I agreed to change sights on a Kimber Stainless Target II 1911 in .38 super for a set of tritium sights from Kimber. The current mounted sight appears to be a standard adjustable elevation and windage 1911 rear site with a roll pin in the right side of the sight dovetail. I have not seen a sight with a roll pin like this before, and assume the roll pin is for more secure fitting into the frame dovetail. My concern is whether or not the roll pin needs to be removed (a blind hole, cannot just be tapped out) before removing the sight to install the new sight. Any explanation and advice about the roll pin in the blind hole would be appreciated. Thanx!
That is new to me…….. are you sure it is a roll pin, or is it a hex head set screw that locks the elevation screw in place? I have not seen one so I don’t know. Please keep us informed on what you find. You should not have to remove it to remove the sight from the slide though. Make sure the elevation screw goes into the sight and not thru the sight and into the slide itself. If it goes into the slide it will need to be taken out…..obviously 😆 Ken
Answer
The Kimber I have does not have any pin or set screw there, but it’s a different model, and probably a different year. That photo looks like the older Kimbers that had a set screw to lock the elevation of the sight. You didn’t need to remove those to remove the sight, and they were hex head. You just backed it off a half turn or so to loosen the elevation adjustment, changed the elevation and then locked it down again. Maybe they are using a flat head now so you can adjust the elevation and lock/unlock it with the same tool?
I can’t see where that would be a roll pin, there isn’t anything in the sight base to pin to anything else. And a blind roll pin makes even less sense. Besides, if it is a blind pin, Kimber isn’t crazy enough to put one in to hold something that is so often removed.
Keep in mind that Kimber sights are usually really tight. And there is, or at least used to be, a screw under the adjustable leaf that you had to remove. Maybe a call to Kimber would help here. Jeff
Reply
OK, have worked it out and changed the sights. Talked with Kimber customer support. The small “roll pin” in the dovetail of the rear sight is actually a set screw requiring a 1/16 inch allen wrench. The set screw was tight but came out without a problem. Second set screw inside the site under the elevation ramp, also 1/16 wrench. Used a sight pusher and a 1/4 inch socket wrench for toque and finally the sights came out cleanly after using a lot of force. To say the sights are tight is an understatement, or I need to be back in the gym in a big way! After cleaning the dovetails and prepping the new sights, they went in without problems. Takeaways, 1/16 inch set screws, remove sights to the right, use lots of elbow grease/torque, be patient. Thank you to all who responded to this thread. Your comments and advice were helpful! Don
