Beretta 92A1 sight replacement - DIY?

C

Cycrops

New member
Hi All,

I recently purchased a set of Trijicon BE12 Night Sights (front and rear) for my 92A1. I was prepared to have a smith at the LGS do the work for me, but talking to them on the phone didn't give me a lot of confidence, plus they said at least $40 and 2 weeks would be required to complete the work.

So, if possible, I'd like to do the replacement myself.

Tools at my disposal:
- Hammers of various sizes (I believe I have one with a nylon head)
- Bench-mounted vise
- Brownells nylon front sight drift punch
- Brownells basic brass/nylon punch set

Is that everything I need to reliably remove and replace the front and rear sights without doing any damage? Is loc-tite necessary to secure the new ones? Is any filing of the new sights likely to be necessary?

Any advice that can help ensure I don't botch the job without spending an arm and a leg is appreciated. I don't intend to purchase a sight pusher tool as they run at least $100 and I don't intend to do this type of work often.

I posted this over at the Beretta forum, but this site gets a little more traffic so I'd like to see if anybody with experience can help.
 
C

Cycrops

New member
Follow-up:

I was able to successfully complete the task with a few tools and some elbow grease. I managed to do it without damaging any of the parts, so I'm calling the operation a success.

Tools I used:
- Bench-mounted vise
- Soft wood paint stir stick cut in half to protect the slide from the vise grips
- Sheet of printer paper to further protect the slide
- Hammers (I had more success with a regular 20 oz. steel hammer)
- Brownell's basic brass / nylon punch set (link here)

Process:
- Field strip the gun
- Secure the slide in the vise, using wood and paper to protect the slide from damage.
- Hammer out the rear sight with the brass punch. Unlike most guns, Beretta sights are removed from right to left (if you're facing down the slide from the rear). It took a lot of banging with the hammer on the brass punch. The brass is softer than the sight, so while it did leave some brass marks, those were easily wiped off. I used a blow dryer to heat up the slide and make it easier to break the sight loose.
- Line up the replacement rear sight in the dovetail and use the brass punch to hammer back in (from left to right).
- Again, it too a tremendous amount of hammering to get the sight into place, but no damage was done to the new sight. I used more heat from the hair dryer to make it easier to move the sight.
- Repeat the same process for the front sights. I used the brass punch against the blade of the front sight.

I've read recommendations that you should use a fine file (like an emery board style nail file) to file down the new sights and make it easier to slide them into place. I didn't find this to be necessary. I've also read recommendations that you should use loctite to secure the new sights. With the tightness of the fit, I didn't feel this was necessary.

Although both the old and new sights appear to be very resilient, I'm sure there's danger of damaging them (or the slide) if you're not careful. This process is not for the faint of heart, but if you don't mind banging away on your pretty new gun with a hammer, it is possible to install your own night sights on a Beretta 92A1 without buying expensive tools or hiring a gun smith.

Your mileage may vary, do not attempt this at home, do not blame me if you break your gun, etc. etc.

I'm waiting for some new grips to arrive, once they do I'll post some photos in a new thread.
 
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