Ruger New Mod. Blackhawk Rear Sight Blade

[target17]

How do you replace just the blade, I have a new blade from Brownells. Thanks in advance!
Tom

[Duck of Death]

Unscrew it, careful there's a spring. There is a lip you have to deal with. Easy to understand once you get the screw out.

[target17]

I certainly appreciate your help, but there was no rear blade in it when I got it, so I don't have any thing to go by. The little dimple on the new one won't let it go in. Thanks
Tom

[DJ Niner]

First, let's make sure we have everything we need.

If your sight had no blade when you got it, you should check to see if the windage adjustment screw and spring are there. The screw should be visible on the right side of the sight assembly; the spring is under this screw, and is probably visible through the slot in the top of the sight assembly (where the sight blade will go when we're done).

If the old blade was broken-off, it's possible the little tab from the bottom of the old blade is still inside the sight assembly, so we need to remove the screw and look inside. If the tab is NOT inside the sight assembly, when you remove the screw, the spring may jump out of the hole, so be careful about this. If it goes zinging across the room into the shag carpeting, you'll never see it again. This is "the voice of experience", by the way. :)

So, remove the screw, and if the spring doesn't come out, look into the hole (with glasses on, for safety). If you see something jammed in the end of the spring, that's probably the old sight's tab, and it will have to be removed.

This is as good a time as any to talk about the "little dimple" you mentioned above. If you look at the top of the sight assembly, along the slot where the sight blade will fit, you will see a tiny half-moon-shaped cutout. This is for that little dimple. To install the sight, you remove the screw, compress the spring into the windage adjustment screw hole with a very small tool (a tiny flat-blade screwdriver works best, but a hex key/allen wrench can work as well), and then push the blade into the slot with the dimple aligned with the cutout. Once you have the spring fully compressed, and the sight as far down as you can get it (against the tool you are using to compress the spring), gently remove the tool, and the end of the spring should "transfer" to the end of the sight tab. Once the tool is completely withdrawn from the hole, you should be able to gently push the sight blade the rest of the way into the slot, and then it will snap to the right side under spring tension. Re-install the windage adjustment screw, and as you turn it in, the sight should move back to the left.

If you understand the procedure, then you should also be able to see why the old tab must be removed if it is still jammed in the sight assembly. The best way to do this is to use a VERY thin screwdriver-type tool to compress the spring by passing UNDER the broken tab. You can then slowly compress the spring until the dimple on the broken tab lines-up with the half-moon cutout, then lift UP on the tool to get the old tab out of the sight assembly. Turning the assembly over may get gravity to help it drop out. REMEMBER: once that tab is out, if you remove the tool, the spring can be lost, so be careful and control it during removal.

Hope this is helpful...

[target17]

D J:
Thanks a bunch it's all fixed. I had a blade with a bump (dimple) & a rear sight that used a blade with out a bump, I didn't know they had both. A little drimel later all's well. Many thanks to ya!
Tom

[DJ Niner]

So the dimple is a fairly recent modification?


Hmmm.


Now I gotta find out when Ruger started to use the dimple-type sights over the (older?) non-dimple sights.


Glad you got it up and runnin'!