Basic Safety Rules:
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let your muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to fire.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond.
5. Keep your firearms secure from children, thieves and other unauthorized persons.

Top priorities at DLS include the mechanical safety and complete reliability of your custom 1911 pistol. If you want to achieve and retain long term reliability of your 1911 pistol it is important to follow DLS inc operational and maintenance guidelines. These guidelines have been learned over decades of experience with the 1911 pistol.

Achieving total reliability from the 1911 pistol requires a combination of factors, some of which are directly contributed by the owner / operator of the pistol. It is very important to study and understand the information in the instruction manual that comes with each DLS inc custom 1911 pistol, especially all firearms related safety rules.

Mechanical operation rules are also vitally important to the reliable operation of your 1911 pistol, including: Do not snap your pistol's slide down empty. Do not load individual cartridges directly into the chamber and close the slide. During general operation, always load the chamber by manually cycling the slide to feed a cartridge from the magazine into the chamber. Do not practice 'failure to extract' drills with your personal pistol by racking the slide over a chambered case. Only practice this drill with a 'training only' pistol. Also, keep the sliding surfaces of your pistol well lubricated. The bore, chamber, breechface, magazine and ammunition should be dry and free from lubrication.

Magazines supplied with your custom DLS inc pistol are each tested for fit and function with your individual pistol and designated ammunition. Be sure to order enough tested magazines with your pistol to suit your needs. The variations in 1911 magazines on the market today is so wide that you cannot be assured that randomly acquired magazines will allow for complete reliability in your pistol. Using an unproven mixture of magazines, spring rates and or ammunition can adversely affect the reliability and safety of your pistol. Do not deviate from the ammunition, magazines and spring rates your pistol was tuned for and tested with if you want to maintain complete reliability. If you are required to make a change, contact DLS inc for advice.

The original 1911 pistol was designed around "ball" ammunition (round nosed bullets). Trying to force feed the 1911 pistol ammunition which deviates from the general shape and overall length of ball ammunition can adversely affect the goal of complete reliability. If you must fire sharp nose, flat nose, hollow nose or stubby bullets, the 1911 pistol design is not your best choice. Just because various bullet shapes can be made to work, does not mean they are the best choice.

The 'shootability' design features built into a custom 1911 pistol are so beneficial to top shooting performance that it is worth the effort for serious shooters to understand the 1911's preferences for ammunition, magazines and spring rates. Making the correct choices in these areas can result in 100,000+ rounds being fired without a single stoppage or parts breakage.

See the .45 ACP bullet and ammunition section at www.DLSPORTS.com for background on the most functionally reliable bullet ever made for the 1911 pistol design. This is not a sales pitch. (DLS inc does not sell the ammunition.) This is sound advice being provided to 1911 shooters who have the goal of achieving complete functional reliability with their 1911 pistol.

CAUTION: Wear eye protection! Obtain assistance from a qualified gunsmith if you are unfamiliar with gunsmithing. Completely unload all firearms before work, and remove all live ammunition from your work area. Be sure to only use precisely fitting screwdrivers and bits or you WILL burr your screws. DO NOT use high strength, or excessive loctite or you will bind up the workings of your revolver.

Adding DLS hard-use fixed sights to your revolver will allow for a greatly improved sight picture and snag free sight durability for your revolver. These fixed sights can be 'adjusted' into an exact zero, but not with a conventional screwdriver. Once a proper zero is achieved with your preferred ammo and at your preferred distance, you can be assured these sights will not lose that zero.

D&L Sports Inc. offers two sizes of rear sights for S&W revolvers. The larger size is compatible with K,L, N, X frame revolvers. These sights are available in a square notch, or a broader, faster to acquire U notch. These sights commonly fit the three screw pattern drilled and tapped in the top straps of modern revolvers by the S&W factory. To see if you have this three hole pattern in your top strap simply open the cylinder and look on the underside of the top strap. You will probably see three threaded holes coming through the underside of the top strap. On older revolvers (more than 30 years old) they may not have this three screw hole pattern in place. In most cases the DLS products for S&W revolvers will still fit and work in older revolvers, but your gunsmith will have to correctly drill and tap the required three 6-48 screw holes.

