Does anyone have one in the Des Moines area that I could borrow??

I used a brass punch when I did mine - crude yes , worked yes

Yea, but I wanted to do it at the range. I'm guessing they would frown upon my beating with a hammer at the lane. Plus I need to move the front aight and they are a bitch to drift

Why move the front vs. the rear?

When I zero the windage on pistol sights, I use a mechanical pencil and make a witness mark, then use the brass punch method.  Works great and doesn't cost much.

The brass punch and hammer method isn't a good idea if you have tritium sights. There is a risk of cracking the vial and messing up your sights.

I have already moved the rear.  Any more and it will be hanging off the edge of the slide.  Not much room for adjustment.

Forgive me for saying all this since I don't know your shooting background.... but are you sure the sights are the problem and not the guy working the trigger?  Are you moving the sights in the right direction?  What distance are you shooting and what groups sizes are you getting?  Are you shooting from a rest?

pretty sure it's the sights.  I can shoot my full size pretty well.  I mainly shoot at whatever the first line of targets is at Olafson.  12 yards I think...  I'm consistently to the left.  When I shoot the steel man target (7 yards out) if I aim directly at the head (about 4"x4") I miss.  When I aim just to the right I hit it every time.
I've already pushed the rear sight to the right.  My little bullet laser sight says it's on but I'm still shooting left.  I guess I could be pulling, but I was nuts on with my Nano...

we get a lot of sights through here that have been destroyed by a punch and hammer.  there are times with that IS the method necessary.  however, a sight pusher is best.

i gave $700 for my pusher.  you can come out and i'll help the OP with it, but i won't lend it out.  holler at me if you're interested.

I used a brass drift for install my Apex kit, but I would take Septic up on his offer.

That said, if you're shooting way off to one side and your front is centered and your rear is about to fall off, you may have a different problem. Have you tried different ammo types/bullet weights? Not an expert, but I have the same problem with my Glock vs. M&P/1911 style grip, but it's not a sight problem.

Thanks for the offer.  Where are you located?  

I'm gonna try and hit the range Saturday and try some different ammo and at rest and some other stuff.  If I'm still off I might need to come see you.

If you're talking about a laser sight(the kind that replaces the rear sight or the kind that is an attachment for the grip or even an addition on the bottom of the front of the frame) those can be off. If you're using a laser snap cap like I do, they can be off too, but not enough to really notice at less than 20 yards. If you're using a laser snap cap and your shot with it is where you think it should be then that's where it will be unless:

1. You are flinching(trying to predict the recoil rather than reacting to it). Solution: Dry fire practice with a partner and randomly have them load snap caps into your magazine so you don't know when you're going to have a live round or a dummy(but they do so they can help you not end up having a horrible hangfire accident) or have them put and a cartridge or spent casing on the slide while you dry fire to see if it moves/falls.
2. Your grip is not the correct strength(squeezing too hard can create the problem you're experiencing because the fraction of a second from when the trigger breaks to the time the bullet leaves the barrel is more than long enough for you point of aim to change) Solution: Adjust your grip strength
and/or
3. Your trigger pull isn't straight back(most right handed people end up shooting low/left(between 7 and 9 o'clock). Solution: If you're using a stock m&p trigger I suggest you recenter your sights and see if you see the front sight has any right to left movement when you dry fire. The Duty Carry Action Enhancement Kit(DCAEK) that Apex Tactical makes is a pretty good fix for that problem.

I'm an M&P owner too. The rear sight doesn't really allow all the much adjustment, the front does. The front being off just a tiny bit is far more noticeable than the rear being off the same amount so make sure the front sight is DEAD CENTER(I moved them around quite a bit to try and get it just right chasing a true center and it turned out that I never needed to in the first place because it was grip strength, grip position and trigger mechanics that I needed to work on). Next Level Training(the company that makes the SIRT) has a ton of videos. Most are related to the SIRT obviously, but they can help out a lot for getting an idea of how to diagnose/fix problems like this.

He has a slide of mine now with my true sights that I can't believe I didn't destroy when I was installing them on a different pistol.  they are beat to shit now.  I guess it was a testament to the tru sights as they are still working.  You should go over the septics and get r done.  Be careful looking at his gun stuff and cerakote it can be contagious.

we're just a few miles SW of Baxter.  give me a holler if it would work well for you.

-michael

Cerakote? Might be just the thing for my H&R 10 gauge barrel...

yea I think he might do other coatings as well but he has done awesome cerakote work for me.  Im more worried about the AR's he puts together as well as his 1911 work.  If you aren't careful you can spend all of your monies.

Just looked up directions...only half an hour from my sister in law. Might need a side trip the next time I go visit.


Got a good deal on the gun, bluing on the barrel is quite worn(of course it is, it's an old working gun). Trying to make up my mind what I want to do finish-wise.

the graphite black cerakote is a good option for stuff that you want to be rock solid and black.