Help aligning pistol sights

ToolAA · Nov 25, 2018

I purchased a used G30 a few months ago from Baltimores Best Pawn. I replaced the stock sights with a set of night sights.

I thought everything was aligned pretty good. My shot groups were consistently about 2” left at 25ft. Paying close attention I guess I could see maybe the rear sight was slightly left so I went home and pushed it slightly right. Last week when I went back to the range shots were about 2” right.

When I measure the center of the edges of the rear sight notch from the edge of the slide its within .005” from each other. So it looks right.

I really don’t want to be taking my glock apart and trying to adjust the sights with the sight tool, out in the cold at AGC, or worse standing at the firing line at an indoor range.

I did install a Viridian C5L so I’m thinking if I go to the range today and spend some time aligning the laser with the center of my shot group, then when I get back home I can adjust the rear sight to align with the laser.

Does my approach make sense? How would an armorer align the sights?

teratos · Nov 25, 2018

I just bring a hammer and a punch and tap it right there on the bench. Your approach makes perfect sense.

Boom Boom · Nov 25, 2018

You don't line the rear right sight up with the slide edges. You line it up with your dominant shooting eye with respect to the front sight and the target. Your dominant shooting eye is looking at the target at a slight angle with respect to the vertical centerline of your noggin.

davsco · Nov 25, 2018

teratos said:
I just bring a hammer and a punch and tap it right there on the bench.

yep.

but the big shift could be you getting more used to the glock trigger. i have a bunch of glocks and love them, but they ain't known for their awesome triggers.

personally i wouldn't adjust your iron sights to your laser. in my very limited use of lasers on glocks (and prob other handguns), it's just not that accurate and repeatable of a mount system (vs for instance steel bases and rings on a bolt gun and precise clicks on the scope).

ToolAA · Nov 25, 2018

davsco said:
yep.

but the big shift could be you getting more used to the glock trigger. i have a bunch of glocks and love them, but they ain't known for their awesome triggers.

personally i wouldn't adjust your iron sights to your laser. in my very limited use of lasers on glocks (and prob other handguns), it's just not that accurate and repeatable of a mount system (vs for instance steel bases and rings on a bolt gun and precise clicks on the scope).

I’m pretty comfortable with the triggers This is my 3rd one, and whoever owned it before, did a trigger job on the gun and installed a diamond disconnector, so it’s actually pretty good. Not Walther Good but better than average Glock good.

I think I’m at the point now where something like sight adjustment is actually noticeable.

Last year I don’t think I would have even been able to see any any consistent pattern while shooting. My shots were everywhere, I was blowing the rails off my target frames. After Lasik I was able to see things much better and it took me a while to even realize that I was left eye dominant.

As for practice I have a tendency to push the gun down. It happens more on the G34 than the shorter pistols. After a lot of dry fire practice with the MantisX and more frequent live fire practice, I have become much more aware of how my own grip body position was influencing shot groups. I feel like I’m finally starting to get it, whatever “IT” is, something’s getting better.

As for the laser/light I figured I can practice without it all I want, but why not have it available if there were ever some advantageous reason to use it.

Biggfoot44 · Nov 25, 2018

Presuming your groups ( two hands, with arms supported ) are small enough to be meaningful , you were on the right track the first time . You just moved it twice as far right as was needed . You need to move it back left aprox 50% the distance moved the first time .

*******************

And 25 feet is too close to sight in with precision . 2 in @ 25 feet doesn't sound like much, but that's 6 inches @ 25yds . Try at least 15 yards .

Invicta · Nov 25, 2018

It's best to do it at the range where you can move it a little bit at a time and check. It sounds like you have a sight pusher though which will make it much easier.

ToolAA · Nov 25, 2018

Biggfoot44 said:
Presuming your groups ( two hands, with arms supported ) are small enough to be meaningful , you were on the right track the first time . You just moved it twice as far right as was needed . You need to move it back left aprox 50% the distance moved the first time .

*******************

And 25 feet is too close to sight in with precision . 2 in @ 25 feet doesn't sound like much, but that's 6 inches @ 25yds . Try at least 15 yards .

I figured at 25ft the groups would be small enough to get a good idea of the group center. What I was having a problem with was the degree of adjustment. I was having to move the sight only about .030” to get it to the center, but trying to use the sight adjustment tool to ONLY push .030 was harder than it sounds.

I did go back today and bring a small block of wood, hammer and brass punch. It was a real trial and error effort which consumed about 35 rounds before getting shots to center. I’m still thinking there is a cheaper/more efficient way.

JTH20 · Nov 26, 2018

I used a Laser Bore Sighter to sight in a pistol with messed up sights, but it just got me in the ballpark.
I still needed trial and error to get it hitting POA, but it would have been easier if i didn't use a cheap laser.

ken792 · Nov 26, 2018

First, make sure your front sight is aligned properly. Glocks frequently have front sights torqued to the right. I use a straight edge on either side of the front sight to align it against the barrel hood notch or the firing pin hole. I make adjustments by twisting the front sight with an adjustable wrench.

After that, center the rear sight as close as you can. It's easiest to do with a press instead of a punch. Dry fire a lot to learn not to pull the gun. Right handed shooters tend to pull low and left with Glocks. Once you're confident you've learned the trigger on the Glock, then make some final adjustments for windage on the rear sight.

I dry fire my Glocks for at least a week and shoot at least a few hundred rounds before adjusting the rear sight. When I'm out of practice, I find that my shots drift left if I'm shooting fast, but remain perfectly centered if I'm shooting slowly.

Help aligning pistol sights

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