The smaller size DLS S&W revolver sights are commonly used for J frames, or custom projects. If your J frame already has factory adjustable sights, the fitting requirement is minimal, but a J frame three hole pattern will have to be drilled and tapped. If your J frame is a fixed sighted model, the DLS rear sight will have to be expertly machined into place, and into proper zero. Some J frames feature pin on front sights from the factory. These sights can be replaced with front pin on front sights of the correct dimensions to achieve a proper zero with the rear DLS sight. J frames with integral front sights require precision machine work for the sights to be replaced and zeroed.

Improved ramp or post front sights with black serrations, fiber optic, gold bead, and night inserts with or without colored rings can all be added to custom sight projects. The U notch in the rear sight provides a superior sight picture with round beads and inserts on the front sight because you can nest the round image on the front sight in the U notch of the rear sight. It allows for very quick sight alignment.

S&W front revolver sights most often come in one of five designs: Pin on, integral, cross dovetail, DX style spring plunger retained, and the D&L interchangeable front revolver sight system. The DLS system includes a base and interchangeable front sight blades that are lock screwed into the base. The DLS system allows easy change of zero, while retaining the durability of fixed sights.

Caution needs to be used with the cross dovetail and plunger retained sights. Cross dovetail sights can loosen over time and shift their position. This can drastically throw off the zero of the revolver. They need to be tightly dovetailed in place, then pinned or screw retained into position once they are zeroed. Plunger retained front sights can be lost out of the revolver, especially when re-holstering. If the front of the front sight catches on the top holster lip the sight can be pushed out of the retention slot. After zeroing, plunger sights should be pinned in place to assure this does bot happen.

S&W factory front sights are commonly cross pinned in place. If you have this style of front sight you will be able to see a tiny cross pin head under the front sight blade. A tiny cup tip punch is best used to remove this pin. Great care must be used to avoid scratching your gun. Once the pin is out, if the sight is still held tightly in place you can use smooth, protected vise jaws to rotate the sight out of place. Grip the sight blade with the smooth, protected vise jaws, then rotate the upside down revolver frame upward to remove the sight.

When the sight is out of the recess, test fit mini drill bits through the cross pin hole in the barrel to assure you have the perfect drill bit size for the cross pin. (cross pins and holes do vary in size). Make sure the sight recess is completely clean before installing the correct height front sight for proper zero. Once the sight is fully seated in the recess you will need to install the cross pin. Having a skilled machinist and or gunsmith is the safest way to put the cross pin hole in. If you are going to do it with a hand drill, the most effective way is to drill half way through from one side and half way through from the opposite side. This way you can keep the pin hole straight and meet in the middle. Take great care not to enlarge the pin through holes already in place in the barrel or otherwise damage your revolver.

When the sight(s) are first installed, many people find the zero is already correct. However, if the zero is not correct for the distance and load you will be carrying, it is your responsibility to obtain a proper zero. Failure to do so may cause a missed critical shot.

Lowering the front sight will raise the point of impact on target. Raising the front sight will lower the point of impact on target. Moving the rear sight notch to the right will move the point of impact on target to the right. Moving the rear sight notch to the left will move the point of impact to the left. The same is true whether you are zeroing stand alone iron sights or you are zeroing the integral iron sights on DLS optic mounts. Precision machine work is best suited for making fine adjustments in zero. Consult a gunsmith if you need assistance with zeroing your firearm. Iron sight zeroing must be completed BEFORE you request night inserts be installed in the rear iron sight. This is because the rear notch might have to be precision milled to fine tune your exact zero. This is not possible when the night inserts are already installed.

A general safety guideline is to NOT carry a live round in the chamber of any firearm. All firearms activity that does not require shooting, does not require the chamber and or firearm to be loaded. This means all storage, carry, transport, movement, etc generally does not require the firearm to be loaded, or have the chamber loaded, unless the situation dictates loaded carry, and you are fully trained and experienced in loaded carry.

