Convert a Les Baer Wadcutter to Open Iron Sights??

Hey all! I'm a newbie to both the Forum and pistol shooting so please excuse any faux pas (a/k/a "screw-ups")

I was very much running around in circles getting ready to shoot the Maine Pistol Postals -- 22LR and centerfire. I bought myself a Ruger Mark III Target and then happened upon a 3x5 card on the bulletin board at the range offering a Les Baer Bullseye Wadcutter for sale at a good price. Well, even at a GOOD price, the LB Wadcutter was WAY outside the budget, especially taking into account that I already had a Sig Sauer 1911 Target .45 ACP. But, the chance to own a really special gun could not be lost. I met a retired state policeman for lunch at a restuarant half way between his home and mine and I had me a Les Baer!



Okay, I then received the
Pine Tree State Rifle and Pistol Association
Postals sign-up paperwork and read the fine print:

"All firing is done with one hand, bullseye style. Iron sights only. ......Sight radius must not exceed 8.6 inches."

I figured I could take off the rail and have a gunsmith cut dovetails in the slide and mount a post and adjustable rear sight per the SOP. But, luckily I checked with the good folks at Les Baer and they do NOT recommend removing the frame-mounted rail. There is a very real danger of the slide cracking due to those ten holes drilled in it.

Okay! Plan B: I'm thinking I could find an 8" rail that would mount on the Les Baer rail and onto which I could mount front and rear iron sights. I've started researching a fully adjustable rear sight that will mount on a rail --maybe I will need to "screw" a front sight into the rail.

What thoughts do you all have??

Jim

Perhaps you could trade for a different pistol. A nice LB is great trade bait.

And why would you want to do this in the first place? Buy an UltraDot. I have a Les Baer with a slide mounted UD and it shoots great.

ChuckS1 wrote:And why would you want to do this in the first place? Buy an UltraDot. I have a Les Baer with a slide mounted UD and it shoots great.

It has an UltraDot on it. But, in the centerfire weekly competition I'm involved with we're permitted "iron sights only".

Jim

It wont hurt the gun if you remove it as long as you put screws back in the holes, you would just need some shorter, then put some lock tight on them and forget it. People do it all the time to guns they convert to hardball and they are shooting a much hotter 230 fmj load.

it's funny that they (LB custom) tell you to not shoot it with out the LB frame mount on it when one of the women on the LB bullseye team does. They showed on the camp perry bullseye edition on Shooting USA. She even says that it was converted to a slide mount from a frame mount, they even show the holes.

I recently bought a LB wadcutter that had a clark slide mount factory installed. I am in the same boat ,that being I am in a winter police BE league that is irons only. Thankfully the holes on the clark mount match the holes on my RRA bullseye combo rib, so its any easy back and forth for whatever event I'm shooting in.

Not much stress on the frame down there where the holes are. I wouldn't put the tapered screws back in those holes without the scope mount, you are asking for trouble. Note the Les Baer team shooter has the holes open.

Rob Kovach wrote:Not much stress on the frame down there where the holes are. I wouldn't put the tapered screws back in those holes without the scope mount, you are asking for trouble. Note the Les Baer team shooter has the holes open.

It's funny -- I'd think that the best way to negate, or at least lessen, stress from cracking the frame in the vicinity of the mounting holes would be to put in 10 shorter scews with LocTite (or epoxy, tho now we're talking a permanent alteration). I know from woodworking that a hole is an invitation to cracking/splitting -- especially in the stock between two holes.

I'd love to find a way to mount a 6" "RRA bullseye combo rib" onto the sight rib already installed on my LB. An 8" combo rib would be better -- I'm allowed uo an 8.5" sight radius.
[img]https://www.bullseyeforum.net/[/img]

Don't worry about reducing stress out there on the frame. There really isn't any stress out there to worry about. There is more stress on those holes with the rail on from the flipping of the gun and the inertia of the rail and the scope on it. If it would crack at the holes it would happen with the rail bolted to it.

My Rock River bullseye rib has been on back order since Camp Perry last year.

If you were thinking of mounting the rib to the frame mount, some how, then try and find a bomar rib made for a 6" revolver. There would be no need for an ejection cut out. There is one on eBay right now :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-B0-MAR-Sight-Rib-for-6-Practical-Pistol-Compatition-Revolver-1301024-/221176845912?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337f2ad658

Jim, assuming that your gonna stick with the irons cut the bottom piece off your mount and remount it to your frame with supplied screws then find an old Bo-Mar extended sight rib like I have on my old Clark BE gun. IF you can find one !!!!

Gonna cost ya the price of the mount for your UD and it's the long way around the block but it'll work and make the LB lawyers happy at the same time. Gonna get ya in that postal match as well. Clark sells a mount that uses the same hole pattern as the Bo-Mar extended so going back to the UD if you wish is relatively easy.

Or from Brownells. http://www.brownells.com/optics-mounting/scope-bases/handgun-bases/scope-mount-wo-sku181011200-5001-11268.aspx?ttver=1

From Rock River but I think they are on BO. Call. http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=519

Jim, I just happen to have a NOS Bo-Mar extended sight rib exactly like the one in the pic. Give me a shout and let's get you what you need to shoot in your local league.

WV1911SHOOTER wrote:Jim, assuming that your gonna stick with the irons cut the bottom piece off your mount and remount it to your frame with supplied screws then find an old Bo-Mar extended sight rib like I have on my old Clark BE gun. IF you can find one !!!!

Gonna cost ya the price of the mount for your UD and it's the long way around the block but it'll work and make the LB lawyers happy at the same time. Gonna get ya in that postal match as well. Clark sells a mount that uses the same hole pattern as the Bo-Mar extended so going back to the UD if you wish is relatively easy.

Or from Brownells. http://www.brownells.com/optics-mounting/scope-bases/handgun-bases/scope-mount-wo-sku181011200-5001-11268.aspx?ttver=1

From Rock River but I think they are on BO. Call. http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=519