Sidearms & Scatterguns J-frame sight swap

[SquarePizza]

In the ongoing effort to turn my 649 into a working gun that meets all of my needs, I swapped out the front sight today. Normally I prefer my G26 as a carry gun, but at work I am limited to pocket carry only and I have found small autos do not clear the pocket as well as a J-frame does. So on the clock, I switch to a snubby.

I bought this gun used and it came with an XS big dot, which is a VERY fast front sight, and the tritium is a nice bonus. Inside of 7 yards its really great, but its like trying to aim with a basketball. Precision work is not really possible and even at 7 yards my groups were unacceptably large.

This is the sight picture of the big dot:

Being a precision shooter, I wanted something that was capable of better groups, yet would still be fast and visible. So I choose a dawson fiber optic. This site is smaller, square, and closer to the stock sight's dimensions, and being .100 in width, there is plenty of light on both sides of the sight.

Yes, I know some people do not like FO for defensive guns, but if the rod breaks I still have a square black sight to use. It comes with replaceable FO inserts, and at worst I am only out $39 if I don't like it.

Here is the sight:

And the sight picture:

Note: this was a used gun, so that damage on the edge of the side plate was NOT from me.

I get a lot better accuracy out of this gun now. However my load of 148WC over 5.0 unique at 850fps is shooting about 3" high and 3" right at 7 yards. Some experimentation is in order now.

This is the work I have done to the gun so far:
*blacked out the back strap with talon grip rubber to make the gun more concealable in my black pants

*Replaced the front sight

Next I am going to be sending out the internals to be hard chromed because they are starting to show rust spots in hard to clean areas.

Eventually I want to coat the entire pistol black so it doesn't stick out so bad against my uniform.

And lastly, I may swap in a titanium cylinder to drop a few ounces and make it a little lighter to carry for 12+ hours.

 

[Strykervet]

Let me know if you don't need that XS sight anymore. I have a 340PD I've been carrying for over a decade and I'd like one of those sights for it. At 13oz., I've literally forgot it was in my pocket a few times. But I never forget to take it, and when you have a pistol that light there's no reason not to carry. I like the G27 in a Milt Sparks VM2 for IWB carry; I got a G26 but really just so I could suppress it.

If I were you, I'd just replace the revolver rather than spend the money to fit a new cylinder, cerakote and hard chroming. They make that Night Guard model, or used to, I know Smith likes to change up the menu from time to time. Anyway, it's black, scandium and has a stainless cylinder, which is a better way to go than titanium and it weighs more than the 3xx models. I shattered the face of the first titanium cylinder --turns out they don't stand up to 17gr. N110 too well. They replaced it and I had it back by the end of the week but it could have been a lot worse. The 340 is also so light that recoil with .357's is just too much, it's more like catching a fast ball with your bare hand than anything else. I keep .38+P's in it.