[JMH]

Hi everyone (anyone?);

I'm preparing to buy a P5 (after being a PPKS owner forever). Does anyone know of a source for night sights? How about gunsmithing services for P5s? Just trying to gather as much advance information as possible. Thanks for any input.

 

[lunde]

It'll cost you about $200 for night sights. Tooltech in Michigan, which is Trijicon's custom shop, does this. The front sight, which is part of the slide, must be drilled, so it's a permanent procedure. The rear sight is replaced with a compatible unit with tritium inserts. About the only place that does gunsmithing for the P5 is Earl's Repair Service.

 

[JMH]

Great. Thanks for the information. As far as I'm concerned, cost is no object regarding night sights. I wouldn't have a self-defense pistol without them.

Anyone with any experience re P5s and feeding reliability? Hollowpoints? Since Corbon introduced their Powerball ammunition I don't see this as a real stumbling block anymore, but it's nice to know others' experiences.

 

[bhp]

I second the Tooltech recommendation they have great service - I had them install Trijis in my P7M8 - Green front / Yellow rears.
What is the rear sight NS replacement? I really didn't know one existed and had thought maybe to have TT drill the existing rear sight & install a dot system. That is, of course, when I get a P5...

 

[bhp]

BTW, My former P5 had problems feeding most hollowpoints but I hadn't even heard of the Corbon powerballs so naturally I never tried them. It ate WWB and S&B effortlessly at the range.

 

[JMH]

Thanks!

 

[bhp]

1 year old Trijicons green front & yellow rear:

 

[JMH]

For anyone who is interested, I have more information on sights and P5 gunsmithing. Tooltech (248-628-1811) does indeed install three-dot tritium sights, with white outlines, on the P5, for $205. A small price to pay for their effectiveness in a nighttime defensive situation in my opinion.

And I received a detailed reply from Earl at Earl's, reprinted below:

Dear Sir,
We do not polish the feed ramp of the P5 as this is Hard Coat Anodized and you should not remove this coating. We can smooth / remove the serrations and reblue the trigger = $40, we can do a trigger job = $85, we can install night sights = $285 and we can "tune" your gun up to be extremely reliable = $95. We can debur all sharp edges of the upper unit and reblue both the barrel and slide = $195. We do not strip and re-hard coat the frame. This will take 3-4 weeks.
Sincerely, Earl

I don't know why his night sights are more expensive. He might just send the slide to Tooltech, or he might have his own system (perhaps retaining the windage adjustment of the stock sights?). But the quote for the rest of the work is reasonable, and I know his quality is above reproach.

 

[bhp]

Many Thanks for posting the info. Tooltech's work on my P7M8 above cost approximately $150 so the p5 price seems good considering they're installing rear dots where there aren't any.
I probably would go for Earl's trigger job & "tune" if I knew precisely what was done.
Please post what you decide.
b-

 

[JMH]

bhp, you reminded me that my wife's HKP7 could use a set of night sights as well. Maybe I can get a volume discount from Tooltech for sending in two slides? Or maybe not.

 

[bhp]

JMH, Try Arizona Gun Runners for a P7 Trijicon coupon for a good price but be sure to confirm which model P7 you have. I'd call ToolTech for a quote on your P7 and compare it to AGR's price plus their shipping - there may not be any savings. At the very least you'll save on shipping if you did both "Ps" concurrently.

Arizona Gun Runners Trijicon Link

 

[JMH]

Thanks; I went to their site and found the listing. Since the P7 has dovetails front and rear (at least I think so; my wife is out of town), I can just order the sights and have someone in Tucson put them in. Hers is an early model with the heel magazine release. I assume the "short" and "long" refers to the length of the dovetail.

 

[bhp]

JMH,
Just send the slide in and have the trijis installed - no need to buy new sights at all, just the vials. ToolTech will install without any compromise to where POA is set now. That's what I did.
BTW, it is advisable to wrap & secure the piston to keep it from banging around freely during shipment. They'll send it back precisely  as you sent it.

 

[bhp]

For Clarification - Go to the second page (items 17-19) and consider the Trijicon Tritium Sight Coupon for $76.50:
Item X.HK01 Green Green
Item X.HK01O Green Orange
Item X.HK01Y Green Yellow

IIRC they charge a lot for just shipping this coupon so price it out and compare it to if you went straight to ToolTech.

Arizona Gun Runners Trijicon

 

[lunde]

If you buy the coupon, it doesn't matter what color you buy for the rear sight, as you can clearly specifiy which color in the letter that you send along with it.

 

[JMH]

Ah. I get it now. Thanks.

I always buy all-green sights because I've been informed the green has a significantly longer lifespan than other colors. Someone once gave me the argument about lining up the dots wrong at night if they're all the same color, so I tried it. It's absurdly impossible to do so; you have to twist the pistol at a completely unnatural angle to move the front dot outside the rear ones. That's not to say that contrasting rear dots might not help some shooters line up a bit faster, but I'll take the durable brightness.

By the way, I did pick up a nice P5 last week, and I love it. It's a fitting companion for the mint German PPKS my wife bought me for Christmas a couple years ago.

I normally carry a Glock 32 for defense, and I think Glocks are amazing pistols, but the 32 feels like such a brick next to the P5. The word "aesthetics" isn't in Gaston's vocabulary.

Thanks to you both for the advice.

 

[JMH]

P.S. That German PPKS replaced the one I sold in a moment of penury. It was the first new pistol I ever bought. $125 in 1973 (the store owner was a friend and discounted it). Sigh. . .

 

[lunde]

The life of the yellow dots is just as long. I don't mind all-green, but when it's convenient to get yellow rear dots, I do so. My Wilson CQB Compact (1911) came from the factory with yellow rear dots. I liked that.