Bolt action rifles with finely tuned triggers must be extra thourghly considered in this area. Bolt action rifles of different styles may have different styles of mechanical safeties. Some have a thumb tab safety in the trigger group, some have a wing safety on the bolt shroud, some have no small tabs, wings, or levers. They use a fully raised bolt handle as a mechanical safety device. You must know and understand your mechanical safety, as well as safe firearms handling and operation rules. DO NOT load the chamber if you do not need the firearm to be mechanically capable of firing. Keeping the chamber unloaded and or the bolt handle FULLY raised / cracked open is the simplest and surest way to mechanically assure the bolt action firearm won’t discharge.

Feel free to consult DLS inc, the NRA, and or qualified firearms instructors about these issues, BEFORE you engage in any firearms related activity.

Appendix Carry

Unloading your firearm

Bolt action rifles, including the MR30 rifles, often have the option of having a top or bottom mounted manual safety lever. On the MR30 rifles the dual positions of the safety lever are kept simple and consistent:
When the lever is forward it is in the mechanical "FIRE" position. When the safety lever is in the rearward position it is in the mechanical "SAFE" position. Moving the safety lever should be done carefully and deliberately. THINK about safe operation of the lever before moving it. BE SURE your action is correct BEFORE completing the movement.

Top mounted safeties are located near the rear of the receiver tang. This is a position that many shooters are familiar with. However, a top mounted safety requires the shooting hand to come off the pistol grip to operate, and a top mounted safety can cause hand interference when manually operating the bolt.

Bottom mounted safeties are located along the bottom edge of the stock and allow shooters to keep the mechanical safety lever in the "ON" position and keep their trigger finger OUTSIDE the trigger guard until the instant before firing is required.

In circumstances where a shooter is in a stationary shooting position, but immediate shooting is not required, the bolt handle can be FULLY raised as an extra margin of mechanical safety. In situations where field movement is required, an unloaded chamber is the most mechanically safe condition for the rifle to be in.

All shooters must be well supervised and or experienced and proficient in the operation of whatever firearms they are using. NEVER fully depend on any mechanical safety. ALWAYS follow established firearm safety rules.

MR30 rifles with selective magazine locks need the magazine lock to be in the fully open position to insert or eject magazines. Locking the magazine in the rifle will prevent magazine loss during field movement.

DLS offers two styles of S&W revolver optic mounts. The both attach to the three hole screw pattern mentioned above. One mount is a mini optic mount for optics with RMR/SRO footprints, and optics that can be adapted to this footprint, like the Holosun EPS model. This mount has close-together integral iron sights. In most cases the iron sights can be used right through the optic windshield. These iron sights will have to be confirmed for zero, and possibly adjusted as described above for a perfect zero with your load. Then the optic should be properly mounted and zeroed according to manufacturer's instructions.

The other DLS optic mount features a rear sight and picatinny rail made as one solid piece of steel. This mount will allow you to mount a wide variety of optics which attach to a picatinny rail. The rail is low to the revolver's top strap, but generally does not allow co-witness of the optic and the revolver's iron sights. Using an optic which detaches when required will allow you to use the revolver's iron sights positioned at their maximum sight radius as the need arises. The iron sights will have to be confirmed for zero as mentioned above.

Modern factory S&W revolvers have typically featured one of two different designs of cylinder releases. Both are compact and suitable for general use. However, both designs have sharp edges and commonly require the revolver be substantially shifted in the hand to allow activation of the cylinder release by pushing inward and forward. Substantially shifting the revolver causes time to be wasted and revolver retention to be lessened. Serious shooters always seek to save time and improve performance. Some competition oriented cylinder releases are large enough to allow improved speed, but are so large that they are a concern for daily carry and CCW. They also interfere with the shooter's weak hand thumb cocking the hammer into single action mode when it is proper to do so.

The DLS enhanced cylinder release was designed to improve speed loading by allowing shooters to be able to push the release straight forward without shifting their strong hand's firing grip. With the DLS release, flipping the revolver sideways is no longer required to open the cylinder. One handed cylinder release and opening is possible for urgent situations. The DLS design is also undercut so shooters can avoid cutting their thumb knuckle during recoil, and the release can be further melted/blended for custom projects. The release is well scalloped to allow for moon clip and speed loader use. The release is compact enough in size that it is suitable for CCW, and the compact design still allows weak hand thumb cocking of the hammer when it is proper to do so. The rear face of the release has fine serrations for ample traction, while still not being so sharp that it will cut cover garments. The enhanced release is suitable for duty, daily carry, tactical, hunting and competition use.

