Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NRA-certified Pistol, Rifle & Shotgun Instructor · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. (Elm City, NC, 2006)This guide draws on my own research and what my students bring into the Concealed Handgun Carry class every week. The method line at the end of the article says exactly how this guide was built.
Every so often a student hangs around after class with a new set of night sights still in the package, asking what tool he needs to put them on. Most of the time he’s already found the Patch Heavy Duty Universal Dovetail Rear Sight Pusher on Amazon. With more than 6,000 reviews at the time of writing, it’s the pusher most folks end up buying.
It’s also the tool behind a good share of the “my pusher stripped” posts you’ll find online. Both of those things are true, and one doesn’t cancel the other.
My verdict: it’s a cheap, two-sided rear sight pusher that does fine on Glocks and other pistols with easy sights, as long as you grease the screw and never crank on a stuck sight. For tight sights, buy the Wheeler.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
Patch Universal Sight Pusher – Best Budget Universal Sight Pusher For Glock-Style Slides
HIGHLIGHT:
A two-sided rear sight pusher with a flat shoe and an angled Glock insert, for about the price of a box of ammunition.
IN THE BOX:
Patch lists a two-sided clamp, an aluminum frame, a push block with an aluminum body and a steel tip, and two shoes: a flat one and an angled insert for Glock-style sights. It’s a rear sight tool only. It does not push front sights.
Whatever pusher you buy, lay the parts out and check them against the listing before the packaging goes in the trash. A shoe that rolls under the workbench is a shoe you’ll be hunting all afternoon.
SETUP:
First rule, same as in my classroom: the gun is unloaded, checked twice, and there’s no ammunition on the bench. Not in a box on the corner, not in a magazine nearby. Field strip the pistol and work on the slide by itself.
Then do two jobs before the slide ever goes in the tool. If the sight has a set screw, loosen it. And clean the dovetail. Brake cleaner on the dovetail edges can cut the force you need roughly in half, and with an aluminum tool, less force is the whole game.
CLAMPING THE SLIDE:
Patch lists a two-sided, fixed-height clamp with flat jaws. On a flat-sided slide like a Glock or an XD, that holds the slide square, and square is what you want.
Where flat jaws get into trouble is a rounded slide. A Sig P320 or a rounded 1911 slide can rock in them, and then the sight goes in crooked or the slide picks up marks. My rule is simple: if the slide moves when you push on it with your thumb, it isn’t ready. On a Gen 5 Glock, set the clamp behind the front serrations.
THE PUSH:
This is where the Patch earns its reputation, the good and the bad. On a sight that moves with moderate force, it’s a three-minute job, and it does what a hammer and punch do without the slip.
The weak spot is the push screw. The frame is aluminum, and when a sight is seized, as on an M&P 2.0, some Sigs, or anything with a set screw still snug, the force it takes is more than aluminum threads will hold. They strip. That’s the number one complaint on this tool.
I teach trigger press as smooth and steady, and a sight push is the same. A quarter turn, look, another quarter turn. If the handle starts fighting you hard, stop. Force is not a substitute for lining things up, and on this tool, force is what ruins it.
TWO HABITS THAT MAKE IT LAST:
First, grease the push screw threads with a dab of anti-seize or gun grease before every use. Dry aluminum threads under load gall and strip. Greased ones hold up a lot longer.
Second, if the sight still won’t move after you’ve degreased the dovetail, don’t crank. Put a hair dryer and penetrating oil on the dovetail for about twenty minutes, give the sight a light tap with a brass punch to break the bond, then go back to the pusher. Never just crank harder. My how to use a sight pusher guide covers the full order of things.
MARKS ON THE SIGHT:
Marks on a sight usually come from the shoe, not the frame. Use the angled insert on an angled Glock-style sight, and seat the shoe on the body of the sight, not the blade. A flat shoe on an angled sight, or a push on the blade, crushes polymer and marks steel. Patch’s manual doesn’t warn you about that, so I will.
After the push, look from straight behind to check that the sight is centered, then look along the edges for scuffs. Then take it to the range and confirm where it hits before you carry it. A sight that moved a hair can move your group, and you want to find that out on paper.
