Your newly installed Harrison Design sights will need to be checked and adjusted for a windage zero before your pistol is ready to carry. If you sent your complete pistol to me, I will have done this for you, but if you only sent the slide, you will need to do it yourself. Once your pistol is reassembled, take it to the range for test firing.
Shoot a test group at an accurately measured distance like maybe 15 yards, using the sight picture and hold in the adjacent picture. I would suggest for maximum accuracy that you shoot from a bag on a rest and shoot an accurately fired group using 3-4 magazines worth of ammo, all on one target to get a really representative group of where you, your gun and your ammo are hitting. I use a target with a black 3” dot as this is approximately the apparent width of the front sight blade at 15 yards. This gives me an aiming point that is easiest to align with the sights.
If your group is to the left of the point of aim, you’ll need to loosen the set screw and tap the rear sight to the right. If your group is to the right of the point of aim, move the rear sight to the left. Unload the pistol and remove the slide from the frame before adjusting the sight. I fit the sights so that I can move the sight by striking it with a nylon hammer that weighs about 8 ounces. Strike the sight at the dovetail, not the rear of the sight, where tritium lamps are if you have a night sight. It only takes a very small amount of sight movement to change the point of impact by an inch. Shoot a new group to see where your group has moved to.
When you are hitting the point of aim and you are satisfied with your group placement, Lock down your set screw.
Be aware that if you over-tighten a set screw, it can strip out the internal hex and break the screw's walls around the hex. This will wedge the set screw in place and you'll play hell getting it out. I will not warranty sights with stripped and broken set screws.
You can use a small drop of blue Loctite 242 or a small drop of fingernail polish on the threads of the set screw. Do not use red Loctite on the set screw; it will most likely never break loose without heating the screw to around 450 degrees F.
For added insurance against the sight moving, I put a drop of either red Loctite 271 or green Loctite 290 in the dovetail and along the side of the sight where it meets the slide, so it can seep into the joint. This will really increase the durability of the sight’s mounting and will seal up any tiny slivers of light that you can see through the sight’s mounting joint. Lay the slide tilted on it’s side and let is sit for 30 minutes or so. Wipe off any excess Loctite that is left and leave the pistol alone for 24 hours to give time for the Loctite to set up. These Loctite products are available from most auto parts stores.
Doing these simple steps will save you a lot of head aches later on if the screw loosens and the sight drifts to one side of the other. Thanks for purchasing a Harrison Design product; I hope you enjoy it and it serves you well!
