# Adjusting Sights on a Pro Carry II



## Skinnedknuckles

Just purchased a new-to-me Stainless Pro Carry II and it shoots a few inches to the left (yes, it is the gun and not me - I used a rest). I thought it would be an easy fix to loosen the set screw and tap the rear sight a bit to the right. The set screw was extremely tight but it finally broke free. I screwed it almost all the way out and used a piece of wood to tap it over. It won't budge!

Should I try to get some penetrating oil into the dovetail? I assume the set screw is just that and loosening it should allow the sight to move, or does it have to be completely removed? Should I use a brass punch instead of wood and hit it harder or do I need to purchase a tool?

When I couldn't move the rear sight, I tried tapping the front sight over and had the same lack of success. I have a bad habit of fixing things by using a bigger hammer but thought I should ask for help first.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.


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## VAMarine

Judging buy your self admission to use a bigger hammer and your screen name, I would highly suggest either a gunsmith or contacting Kimber.


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## pic

Probably some loctite still holding tight. Any signs of loctite on the screw.

But VAMarine is correct and funny to, bring it to a professional . I would contact kimber as recommended . Kimber might recommend a certain smith to do the work . then if any damage occurs, your covered. I never personally dealt with kimber before.


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## VAMarine

Kimber sights can be fit really, really tight. Pic is probably right on the Loctite, you can try heating up the rear of the slide, but I should refer to my first post...


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## rex

You need a sight pusher,and a good one.A good one will run you a buck 50 plus,and a cheap one will break or slip and doink the gun.Unless the screw had locktite and some trickled down to the dovetail,I don't think they use locktite.The rear sight holds the FP plunger and spring in the slide so I guess they went for overkill,they are pressed in real tight.

The easiest thing to do is figure out how many thousandths you need the sight moved,and take it to a smith to move it that amount.The formula is here somewhere or at Dawson Precision's website.


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## pic

Skinnedknuckles said:


> Just purchased a new-to-me Stainless Pro Carry II and it shoots a few inches to the left (yes, it is the gun and not me - I used a rest). I thought it would be an easy fix to loosen the set screw and tap the rear sight a bit to the right. The set screw was extremely tight but it finally broke free. I screwed it almost all the way out and used a piece of wood to tap it over. It won't budge!
> 
> Should I try to get some penetrating oil into the dovetail? I assume the set screw is just that and loosening it should allow the sight to move, or does it have to be completely removed? Should I use a brass punch instead of wood and hit it harder or do I need to purchase a tool?
> 
> When I couldn't move the rear sight, I tried tapping the front sight over and had the same lack of success. I have a bad habit of fixing things by using a bigger hammer but thought I should ask for help first.
> 
> Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.


How far were you shooting, what was the distance ? Did you break the gun down ,clean it, and shoot it again with the same results
Even though you were shooting from a rest, you might let someone else shoot the gun to verify the same results.
I trust that you are 100% correct. But what the heck.j


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## Skinnedknuckles

VAMarine said:


> Judging buy your self admission to use a bigger hammer and your screen name, I would highly suggest either a gunsmith or contacting Kimber.


Well, apparently humor has no place on this forum, so I will start again.

I just purchased a used Kimber Stainless Pro Carry II and find it shooting to the left. I read the other post here (on sight replacement) and learned that Kimber tends to install their sights very tightly. The front sight is unpinned and very tight and the consensus is that you should use a sight pusher to adjust it. Therefore, I assume Kimber planned for it to be use only for initial sight adjustment and not final adjustment by the user.

The rear sight has a set screw to secure it and I "assumed" it to be the proper place to make minor sight adjustments. The other post implied moving/replacing the read sight was not a problem, but that was not confirmed.

On my Kimber, the set screw was very tight (maybe some Loctite?) but I was able to break it loose. I was still not able to move the rear sight using relatively light tapping with a small brass hammer and wood drift. Before I applied greater force, I hoped to learn if I needed to completely remove the set screw or just loosen it, and if there was anything else that I needed to remove before trying to move the rear sight.

I understand needing a special tool to push the front sight, since it is not pinned and has to be tightly fit to prevent movement. I don't understand needing very high forces and a special tool to move the rear sight since it is apparently designed for user adjustment for windage.