WHICH PISTOLS IT FITS:
Patch lists it for most flat-sided slides: Glock, M&P, XD, Taurus and Canik. Rounded slides can slip. Fitting the slide is one thing, though, and moving the sight is another. Glock, Taurus, Canik and Walther sights, and anything else that isn’t pressed in tight, are this tool’s home ground. An M&P 2.0 or a Sig with factory sights is where those aluminum threads give up.
Before you order, write down every pistol you plan to work on. If one of them is a Sig or an M&P 2.0, that settles it.
PATCH VS WHEELER:
The Wheeler costs more and answers every weak spot above: full slide capture instead of two flat jaws, a steel push block instead of aluminum, and polymer jaw pads. If you only ever push easy sights, you won’t notice the difference. The first time you meet a seized sight, you will. I put them side by side in Wheeler vs Patch sight pusher.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY:
Where it earns its keep: The Patch pusher is an affordable alternative to pricier tools that still moves sights precisely, handles tritium night sights without hammering, and comes with a carrying bag, Allen wrench and rubber pad.
Where it falls short: It ships with no instructions, so setup is unintuitive. The set screw sometimes needs tightening before the tool works properly, and it can struggle to press out stubborn rear sights on certain pistol models.
Who it’s for: An affordable sight pusher if you are comfortable working out the setup yourself. Not the pick when you need one-try success on a stubborn or unusual pistol.
WHAT TO WATCH:
The push screw threads are the first thing to go, and they go when you force a stuck sight. After that, rounded slides in flat jaws. And the shoe: wrong shoe or wrong spot and you’ll mark the sight you just paid for.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT:
Buy it if your pistols are Glock, Taurus, Canik, Walther or anything else that doesn’t press its sights in tight, and you’ll change sights a few times, not every week. That’s why it’s the budget pick in my best sight pusher roundup, and that’s the only reason.
Skip it if you own an M&P 2.0, a Sig with factory sights, or a rounded-slide pistol. Buy the Wheeler for those and save yourself a stripped screw.
SPECS AT A GLANCE:
| Spec | What Patch lists |
|---|---|
| Clamp | Two-sided, fixed height, flat jaws |
| Frame | Aluminum |
| Push block | Aluminum body with steel tip |
| Shoes | Flat shoe plus angled insert for Glock-style sights |
| Front sights | No, rear only |
| Fits | Most flat-sided slides: Glock, M&P, XD, Taurus, Canik; rounded slides can slip |
PROS & CONS:
Pros
- Costs about what a box of ammunition does
- Two-sided clamp holds flat-sided slides square
- Angled insert for Glock factory and aftermarket angled sights
- Fits most flat-sided slides
Cons
- Aluminum push screw threads strip on seized sights
- Flat jaws can slip on rounded slides like the Sig P320
- Rear sights only
$53.99 & FREE Returns on Amazon (as of Oct 31, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT – details)
Want the heavier tool? Read my Wheeler armorer’s handgun sight tool review.
Patch Universal Sight Pusher FAQ
Does the Patch sight pusher work on Glock?
Yes, with the angled insert. On a Gen 5, clamp behind the front serrations.
Does it work on a Sig P320?
Sometimes. The flat jaws can slip on the rounded P320 slide. A full-capture clamp like the Wheeler is the safer choice for Sigs.
Why did the screw strip?
Dry aluminum threads under the force of a seized sight. Grease the threads, degrease the dovetail, and loosen any set screw before pushing.
Does the Patch push front sights?
No. Patch lists it as a rear sight tool only.
Should I buy the Patch or the Wheeler?
If your sights come out with moderate force and you’ll only change them now and then, the Patch does the job for less. If you own an M&P 2.0, a Sig with factory sights or a rounded slide, buy the Wheeler.
Chris Raper
Chris Raper is the founder and lead reviewer of Conceal & Carry Network. A retired North Carolina law-enforcement officer with more than 40 years of service and a U.S. Air Force Security Police veteran, he founded Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. in Elm City, NC in 2006 and has taught the state-approved NC Concealed Handgun Carry class there ever since. He is an NC Department of Justice certified Firearms Safety Instructor, an NRA Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun Instructor, an NRA Range Safety Officer and a graduate of Massad Ayoob's Lethal Force Institute. He reviews the carry guns, holsters, safes and sight tools his students ask about every week.