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Will pick up my new Ultra Carry II tomorrow or friday and it will go in my edc rotation. It has the standard black sights on it, if you were going to install after market sights what would you choose?

1. Whatever Kimber uses on their nightsight guns. I have a UC II, but it came with night sights. They are very good, by the way.

2. Meprolight sights

3. Trijicon sights

In no particular order. Kimber is the Meprolight importer, by the way. I have owned three different guns with Trijicon sights - an HK USP Compact .40 (which I've since sold), a S&W M&P 45, and a S&W M&P340 - and they've all been very good.

Just out of curiosity, is switching out these sights something a person could
do their self or would it be best to have a gunsmith do the job?

I guess you could do it yourself, but you probably wouldn't want to do so without the proper tools; and the tools will cost you more than just paying a gunsmith to do it if you don't have them.

I'm not advising you against doing it yourself, by the way. I just know where my talents lie, and it's not in gunsmithing. Now my son, on the other hand...

I have a Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry II and they came with the black sights. I plan on replacing them with Meprolight sights. Cost at Carter's Country in Houston is $125.00 + $35.00 for installation. I looked in to getting a universal sight pusher but the lowest price one I found was $130.00.

You could always send the slide back to Kimber.

J Wilson wrote:You could always send the slide back to Kimber.

It would take forever to get it back, plus the cost of shipping. It's not that their service attitude is poor. They're just really, really busy. It would be much less expensive, and done just as well, to order a set of sights from MidwayUSA or some other vendor, and have your local gunsmith do the work.

Alternatively, you can buy a sight pusher, buy the sights, and do the work yourself. If you plan on doing a lot of work on 1911s generally, this might be the more economical alternative.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

J Wilson wrote:You could always send the slide back to Kimber.

It would take forever to get it back, plus the cost of shipping. It's not that their service attitude is poor. They're just really, really busy. It would be much less expensive, and done just as well, to order a set of sights from MidwayUSA or some other vendor, and have your local gunsmith do the work.

Alternatively, you can buy a sight pusher, buy the sights, and do the work yourself. If you plan on doing a lot of work on 1911s generally, this might be the more economical alternative.

I can confirm TAM's endorsement of Trijicon and Meprolight night sights, and the purchase of a high quality sight pusher tool. My universal sight pusher cost around $130 and paid for itself long ago. Now all my sight adjustments and replacements are free, fast, and easy, and I don't have to burn gasoline to get them done.

Yeah, I guess having a gunsmith do it would be the best route.
It probably beats the ole "hacksaw it out and duct tape on the new one" method.

However, I have seen a Youtube video that shows a guy doing it at home with a Taurus PT145.
I don't know if it would be any different with a 1911 but it looked pretty straight forward.

Here it is...

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=0Cw2jnsT0JY[/youtube]