I'm new to Kimbers (and all 1911 pattern handguns) but not to guns in general and have done a fair amount of minor smithing on my other guns. Hopefully this time I have asked my question correctly.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.


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## Skinnedknuckles

pic said:


> How far were you shooting, what was the distance ? Did you break the gun down ,clean it, and shoot it again with the same results
> Even though you were shooting from a rest, you might let someone else shoot the gun to verify the same results.
> I trust that you are 100% correct. But what the heck.j


Thanks for the tips. I have not done these things and will before I visit a gunsmith.


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## rex

The light tapping won't work as you found out,and that method only works some of the time with Kimbers.If you want to do it yourself,you need to get semi-brutal with it.

Lock the slide in a vise so as to hold it from budging at all,but you must use a protective shim at the jaws to prevent marring the slide and you can NOT crush the lower 1/2 of the slide-you'll squeeze the rails together or crack the slide.Then whip out a good brass rod and medium hammer,like 10-12oz.If that doesn't move it by the time you've worked up through harder hits and think "I'm gonna F this up",stop.They are friggin tight man.Don't mess with the front,only touch that for elevation adjustments.


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## Skinnedknuckles

Thanks, I gave up and ordered a sight pusher. Universal Hand Gun Sight tool - Home - El Cajon, CA

Just seemed like a good tool to have in my toolbox. I've got a couple of other projects in the wings where this will come in handy as well. I've never liked banging away on my guns if a controlled push can do the job.

I have learned to put a piece of tape over the back side of a pin I'm driving out so I don't have to go searching for the pin when it abruptly pops loose. I wish I could find a small hand bench press. It could have done the sights (with a good vise) and would be great for pressing out pins as well.


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## pic

Calling kimber is not an option?? Looking back at original post you state "new to you". Maybe kimber don't honor used guns?? Like I said before , I have never dealt with Kimber.

BTW , I THOUGHT the little humor was some what harmless. You have to admit it wasn't offensive in any way.. I myself can get carried away with humor, why do you have SkinnedKnuckles as your ID. That sort of invites curiosity my man,It's a little humorous in itself


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## Skinnedknuckles

pic said:


> Calling kimber is not an option?? Looking back at original post you state "new to you". Maybe kimber don't honor used guns?? Like I said before , I have never dealt with Kimber.
> 
> BTW , I THOUGHT the little humor was some what harmless. You have to admit it wasn't offensive in any way.. I myself can get carried away with humor, why do you have SkinnedKnuckles as your ID. That sort of invites curiosity my man,It's a little humorous in itself


I thought it was harmless until I got such a put down answer right off the bat from an Administrator, so I'll play it very straight from here on in. If the Administrator, after his humorous response, had offered some useful information, I would have felt is was all in good fun. BTW, I did get some very good information off the 1911 Forum, as I did here after I reposted.

Also, it is a used gun but I didn't think I would need to return a gun to the manufacturer for a slight adjustment of what appears to be an adjustable rear sight. Now I'll have yet another neat new tool in my toolbox as well.


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## Skinnedknuckles

Closer inspection showed that the rear sight was visibly offset to the left, which would result in it shooting to the left. I can't post the picture but it was obvious. 

So I got out my 5 pound mason's hammer and large punch, clamped the slide in the vise, and whaled away at it until it finally moved. As everyone says, Kimber installs their sights very tight.

Humor aside, the sight pusher I ordered arrived today and it worked a treat. The sight was really tight and took a pretty hard pull on the wrench before it finally broke free. I didn't need heat, fortunately. After it broke free it moved smoothly, so I suspect either some contamination or a little corrosion was making it stick. I set it visually in the center, but it is still tight enough I'm going to have to take the sight pusher to the range for final sighting in.


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## rex

There was probably some tocktite from the screw in the base from drainage.Check but IIRC Kimber works backward from Colt and everything's done on the right side,and they can have a tapered dovetail getting tighter going left.Measuring the dovetail on each side will tell you.Tight buggers eh?If you ever decide to remove the rear,remember the FP block's spring and plunger are right under it and will want to launch out.


