[joseph.pavelchak]

Hello SF Team,
Using a good sight pusher, i am finding it very difficult to remove the front sigh on my Hellcat OSP with manual safety. Am concerned that if i continue to apply more pressure i may snap/break the sight off. Have you found the same issue in removing the sight? Have not as yet attempted to remove the rear sight as i can't even remove the front one. Was there some type adhesive used to secure the sights?

 

[WVSurveyor]

I don't have a Hellcat so I'm not sure, but make certain the sights don't have a set screw either on top of the sight or coming up through the slide from underneath.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

I don't have a Hellcat so I'm not sure, but make certain the sights don't have a set screw either on top of the sight or coming up through the slide from underneath.

Thank you for the response. No, no set screws anywhere. I don't think any of the Hellcats used set screws.

 

[WVSurveyor]

Thank you for the response. No, no set screws anywhere. I don't think any of the Hellcats used set screws.

OK. I don't believe you will break the sight if you're pushing it at the base. It may snap if you're pushing the blade, especially the front sight.

 

[Voltaire]

On some pistols the front sight is pushed from left to right and others right to left.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

On some pistols the front sight is pushed from left to right and others right to left.

Left to right based on which orientation. I tried left to right when looking at the front sight head-on (looking where the barrel would have been not from where the rear sight is). Perhaps it should have been the other way. Will try the other way.
Thanks for the good info.

 

[Voltaire]

With the pistol pointing away from your body. CZ push out from right to left. They are machined that way. Some and i have a pistol that i knew was right to left and was to afraid of pushing to hard.
I then applied some spray lubricant, let it sit and 15 minutes later it worked.

 

[WVSurveyor]

The directions are usually looking at the weapon as if you are firing it.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

The directions are usually looking at the weapon as if you are firing it.

Great! Then i was/am pushing in the correct direction. I have also tried a few drops of gun cleaner. Will let that sit for ~ 30 minutes and then try a few drops of gun oil. My worry was that if i break the front sight, i may never be able to remove the remaining piece/pieces easily. Although i have not as yet tried, i hope the rear sight will go much better as it is larger. Thanks for responding.

 

[Voltaire]

Spoke to a friend who stated he asked SA and they advised that sights on Hellcat are extremely tight and that the front and rear sights can be pushed in either direction, they are not tapered? Not certain what to say but he insisted.

 

[WVSurveyor]

My worry was that if i break the front sight, i may never be able to remove the remaining piece/pieces easily.

Hopefully you can push the front sight at its base. If it's pressed in so tight that it takes an excess amount of force, the worst thing would be a deformity in the base. It shouldn't break.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

Hopefully you can push the front sight at its base. If it's pressed in so tight that it takes an excess amount of force, the worst thing would be a deformity in the base. It shouldn't break.

Hello Sir WVSurveyor,
Thank you for your information and for taking time to respond. Yes, the sights, especially the front sight, were initially pressed in very very tightly such that it was extremely difficult to remove. I finally was successful but it took some good hardware to do it.
The photo below shows the setup i used. I had to use a "breaker bar" to help turn the large screw; without it i could not turn it by hand only (the sight was so tight).

The next image shows what i had to do to get moving jaws to exert as much force as close to the slide body as possible. I used a coin, at a slight angle, to apply the force close to the slide without applying any force to the sight blade. This scheme actually worked, to my surprise, but it took very high fore, from left to right, to accomplish the project.

I am not very good at some of these mods but i am learning as i go along. Bottom line is i now have a new set of suppressor sights, Ameriglo SA-819, on my new Hellcat OSP.
Many thanks to all that provided good suggestions and guidance to help me with this mini-project.
Have a great and safe day.

 

[WVSurveyor]

Wow, unusual method but I'm glad that worked for you. It looks as though you were pushing on the blade instead of the sight base. Happy it didn't break.
It's hard to imagine why those sights would be so tight coming from the factory.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

Wow, unusual method but I'm glad that worked for you. It looks as though you were pushing on the blade instead of the sight base. Happy it didn't break.
It's hard to imagine why those sights would be so tight coming from the factory.

Yes, i had to push on the sight blade but using the coin at an angle it applied the force as close to the base as possible. It was not possible to push on the base as it is recessed in a dove-tail groove such that the pusher jaws could not contact the base without using some other pushing scheme. I hope you understand that i am really new to all this so am doing the best i can. I hope to improve as time goes by.
Have a great and safe day, Sir.

 

[Elderberry]

Springfield‘s sight channels are machined very tight. I used the same sight pusher to change out my SDX sights And had to use a cheater bar also, plus penetrating oil. They were tighter than any others that I’ve replaced.

 

[Elderberry]

attachment removed - wrong thread. Opps…

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

Hello. The attachment was not visible. I am happy that you were successful in removing the OEM sights. For me, the new sights went in tight but not right enough where i needed to use the breaker bar for assistance. Congrats on your success.

 

[hodge5]

Wow, unusual method but I'm glad that worked for you. It looks as though you were pushing on the blade instead of the sight base. Happy it didn't break.
It's hard to imagine why those sights would be so tight coming from the factory.

I removed the sights from my Ronin EMP slide the other day, so that I could send the slide off to Evolution Armory. The rear sight was exceptionally tight. I was using a Real Avid Master Tool (https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr...-pusher//RK=2/RS=UW8yJ4mwyAZMWjCUAJxYZb1iNHs-), which is a beast, and I had to use the additional leverage of a 12" ratchet to break it loose.

 

[joseph.pavelchak]

I removed the sights from my Ronin EMP slide the other day, so that I could send the slide off to Evolution Armory. The rear sight was exceptionally tight. I was using a Real Avid Master Tool (https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrFREXaQBRkE0MDjKJXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMyNTQzNFNDXzEEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1679077722/RO=10/RU=https://www.realavid.com/product/master-sight-pusher//RK=2/RS=UW8yJ4mwyAZMWjCUAJxYZb1iNHs-), which is a beast, and I had to use the additional leverage of a 12" ratchet to break it loose.

Yes, the sight pusher i used was a different brand and design but was very similar in size (weighs about 5-6 pounds). My breaker bar was about 8" long. No idea of why they put those sights so very tight. Happy to hear that you were successful.