Front sight removal without a vise

[SlvrDragon50]

Put some green or blue painters tape on an aluminum or brass punch and some tape on the sight and drive it off.

We actually also tried to use a punch, but perhaps the size was too small. We had issues with the slide slipping in the vise because the Kadet slide has so little surface area. Would it be a bad idea to try and remove the sight with the slide on the frame?

[Earl Keese]

Put some green or blue painters tape on an aluminum or brass punch and some tape on the sight and drive it off.

We actually also tried to use a punch, but perhaps the size was too small. We had issues with the slide slipping in the vise because the Kadet slide has so little surface area. Would it be a bad idea to try and remove the sight with the slide on the frame?

This will probably come off like I'm being rude, but take it to somebody that has proper tools and a good vise. Otherwise you'll be looking at the results of your mistake every time you go to the range. Call around, having a front sight removed is cheap.

[SlvrDragon50]

If there was a gunsmith here I would, but I live in a tiny college town. I'll be going back tomorrow or something to try and knock out the sight using a leather belt to hold the slide instead of cloth.

I wasn't planning on removing the front sight today so I didn't have the tool Dawson sends out either.

[SPO1SHADOW]

Earl has a very good point. If you are going to do it that plastic tipped punch Dawson sends will not take a sight off. It is for putting a fitted sight back on without damaging it, the solid aluminum punch he sends out for the rear sight works well for this. It takes a good solid punch with something on it to keep from marring your old sight or transferring brass or aluminum to the sight when you are knocking it off. Using cloth to pad the vise is not a good idea either as you found out today. Leather works well but be careful not to over tighten the vise, you don't want to bend anything. Once you get it vised up in leather you should be able to tap the sight right off. If you are intent on doing yourself just be careful and it should tap off fairly easy, if that fails a gunsmith is cheap for this job even if you have to send it out to get it done.

[Tok36]

I went and took a look at my Kadet slide and it is a little different than a bushing CZ. I have not had to remove the sights from a Kadet slide i can see how getting it in the vice would be more of a challenge than a standard slide. Did you try hooking the sight on a table and hitting the front of the slide? When i looked at my Kadet slide that it what i though about doing.

[SPO1SHADOW]

Really the only part that needs to be in the vise is the front portion with the sight in it. I would not put the back or moving part of the kit in the vise. The flat on either side of the sight is plenty to secure just to tap the sight out. I have not tried the table edge removal but that should work just as well with a plastic dead blow hammer.

[SlvrDragon50]

Got it out. Incredibly stubborn. Had trouble getting the new sight back in. However.... I wasn't using a hammer. I thought my range had a hammer, but it was an employee's who wasn't there today.

I'll finish it out next time. The leather made a huge difference.

[1SOW]

You do need to 'lightly' tap the new sight back in fully so you can see through the pin hole.