M17 Reboot Part 2
Un-boxing and mounting the Sig Sauer Reflex Sight
By Dennis Adler
As none of you have this yet, we are going to share this airgun experience step-by-step. So think of this installment on the M17 Reboot as a still frame video. With the new M17/M18 Low Profile Reflex Sight in hand (the mention of the M18 unfortunately does not hint at a forthcoming M18 CO2 model but rather that this sight comes with a mounting base for the M18 Air Soft model as well), I am going to un-box and follow the directions to install the Sig reflex sight on an M17 ASP.

What comes in the box?
Everything is neatly held in a foam rubber container form fit for the sight with dust cover attached, a screw driver to use for adjusting windage and elevation, a windage and elevation gauge, the hex head wrench for locking the seating screws, two mounting plates M17/M18, the battery, lens cloth and instructions. It is the instructions that are the most interesting because they appear to have been written by someone who is already familiar with the steps and it leaves out some minor details that would be helpful when a question arises. I fumbled through and will go step-by-step to circumvent the absent info which would have been useful.

The product description in the small instruction manual is very concise and all parts of the reflex sight are easy to identify. The explanation of operating features, (which we will get into in Part 3), is also well written and leaves nothing to added. It is the instillation steps that lead to some minor confusion, but nothing that a little observation of what came off where and how it goes back can’t sort out. The only real issue I had was fitting the mounting plate to the bottom of the sight. The pins and holes (there are four) didn’t quite line up, or so it seemed at first. What I found was that I had to lightly deburr the front two pins to fit into the corresponding holes, and then retouch the finish with some aluminum black. With the battery inserted as instructed, it was hand in glove from there on; the base clicked into place and easily secured with the two hex head locking screws provided (there is an extra set included, too).




Once the base and sight are paired up, you move to the slide. Following the instructions for field stripping the M17, remove the magazine, pull the slide back to align the disassembly notch with the takedown lever, rotate it down, pull the slide the rest of the way to the rear, lift it up and then forward over the frame and barrel to remove. Now it gets interesting.

There are four steps to mounting the optics plate to the slide the first being to remove the slide from the frame. Then turn the slide over and remove the rear sight screws. That’s the pair we told you not to remove in previous articles. These are Phillips head and you will need a proper fitting screwdriver for this step. The screws are long and have locking washers at the base and you need to completely remove them from the slide.


What the book doesn’t mention is that when you remove the screws, the rear sight also comes off from the base plate (because that is what anchors the screws) and the entire rear slide cover plate comes off as well. It is built as one piece with the screw base. You end up with two screws and locking washers, the rear sight and rear slide cover as individual parts to reinstall later. From this point on it gets pretty easy. None of this is explained in the assembly instructions.

The next step is to lift up the entire mounting plate on top of the slide and remove it. Save this in the open slot left by the M17 air pistol optics base. Take the reflex sight and base assembly and place it on top of the slide by inserting the forward tab into the opening in the front and then setting the entire unit into the slide channel.



Put the rear white dot sight back in place (inserted into the holes in the new mounting plate) and holding it all together, flip it over. Put the slide cover and screw base back in place, then use the original screws and locking washers to tighten the mounting plate and reflex sight to the slide. Put the slide back on the frame and you have an impressively new looking M17 ASP with a flush mount red dot reflex sight.

In Part 3 it’s time to sight in and see what an optic’s equipped M17 ASP can do.
[Note: As soon as the Sig Sauer sight is on the Pyramyd Air website I will add a direct link to this article]
“Sig Air provides the correct size hex head tool for locking the mounting plate and sight together. Since the mounting plate also becomes the bottom of the reflex sight, it will have to be removed whenever the battery requires changing. Sig says it should last quite awhile since replacing the battery is a total reversal of the mounting procedure.”
The LaserMax Spartan sights also require disassembly in order to remove / change the battery. What are the odds of the lithium battery leaking corrosive material while installed? I prefer to remove the batteries when the reflex sight is not in use to protect against battery leakage.
I received an email that these airgun reflex sights are already in-stock and available at Sig Air if anyone doesn’t want to wait for Pyramyd Air to get them.
Charles,
As it turns out, after initial installation, you can remove the sight from the base to change the battery without taking the entire mounting plate assembly off the slide, another thing not noted in the manual. As for battery life, it is estimated at 10,000 hours on the lowest setting. The Sig optic should be available through PA shortly.
Dennis