For shooters who use a gun safe for revolver security, instead of the revolver key lock, they will benefit from a cylinder release design that covers the key lock recess and minimizes entry of dirt and grit. (This is not a release design for those who use the revolver's key lock on a regular basis. It is suitable for those who want to use the key lock to disable the revolver, then reattach the release, during times of long term storage).

These cylinder releases are precision machined from stainless steel, and they work well with nearly all revolver grips/stocks, including the PRG revolver grips. Available in matte or polished stainless steel.

Cylinder release installation is simple: remove the slotted cap nut that retains the factory cylinder release and replace it with the DLS enhanced release. ONLY USE A TINY DAB of loctite on the inside threads of the slotted cap nut, applied with a toothpick tip. Use only low to medium strength loctite #222 or #242. Do not use more than a TINY dab or you will bind up the workings of your revolver!

The DLS hard use replacement rear sight for Colt revolvers is designed to completely replace the factory adjustable sight. To remove the adjustable sight simply tap out the retaining cross pin that goes through the sight and the top strap of the revolver, and remove the sight's elevation screw completely. The adjustable rear sight will then lift out of the revolver's top strap.

There are three levels of installation for the DLS Colt sight: single screw, double screw, and double screw and cross pin. The simplest is putting the sight into the revolver's top recess and screwing the sight into place with the included 4-48 retaining screw. Be sure to have the cylinder open when testing the screw for length. Make sure the screw does not protrude through the top strap and into the cylinder window. If it does, the screw will have to be slightly shortened. No need to reinstall the adjustable sight spring when installing the new fixed sight.

Shooters who require more durability from their Colt revolver can have their gunsmith use the tiny pilot hole in the tang of the DLS fixed sight as a guide hole to put in a second screw. 6-48 in size is recommended. Drill through the sight and frame's top strap with the correct tap drill, then remove the sight, tap threads into the frame, and clearance hole and countersink the sight tang. You will then be able to use dual screws to retain the sight in the top strap. Shooters who require ultra durability can also have their gunsmith reinstall the retaining cross pin through the top strap and through the new DLS sight. This pin hole will have to be drilled at exactly the correct location through the sight.

Once the sight is installed, and proper zero is confirmed and or adjusted, the screws can be loctited as described above.

DLS Ruger GP100 and Redhawk sights can be installed with a single 6-48 screw. Simply remove the factory rear adjustable sight by removing the top strap cross pin and the adjustable rear sight's elevation screw and the sight will lift out of place. Install the DLS rear sight and screw it down with the supplied 6-48 torx screw. Once the zero is confirmed, you can loctite the screw in place with medium strength #222 or #242 loctite. DO NOT use high strength/high temp loctite.

If you want to make your sight installation extra heavy duty you can choose to re-install the cross pin OR have your gunsmith use the tiny pilot hole in the DLS rear sight tang as a pilot hole to install a second 6-48 screw. On the Ruger sights you CANNOT do both the cross pin AND the second screw because the sight tang is not long enough. Either way makes for a very heavy duty sight installation. The second screw method requires drilling and tapping so that is normally reserved for gunsmiths.

You can reinstall the cross pin by test fitting drill bits through the frame cross holes while the sight is out of the frame. Make sure you select the perfect size drill bit. Then install the rear sight, and snug down the 6-48 screw. Then carefully spot drill the sight from BOTH sides of the frame. Then remove the sight from the frame and final drill the sight half way from both sides of the sight tang and meet in the middle. This should keep your cross pin hole in proper alignment. Take care not to scratch your frame or oversize the frame's cross pin holes.

The plunger retained front Ruger sight is a simple swap out process. Make sure you test zero and make any adjustments required. The front sight can be gunsmith pinned in place if you so desire.