Switching to iron sights

All of my pistols and revolvers except my 1911 have iron sights and I am thinking about switching the 1911 to iron sights as well. The 1911 is a SA milspec t that was originally redone by Dave Salyer and it has a full length sight rib with a match dot tube red dot sight.  I was looking at the Aristocrat full length rib with the built in adjustable sights and wondering if that would be a solution to changing to adjustable sights without having to do any milling on the frame.  Also if I went this route would I need to increase the weight of the recoil spring?

Thanks

I recently looked into this... the Aristocrat rib has a different hole pattern than the typical Clark/Bomar rib. I ended up finding a Bomar rib to replace my aimpoint/Kodiak rail. Weight was nearly the same, no spring change required.

Dave

I think your best option would be to machine the slide for BoMar sight and dovetail front sight, and then shorten the existing rib so that it can fit between the sights, this way you can switch between optics and irons.
I can do this for you if you are interested.

by any chance does the Rock River combo rib match the hole pattern?

Rock River actually should match the Bomar pattern, but it adds a lot of weight to the slide, it's made from steel, not aluminum, and some people say it exceeds the max permitted weight for the CMP service pistol.

op is talking about replacing his dot with a rib anyway, so prolly not having service pistol on his radar...yet

The Bomar Rib will match the hole pattern of the Clark scope mount and Rock River's scope mount (and probably their combo rib as well) with one potential conflict.  Bomar changed the screw pattern once or twice so those scope rail manufacturers use the last version.  From what I remember it will be the front screw hole that will be off.  It would be pretty easy to drill and tap that one hole in the slide so I wouldn't think it's a deal breaker but just something to watch for.  Both of my wad guns now have Bomar ribs on them and they were converted over from RRA scope mounts.  In my case, I got the correct hole pattern right away but that was probably luck I suppose.

Good luck.
John

Thanks everybody.

I looked at the Rock Island rib with sight and it looks like a nice piece of equipment. Is there a reason people like the Bomar better?

Thanks

Bomar is only a pattern now.
Long since out of production as I recall.

troystaten wrote:I looked at the Rock Island rib with sight and it looks like a nice piece of equipment. Is there a reason people like the Bomar better?

Thanks

For me personally it’s because I like the old school cool look of it. They are narrower and a bit shorter top to bottom but neither of those affect the function of one over the other.  My plan is to shoot irons until I can’t anymore and if I switch to dots I won’t be going back and forth so the combo feature is irrelevant to me.  Bomar is gone so your only option is to find an old one but they are out there. The Rock River is current and really easy to get so if you are moving forward soon, one those would be your best bet. 

John

Revisiting this idea, a gunsmith I know has a NOS Bomar Rib with a sight, more expensive than the Rock River.  Are there any functionality advantages with the Bomar?

Thanks

The Bomar were the best back in their day. But today? There may be as good or better which will depend on the manufacturing quality. The market has shifted away from iron sights on pistols. I’m sure the current crop are likely to be as good as the old Bomar if not better. I haven’t heard of many complaints.

troystaten wrote:Revisiting this idea, a gunsmith I know has a NOS Bomar Rib with a sight, more expensive than the Rock River.  Are there any functionality advantages with the Bomar?

Thanks

There isn’t really a functional advantage of an original Bomar rib.  If anything the Rock River is more versatile and it too uses Bomar style sights so that component will be similar between each of these brands.  If the old school look and feel are of any importance to you, pick the Bomar.  If aren’t into the nostalgia or think you may want to try dot sights in the future, the Rock River rib would be the better choice.  

John

When I had a Rock River combo rib mounted I found it liked to shear mounting screws. Jerry Keefer thought the next size up Torx screws for rib screws was a better idea, so I think he was correct.

We are competing in Precision Pistol, so everything we do is unconventional and wrong compared to standard practices. We're off the map for a lot of things and end up exploring.