# Changing the front site on an XD, Insanely hard or just pretty hard?



## sidaemon (Feb 17, 2008)

I am looking into buying an XD, trying to keep my initial cost as low as possible as I live in the middle of nowhere and I can't get a descent gun dealer to give me a good price...

I was looking at the stock sites but have recently read that some have complained about changing the sights later and that it is really really hard, anyone have any info on this? thanks zac.


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## BeefyBeefo (Jan 30, 2008)

This isn't about the sights, but just a thought. Why don't you consider ordering online if your local dealers aren't giving you decent prices. www.budsgunshop.com has good prices I've noticed and most of their prices are quoted with shipping included. Just a thought.

-Jeff-


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

I've never tried on my XD. I'm sure there are going to be people who say go for it, but I have heard many more times than not that changing the sights is extremely difficult and best left to a smith or someone who has the right tools and done it before; unless of course you don't mind gouging your slide and misaligned sights. :mrgreen:


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## myxd45 (Jan 18, 2008)

it is a pain for the xd but not impossible


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## hoveyh (Feb 4, 2007)

A bitch of a job .... I had to snap off the blade then use a dremmel cutoff wheel to slice through the sight base. Hit the XDtalk.com forum for plenty of war stories.

Harold H.


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## GunnBugg (Mar 17, 2008)

*Too hard*

I agree with the earlier post that you can get guns online cheaper and without the sales taxes. That can be very attractive if you don't have a local discount dealer such as Academy or Sportsman's Warehouse.

As far as the sight goes, generally you can get them changed for about $25 at your local gun shop. They are pretty much impossible without the proper sight mover (http://www.pistolgear.com/proddetail.php?prod=MGW-XD).


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## XD_Hokie (Dec 29, 2007)

*XD sight replacement*

I paid to have mine done, and gunsmith said the XDs were a real pain to get out. So I would let a smith do it.:smt023


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## PineyWoods (Apr 3, 2008)

The factory XD sights are a lot tougher than most to remove, but certainly not impossible... IF YOU REMOVE THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! Remove the sights from left to right (towards the ejection port side). Install new sights from right to left. The slots may be tapered (a bone of contention among many gun tinkerers), or the end that the factory sights were originally installed from may be a bit bigger as a result of the installation. If the new sights won't fit without using a sledge hammer, file down the BOTTOM of the male dovetail on the sight. Go easy - a little sanding can make a big difference.

In any event, I mounted TruGlo TFO sights on both my XD-40 and XD-45. Took about an hour for the first set (I WASN"T moving them in the right direction!) and about 15 minutes for the second set (once I learned to tell my left from my right).


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