Sight Pushers

Whether to use thread locker on pistol sights, which strength (blue 242, never red), where it goes (the set screw and the Glock front sight nut, never the dovetail), cure time, and how to remove a sight that someone glued in.

A sight pusher is a clamp-and-screw tool that moves a dovetailed pistol sight sideways without a hammer. How it works, which sights it moves, which it cannot, and what to look for in one.

The Glock adjustable rear sight uses a tiny slotted screw that strips when the wrong driver is used. How to back out a stripped screw, the Glock OEM screwdriver that fits it, and whether to replace the sight with a fixed one.

A seized pistol rear sight will strip a sight pusher before it moves. The sequence that frees it: set screw, degrease, heat, penetrating oil, brass-punch shock, then push. Which pistols are worst and which tools survive.

Why sight pushers mark slides (clamp on serrations, shoe on the slide top, no tape), how to touch up a scratch on a blued, nitride or Cerakote slide, and the three-step setup that prevents it.

Shooting left, right, high or low? Which way to move the rear sight (and the front), how far to push per inch of correction at 7, 10, 15 and 25 yards, and how to do it with a sight pusher.

How to drift a pistol rear sight out with a brass punch and bench block instead of a sight pusher: direction, tape, set screw, what to hit and what never to hit, and when to stop and buy the tool.

Is a sight pusher necessary or worth the money? When a punch and bench block are fine, when a pusher pays for itself, the gunsmith break-even, and which tool to buy at each level.

Step-by-step guide to using a sight pusher on a pistol: set screw, degrease, tape, clamp, seat the shoe, push, re-zero. Fixes for stuck sights, slipping shoes and off-center groups.

NcSTAR VISM VTUFNR universal pistol front and rear sight tool reviewed: what it fits, the aluminum limitation, owner complaints, and how it compares to the Patch and Wheeler.

Real Avid Universal Glock Sight Pusher reviewed: front and rear dovetail capability, which Glocks and non-Glocks it fits, how it compares to the Master Sight Pusher, Pridefend and MGW, and owner complaints.

TRUGLO’s steel rear and front sight installation tool reviewed: all-steel construction, front and rear capability, which pistols it fits, the shoe limitation, and how it compares to Wheeler and MGW.