Fermin Garza Custom Dovetail Front Sights for the Ruger Blackhawk

by Matt Olivier

photography by Matt Olivier

September 15th, 2020

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I have been shooting quite a bit of target 38 Special rounds lately, mostly from K-frame S&W revolvers.  My weekly range session consists of mostly 38 special shooting, as does my friendly steel games/matches as well.  Being a long time hard core Ruger single action revolver collector, I decided that I needed an old model .357 magnum Blackhawk in which to shoot 38s at my matches.  A good friend, and fellow Ruger collector, parted with one of his and decided it would fit the bill for my 38 Ruger Blackhawk.  I quickly realized that, being chambered for the 357 mag, the sights were set up for that much faster round and there simply wasn’t enough rear sight adjustment to bring my point of impact down to point of aim.  Along comes Fermin Garza with one of his new custom dovetail front sights for the Ruger revolvers.  Based on the 6.5” barrel length of my gun and the mild target loads I was using, along with my described preference for sight picture, Fermin was able to custom make a new, taller (0.350”) front sight for my gun.  He sent it to me with a note recommending David Fink, of Fink’s Custom Gunsmithing, for the install, which required milling off the old ramp, cutting a dovetail in the base, installing and fitting the Fermin front sight, and rebluing the base. 

I left my Ruger Blackhawk with David and, a week or so later, he contacted me to let me know that the work was complete.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say that the gun came from the factory that way.  There is no flaw in the installation or finish.  The bluing matches the gun perfectly, and the dovetail fits the base as if it had intended to be that way from way back in 1956 when Bill Ruger introduced the 357 Magnum Blackhawk. 

I got the gun back from David just a day or two ahead of an industry event held at Gunsite Academy, in Paulden, AZ.  After the install, the gun was instantly on paper at 10 yards, which was a huge improvement over the original sight, which was shooting at least a foot above the paper with the rear sight adjusted all the way down.  After a few minor sighting-in adjustments, the old Ruger Blackhawk was shooting right on to point of aim and I was able to use the gun quite successfully shooting competitive drills such as El Presidente and the York drill.  With this Fermin Garza sight, this gun just flat out shoots now, with plenty of sight adjustment left should I need it.

This speaks volumes for both of the gunsmiths involved…the ingenuity of Fermin Garza in developing this reliable and practical front sight, and the skill of David Fink for installing it and finishing it masterfully. 

Fermin C Garza's Customized Shooter's Resources: www.fermincgarza.com.

Fink's Custom Gunsmithing, Chino Valley, AZ - Phone (928) 756-8916 / Web Site: www.finksguns.com.

Matt Olivier

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