmer Kieth once shot a deer at 600 yards with a .44 magnum handgun. Out west, there are groups who shoot 1000.

Handguns are pretty underestimated when it comes to distance shooting. Furthest I've ever shot and made contact was about 240 yards.

Most people don't try to shoot handguns at a distance, they picture there is no practical reason for it, but I like the challenge and I think it helps with technique. If you have bad techinque up close, you can get by with it (to an extent) because the bullet doesn't have to travel as far. If you have bad technique at 100 yards, it really shows.

So, I figured if I'm making contact at that distance, I should be able to hit something closer.

That's just me though.

Not when you consider the average distance in a shooting is 5-10 FEET. I don't have a link to any statistics but I read that on the internet so it has to be true. A cloverleaf hole at 10 yds is plenty good for a head shot and a 3-4" group is plenty good at 20 yards. Past that distance, unless it's in my house, I don't want to have to explain to a jury why I shot somebody at 60 feet!

I agree, a clover at 10 yards is good and more than fine for a carry piece, buit the 3 yard was throwing me for a loop. As I said before, I always figured it was more point shooting. The only time I've ever shot anything that close was a spider on the ground or maybe a golf ball, and I was "winging it" because the sights at that distance would have been way off.

Anyway, the "close" comment I made before was mostly about using the sights, as I said before, I just pictured it being more point shooting that anything.

 

[NHT3]

Speaking of Loctite.... Notice that purple is what is recommended for anything up to 1/4". I was made aware of this in a seminar at work several years ago.. Like everyone else I have used blue when I don't have purple but it's an interesting application chart. It's also a good idea to be sure the area is free of any type of oil and use their primer.
[FONT=&quot]NRA Life member [/FONT][FONT=&quot]GSSF member[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
Gunsite graduate Certified Glock armorer[/FONT]




http://www.useloctite.com/filephotos/documents/Threadlocking_Solutions_Guide.pdf

 

[Hoosier45]

Glad you fixed the problem, but..



isn't 5 yards kind of.....close?

What type of groups were you getting with the sight loose?

I shoot my M1A at 5 yards. I almost never miss.