1911 Back Sight ID

[Drm50]

I got this back sight on a 1911 some time ago. I have not been able to find out anything about it. It is a precision made item. Machined out of alumilum. It has knurled bushings holding the lenses. No magnification, seems to be optical peep sight. It has standard dove tail to fit Colt 1911 without modification. It has two Allen screws to allow drift and lock. It’s about .75” high from bottom dove tail, approx .50” above top of slide. That would put center of lens at .25” from top slide. Front has inlaid flo orange stripe. Anyone know what this is and who made it? Attachment 282584Attachment 282585

[ddixie884]

That is a new one to me.........

[Mk42gunner]

I saw this last night and was hoping someone would chime in that knows.

My bet is that it is from Europe. It seems to me that most of the aperture rifle sights with lenses were used for target shooting there, so I am thinking it was used as a target gun somewhere in Europe. Where? No idea.

This is a guess only. I don't think I have ever even looked through an aperture sight with a lens, especially on a pistol.

Robert

[DHDeal]

I wonder if that isn't a front sight that has a dovetail that just happens to fit the dovetail size of that 1911. If it has a lens (magnified) then eye relief would need to be pretty specific.

But then what do I know.

[nicholst55]

I wonder if that isn't a front sight that has a dovetail that just happens to fit the dovetail size of that 1911. If it has a lens (magnified) then eye relief would need to be pretty specific.

But then what do I know.

Your standard 1911 sight dovetail is not a common dimension. Most gunsight dovetails use a 60 degree dovetail; the 1911 uses a 65 degree dovetail. Hence, I doubt that this sight was made for a different gun and subsequently repurposed. High Power rifle shooters (and other rifle shooters) have been using rear sights with lenses in them for some time. Perhaps that's where the maker got the idea from - who knows?