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## Skinnedknuckles

rex said:


> There was probably some tocktite from the screw in the base from drainage.Check but IIRC Kimber works backward from Colt and everything's done on the right side,and they can have a tapered dovetail getting tighter going left.Measuring the dovetail on each side will tell you.Tight buggers eh?If you ever decide to remove the rear,remember the FP block's spring and plunger are right under it and will want to launch out.


Thanks for the tip. I hate it when springs fly out when you aren't expecting them. The dovetail does not seem to be tapered, but I'll measure more carefully to verify.

Turned out I could not move the rear sight far enough to get on target at 50', at least without it being too obviously offset. I was still shooting about 4" left at 50' which was a real improvement, though - best group I've ever shot off a rest! Without adjusting the tool, I couldn't move the front sight while at the rand. Once at the work bench, the front sight wasn't that hard to move, once I figured out it was better to push on the side of the blade instead of the very thin dovetail base. Guess I'll just have to make another range visit, but I'm so impressed with the accuracy of this gun, and this was with Herter's steel case FMJ.


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## Pistol Pete

I'd get a bigger hammer, or trade it for a Colt, Springfield, S&W, Sig, ....................................................


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## rex

Is that 4" left cool for elevation?That could be as simple as putting more finger pad on the trigger face.

Try better ammo first,never used that stuff and it's amazing what one round will do in one gun and be awefull in an identical one.Chamber dimentions,bore,their relation on centerline (yadayada),and fit in lockup make them a bit individual.4"-bit much at that range but hey,OBozo was re-elected.


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## rex

Also,here's a cheap fix for a stupid Kimber fault.For some reason the use an 80 series firing pin stop,which creates a hole in the rt side of the slide.If you touch the grip safety removing or installing the slide the rod in the frame can get stuck in the hole,doinking it up.Some have been buggered to the point of grinding,shall we say,the tip.When that happens you lose lift on the block,which can give you light firing pin hits.While Kimber has less timing issues than Colt,Colt's system is easier to fix.I think Kimber screwed up using the Swartz type system but what can you do.

You can buy an original pre-80s FPS for about $20 or less and they're easy to fit.I like EGW's because it comes with the original pre 1924 square bottom,so I can regulate my slide speed by the shape I make the bottom.Another thing fitting one does is get you a nice snug fit on the extractor to lock it in place.That prevents it from clocking,or twisting in the bore,and you'll get more consistant extraction and ejection.If you're holding the gun the same every shot and have good ammo but your cases are landing all over the place,it's because the extractor is clocking or the pressure holding the rim is loo light.


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## Skinnedknuckles

rex said:


> Is that 4" left cool for elevation?That could be as simple as putting more finger pad on the trigger face.
> 
> Try better ammo first,never used that stuff and it's amazing what one round will do in one gun and be awefull in an identical one.Chamber dimentions,bore,their relation on centerline (yadayada),and fit in lockup make them a bit individual.4"-bit much at that range but hey,OBozo was re-elected.


Elevation is good. The group is less than 1" using a simple rest so the ammo and gun seem to be very consistent. Maybe the finger position on the trigger will have some effect and I'll play with that as well. The sights (front and rear) both were off center moving POI to the left. I've gotten both sights broken free so I can move them with the sight pusher (and actually have them biased to the right now). It should be quick work to move POI to POA now. Then I'll try some alternative ammo.


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## rex

That's kind of good news,you're not low left.If you're using the tip of you finger,it tends to push the muzzle left for a righty,and going in to the knuckle will suck it to the right.With the long trigger I'm toward the tip side but not middle.

Since 1911s have 3 trigger lengths,the long can always be replaced with a medium or short if your hands are small,or smaller than mine at about an average medium.Grip the gun as you normally would and either point it straight up in front of you or look down over it at your finger.When the pretravel or slack is taken up your finger should be perpendicular to the pull direction.If the finger is still angled forward the trigger is too long for you and would cause exactly a left pull off POA.If this is the case a trigger isn't hard to replace,but it also isn't a drop in swap.Certain brands,even high quality,can cause a situation you need to play with other parts you wouldn't think about being affected.


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