CZ 75 rear sight: the proverbial immovable object

[puddleglum]

I got a set of Tru Glo Tritium Pro sights for my CZ compact. I got the front one installed in no time. I then moved on to the rear sight and it WILL NOT BUDGE. I hammered the snot out of it in a vise with a punch, and I tried a sight pusher and it simply won't move. The sight pusher was a Wheeler and seemed a little too fancy and nice, not real sturdy, and it belongs to a friend, so I didn't want to break it. I just ordered a more industrial looking sight pusher with a 3/4" bolt that moves the pusher part of the assembly. You put a wrench on the bolt, which should help me get some leverage. I am hoping that if I secure the slide in the pusher, clamp the pusher down to the table and gently, buy firmly, use a wrench I will get this $#@*%& out of the dove tail.

Any suggestions from people that have had similarly stubborn rear sights? I have read they might have lok-tite under them. I tried using a soldering iron to heat it up, but it didn't seem to help. Hopefully the pusher will get the job done.

Thanks,
pg

[Grendel]

Make sure you're moving it the right way.. I think it's left to right, but someone will no doubt confirm that.

[Lock-n-load]

Use a sight pusher right to left

[boatdoc55]

Yep what L&L said. Scares the crap out of me using a punch and hammer.

[Underwhere]

Here is what I do. It works every time.

Vice - Use the largest one you have. Make sure it is on a surface that doesn't move. Weight down. Have someone sit on the surface or something. It makes a very big difference. A wobbly table will absorb the impact and will make removing the sight very difficult.

Pads - I don't like masking tape. I don't feel like it protects well enough. I use a flat piece of aluminum and sometimes some thick plastic.

Placement - I put the slide in the vice (with the pads) so that the slide itself sits just a hair underneath the pads of the vice. This way there is less of chance of me hitting the slide with the punch.

Whacking - I take a large punch and place it on the vice jaws touching the sight. I press my finger over the punch so it is touching 2 surfaces (the side of the sight and the top of the vice jaw) . I don't need a huge hammer. Take a decent swing. The purpose here is to break it loose and get it to move. Once you do, you don't need to hit it very hard again.

Good luck

[Catfishmoon]

I agree with the suggestion that a large, bench-mounted vise makes this much easier. That way the full force of the impact goes directly to removing the sight. I changed out the rear sight on two CZ pistols in the last year using this method... If I did not have access to an adequate vise, I would suggest a higher performance sight pusher (perhaps paying a gunsmith).

[Roscoe2212]

Amen to the punch/hammer solution. I have a Wheeler pusher, not ready for prime time. It will
push a front sight, never a rear.  Don't be afraid of whacking the hell out of a brass punch, long
as the advice about vise already stated is followed.  I have the idea a hydraulic press would work if you have access to a machine shop.

[mkd]

perhaps put it in the freezer for a bit to get it really cold might shrink up and move a bit easier.

[C. Bronson]

May sound dumb, but....
Make sure the grub screw is removed. A friend did not remember to remove the grub screw which sits in a pocket below the sight in the slide.
   He pounded and pounded, brought it to my house for help. I pointed out the grub screw and he turned bright red.
  Took the screw out, sight then, came out.
Some minor damage was done to the slide below where the grub screw scratched out of its resting hole.

Just a thought, first thing first.

[coolbox]

Right to left is what I have always done. Breach side to slide release side.

[john seeley]

Great suggestions, especially first removing the set screw! Caught myself almost forgetting it a couple of times. 

My P01 rear sight was also a BEAR! (PCR rear came off easy) My solution was removing soft padding from the bench vice and using rubber magnet sheet material. Use a brass punch, and as a last resort, a marring steel punch. I ended up using a nail punch which is all I had with a large ballpeen hammer and it finally started moving. The ridge on the nail punch really gripped the sight without it slipping off 

If you look at your rear sight, you'll see small scratches showing the direction it was installed at the factory. (My PCR and P01 factory rear sights were installed from left to right.)  So if that's the case, remove it from right to left. As you're fitting your new rear sight and taking material off a little at a time, repeatingly hand fit the sight to the slide from BOTH directions to see from which direction it hand fits-on further. Because you don't want to take off too much material to fit from one direction when it's already too loose going from the other direction. Took 2 installations to learn my lesson on on that one.

[Trout Whisperer]

May sound dumb, but....
Make sure the grub screw is removed. A friend did not remember to remove the grub screw which sits in a pocket below the sight in the slide.
   He pounded and pounded, brought it to my house for help. I pointed out the grub screw and he turned bright red.
  Took the screw out, sight then, came out.
Some minor damage was done to the slide below where the grub screw scratched out of its resting hole.

Just a thought, first thing first.

+1 on the set screw.  Don't ask why I say that.

[schutz85C]

Freezing may help.
Besides identifying the install scratch and removing any set screw, you can try canned freon used to locate electronic dud solder points.
I think canned air if held upside down can deliver frosty. Mask off the slide area so you freeze blast only the sight body!
Good luck!
P.S. the new sight ought to slip in a third of the way by hand. If not then you need to file patiently.
Look for boob toob vids!!!

[Bishop112]

I have made soft jaws for my vises out of aluminum and glued a nice thick leather strip to them (think gunbelt leather). This helps hold the slide very firmly while making sure there is no damage to the polycoat or any finish to the guns.

[puddleglum]

The immovable object met the unstoppable force. It was quite a battle. I had to make two shims to properly hold the slide in the pusher, and then clamped the whole thing down to the bench and it was crazy how hard it still was to move the sight. Out it eventually came though.

Got the new sights installed very easily and they are MUCH better than the factory sights, which is not hard to accomplish.