I do know that the Novak sights will not fit a Commander or Government without machining.

 

Novaks makes a small drop-in replacement sight that works with the factory front. The full-size Novak sight of course requires milling the slide. You could also get the Yost-Bonitz retro sight as well. To be honest, I've found the factory Colt sight adequate as long as I deepened the notch slightly.

 

T8 makes a good rear as well. Search the net, there are a lot of factory fit options out there.

 

There IS a Novak that will fit the standard g.i. dovetail. I have one on my 70's era CC. The drawback is that it sits high on the slide and looks a little aftermarketish. Its available in all black, with white dots, or with night sight tritium viles. Price from $30 to $90 depending on the options.

Millett and 10-8 I"m told, also make rear sights compatible with the g.i. dovetail. The key is to look for the words "fits g.i. dovetail" in the technical description. The descriptions in the Brownells catalog are pretty good about specifiying which dovetail a particluar sight fits.

 

Buy the Trijicon night sight set for your factory Colt, get it installed and enjoy - Novaks are an inferior, if "stylish" option.

The Trijicon Colt standard dovetail sets replace the factory sights perfectly, but with a better sight picture, dehorned and of course, adding night sights. Either send your slide to Trijicon/Tooltech or have a 1911 'smith who has a Trijicon or MMC Colt front sight tool do the front sight staking. A Colt tenon type front sight installed properly with either of these tools will not shoot loose, period.

Novaks are an inferior option - they eliminate your ability to cycle the gun one handed, require expensive machining and simply cost more. The racy looks don't make up for the loss of functional utility that a robust, 90 degree angle vertical sight gives you. If you experience a malfunction, you can easily catch the Trijicon rear sight on your boot, belt, a door frame, etc, and cycle the gun one handed. The Novak style gives this important ability up in the name of looks.

As Mark Twain once said "Whenever I find myself in league with the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." (For those of you who know who Mark Twain was, that is!) Cheers, CC

 

Novak makes a model that has the notch to cycle one handed and the up side is due to its popularity once you get the slide cut for the Novak there are many other manufactuers of sights that use the same cut.

 

You mean Samuel Clemens?

Any pics of the Trijicons installed? I'm considering them for a commander too.

 

I would go for the Yost-Bonitz "Retro" rear sight, I believe John Harrison acquired the rights to the design and it is sold through Brownells

10-8 sells a nice-looking sight that will fit the rear dovetail without machining, and if you want to really go retro, you could try looking for a King's Hardball rear sight from e-bay or a gun parts auction sight (some vendors may still sell them as well). They are discontinued but there are still many unsold ones out there. The King's will probably need a bit of dehorning on the corners, as the ones I had were razor-sharp.

McCormick used to also sell a pseudo Novak-looking rear sight that fit the GI-spec dovetail, they are also discontinued but could probably be found with a little looking.

 

Novak makes sights that do fit in Colt. I got one for my Defender and it was a good fit. Front sight no problem. I got mine through Brownells.

 

Colt put a Trijicon rear night sight in both my Series 70 Govt Models (the new "replica" versions)--it was drop-in, i.e., no cutting or milling required. It wasn't listed on their custom work list. I don't know if that will work for a replacement for your sight on your commander, but Colt Customer Service will be able to tell you.

 

Nowlin makes one

http://store.nowlinguns.com/merchan...rchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NG&Product_Code=RX&Category_Code=SP