Sig P365 sight adjustment – Get on target

Sig P365 sight adjustment

I have seen my share of P365s that needed sight adjustments. A buddy of mine bought the sight shoe for my sight pusher so I could push his into place. The pistol shot perfectly straight but both the front and rear sights were not installed directly down the center of the slide. 

Safety first

Before working on a firearm, make sure that it is unloaded and that all ammunition has been removed from the work area. 

Sig P365 sight adjustment with a punch or pusher

I do not like moving sights using a punch. There are too many things that can go wrong with that method; even if you use a brass or Delrin punch. One of those is breaking a night sight vial. At the bottom of this article, I placed some information Sig published in their P365 Operator’s Manual about disposing of tritium night sights. 

 

To keep from damaging the sights and the slide, I like to use a sight pusher. I own two of them. One is a cheap universal pusher that I do not use anymore. This cheap universal pusher has marked up slides in the past. I retired that pusher in favor of a MGW Sight Pro Pusher. The Sight Pro Pusher is expensive. However, if you push sights for several different pistols, it is invaluable. 

 

Other types of universal pistol sight pushers are better engineered than my cheap one and should work fine for a person on a limited budget. However, I do not have experience with them.

Sig P365 sight adjustment for windage (left/right) 

The Sig P365 sight adjustment for windage is as simple as moving the rear sight in the direction that you want the shot group to move. For instance, if you are shooting left of center, you will push the rear sight to the right. 

 

On the P365, moving the rear sight 0.016″ changes the impact about 3″ at twenty-five yards. Because of the slight movement of the rear sight has a considerable change downrange, you want to move in small increments. A sight pusher will give you the freedom to adjust a sight in a controlled manner as opposed to the punch method. 

Sig P365 sight adjustment for elevation (up/down) 

To change the elevation on the P365, you replace either the front or rear sights. However, the rear sight is often the easiest one to move given its larger size. Sig numbers both front and rear sights. These numbers indicate how large or small the sight is.

 

If you are shooting low, you will want to increase the number on the sights. As you go up in numbers, the shot group moves up. In contrast, as you decrease the numbers on the sights, the shot group moves down. This concept works for both the front and rear sights. However, the numbers on the front sight changes the point of impact slightly differently than on the rear. 

Front sight numbers

Sig has five front sights for the P365. Each number changes the point of impact about 1″ at twenty-five yards. Changing the front sight is an excellent choice if your shot group is off a little bit. For instance, if the shot group is 1″ low and you have a number three front sight, you would change to a number four front sight to bring the shot group up. 

 

Rear sight numbers 

Sig has six rear sights for the P365. Each number changes the point of impact about 2″ at twenty-five yards. For instance, if you are shooting 4″ low at twenty-five yards, and you have a number three rear sight, you would change to a number five rear sight to bring the shot group up. 

Combination of front and rear sight numbers

To keep things simple, it is best only to change either the front or rear sights. However, there is a time that you may want to change both to get the combination you need. For instance, if you are shooting three inches low, you may want to change the front and rear sights for ones that are one number higher instead of changing the front sight to a number three higher. Depending on the number of your front sight, that may not be possible since there are only five levels.  

Tritium Sights

Night sights are the common name for tritium sights. Hydrogen-3 is the official name of tritium and is a radioactive material that emits light. Sig marks their tritium sights with the marking “SIGH3”. On the P365s that I have seen, Sig utilizes their night sights (marked SIGH3) for the rear and Truglo for the front (marked TG-H3). Special care should be taken to protect the night sight vials from breaking. Because of the potential of breaking the vial, I do not recommend the punch method of moving night sights. Hammering on the sight could cause the vials to break. Under regular use, it is uncommon for a sight vial to break. 

 

The following information is taken directly from Section 10 of the Sig Sauer P365 Operator’s Manual.

 

Your SIG SAUER pistol may come equipped with sights that contain radioactive material for illumination during low light conditions or hours of darkness. The sights are marked with the letters “SIG” and “H3”. The radiation source is Hydrogen-3 (H3), commonly known as tritium. The activity level of tritium in SIG SAUER night sights range from 12 mCi (millicuries) to 30 mCi. The operational temperature range of SIG SAUER tritium sights is -30C/-22F to +60C/140F. The beta radiation emitted by tritium is only a hazard if the tritium vial is broken and is ingested or inhaled by humans. The body does not easily retain hydrogen or tritium as a gas. However, the oxide HTO, which is formed by the burning of tritium is 10,000 times more hazardous. For this reason great care should be taken to avoid flame in the presence of damaged tritium sights. Disposal of tritium sights must be performed in a controlled manner. If you suspect that the sight containing a tritium vial has broken, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DISASSEMBLE THE SIGHT. Follow these instructions.

Damaged Sights Only (sights removed from firearm):

Place damaged sights in a small zip lock bag and label it “Damaged Tritium Sight DO NOT OPEN “. Place the zip lock bag in a shipping envelope marked “NIGHT SIGHT FOR DISPOSAL” and send to :

 

SIG SAUER, Inc.

357 Sig Sauer Drive

Jacksonville, AR 72076

 

Slide with damaged sights:

Call customer service at (603)610-3000 ext 1 for instructions and return authorization. 

After contact with a suspected damaged tritium sight, wash your hands carefully with soap and water. Do not handle damaged sights if you have open skin cuts or abrasions. Do not eat, drink, smoke or apply cosmetics in the presence of a defective sight vial.

Closing:

Moving sights on a P365 is similar to moving sights on the Sig Classic or P320 line of pistols. I highly recommend that a quality sight pusher is used to remove, install, or move a sight. Sight pushers are generally out of the price range of the common firearm owner. Typically you can have a gunsmith install them cheaper than purchasing a sight pusher. 

 

It is important to remember that doing work on your firearm may void the warranty. Also, if you don’t understand what you are doing, you can cause harm to yourself or others. 

 

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