View Full Version : Handgun Sight Sets You Favor and Why?
Doc Safari
10-27-17, 16:37
I'm posting this in the semi-auto forum since most of us have a semi as our carry or primary HD piece. There are exceptions of course, so don't be afraid to chime in.
After I tried many flavors of sights over the years, I have put these on every semi-auto pistol I own:
https://www.xssights.com/Handgun_Sights_pr-8208.aspx
XS Big Dot Sights:
PROS
1. Easy to see and pick up quickly
2. Their suggested sight picture: dead on at close range/6 o'clock hold at longer ranges works just fine for me
3. Seem to be as robust as other sights (haven't broken a set yet)
CONS
1. Having a Tritium vial in the rear, though, is hard for me to pick up. I prefer the white ring with Tritium in the front and just the plain white verticle line in back (DXW). Great daytime sights. At night the Tritium is hard to see in any light, but if your tactics involve holding your flashlight in your off hand while aiming the pistol in the other, the sights appear as a dark "dot" silhouettte sitting in a trough. Great sight picture. Easy to pick up when you are holding your only light source.
2. People make fun of you for putting "old geezer" sights on your gun. I counter with "when you hit 50 and your eyesight ain't what it used to be you may very well say, 'Hey, these are great sights--nice and easy to see.'"
YMMV
What's your favorite sight combo and WHY?
Eurodriver
10-27-17, 16:48
The best sighting system for a handgun is a 1 or 3.25 MOA LED RMR
Followed not closely at all by Trijicon HDs
I like the Dual Illumination RMR. It’s always on, and it operates by Tritium or Fiber optic. I don’t want Sights that have to turn on and off. I like them always on.
I’ve put a lot of time into shooting from presentation and in transitions with them.
The advantage of an RMR is fast transitions, more precision, and consistency in all light conditions. I was shooting my Dueling tree at 25 yards in low light very consistently. Most people shoot Dueling trees at much closer distances (half that).
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171027/794655614b3f5da3f818a0ef273ed17e.jpg
I do prefer having backup Tritium sights, too.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171027/9f89e586c2cfd1bc538531ed22b889df.jpg
One set of sights that has me fascinated are the Meprolight FT bullseye which use just a rear sight, and it works, in theory, like a reflex sight. I don’t need any new sights otherwise, I’d try them out.
I liked the XS Big Dot, as the acquisition of a Target is fast. I just didn’t like it for longer distances (greater than 15 yards), personally. Most of my other sights are just standard Tritium sights (1911s, Non-MOS Glocks, Sig Sauer).
Instagram: MuzzleblastMD
Despite approaching geezer status ( 51 a few days ago) being brought up an old school bullseye shooter I still prefer big plain black sights. My carry glocks have the ( now discontinued) plain black 10-8 performance front and rear. In daylight on white painted steel and buff colored targets they show up great. For low light I always use and carry a flashlight and once you illuminate your target to identify the black sights also show up just fine ( in contrast once white light is introduced most “night sights” are overwhelmed by the light and the bright colors disappear anyway)
militarymoron
10-27-17, 17:08
Iron sights - trijicon HD XR with orange circle, paired with a U notch rear (I have 10-8 or Warren Tactical). My geezer eyesight does better with a hi-vis front rather than the plain white outlined tritium vial. I also like the narrower XR vs the wider HD.
Otherwise, adjustable RMR because my aforementioned geezer eyesight is making it harder for me to focus on my front sight.
Doc Safari
10-27-17, 17:11
You guys using RMR's, if you CCW do you carry pistols with RMR's? (I'm asking because I'd like to know how!)
You guys using RMR's, if you CCW do you carry pistols with RMR's? (I'm asking because I'd like to know how!)
I do. I use a backup SUPPRESSOR height Tritium sights.
My holster is a GCode IWB.
Instagram: MuzzleblastMD
RM06, or Dawson Precision FOs.
I carry the RMR daily.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not my "preference" I guess but Trijicon HDs with rear sights blacked out.
I got orange because it reminded me of the old S&W ramp front sight but should have gotten the neon yellowish ones.
My personal stash will start wearing Dawson FOs and/or RMR because it is 2017, and I want that easy button life
militarymoron
10-27-17, 17:54
You guys using RMR's, if you CCW do you carry pistols with RMR's? (I'm asking because I'd like to know how!)
I'm not quite there yet, plus my RMR is on my G17. If I have a gun with me, it's my 19 which is iron-sighted only.
I can say that a group wanted a better "bump in the night" package that was SF 21 based with the ti-rant can a few years ago. Not EDC, but very thought provoking for uses. They preferred suppressor height sights in an unusual combination that placed the rear sight very close to the breach face, with the dual illumination RMR further behind that. The rear sight placement reduced the soot/ fouling accumulation on the lens. They had the ability to use irons or dot, depending on the environment. With both eyes open, the dot could be below the rear sight, but still make acceptable engagements.
Dawson adjustable sights. Black rear, FO front. Very crisp sight picture, rugged, and precisely adjustable for POA.
For non-irons, Trijicon RM09. Crisp 1 MOA dot and durable for a slide mounted red dot.
Trijicon HD. Front sight is relatively large and jumps out compared to rear in light, rear notch is not overly small, rear sight lends itself to racking on makeshift edges
My absolute favorite is the Trij HD with the yellow paint color up front and green front/yellow rear tritium. I only have one pistol with those, the yellow rear tritium part was hard to find
ETA: What do you know optics planet has those in stock right now for the basic Glocks for -only- $141
LMT Shooter
10-27-17, 21:22
I also use the XS sights, been using them for about 10yrs. I wasn't aware if there were other options with an oversized front sight when I found XS sights, but I am to this day amazed at how easily I can see the front sight with them, both on the draw and during recoil. I could never actually see the front sight clearly in recoil before, just a vague image. I like the rear vertical bar better than 2 dots, but don't particularly feel the rear sight shape is the best. I plan to try Trijicon HD's when I buy my next sights, to compare to the XS sights.
Old school Heinie straight eight night sights on my duty pistol and my concealed carry.
gunnerblue
10-27-17, 21:58
Trijicon HD’s due to the bold front and dark U-notch rear. I would rather not have anything illuminated or highly visible on the rear sight and find the HD’s rear tritium vials very inconspicuous. My primary and secondary duty handguns as well as my private carry guns all wear XD’s. Dawson fiber optic with a plain black rear would be my second choice for the same reasons.
If we are ever able to mount optics on our work pistols, I plan on giving the RMR or Nano a go. Do any of you find it difficult to go back and forth between irons and optics?
I also use the XS sights, been using them for about 10yrs. I wasn't aware if there were other options with an oversized front sight when I found XS sights, but I am to this day amazed at how easily I can see the front sight with them, both on the draw and during recoil. I could never actually see the front sight clearly in recoil before, just a vague image. I like the rear vertical bar better than 2 dots, but don't particularly feel the rear sight shape is the best. I plan to try Trijicon HD's when I buy my next sights, to compare to the XS sights.
63 years old and like most folks over 50, I have presbyopia and it is a PIA. Used Big Dots for some time. Love the big front dot. Love the bar at rear. But the same as above post, consider shallow express rear notch the weak link in this system. Personal preference would be more defined notch with rounded bottom.
The ultimate "old eyes" solution for me has been multifocal contact lens with lens power selected to see thumb nail clearly at arms length rather than conventional reading distance most optometrists default to (this is also optimal for computer work). This allows me to use conventional sights.
On my Walther PPQ's I use an Ameriglo Pro Glo (use Glock site with small washer and LOTS of blue loctite; this has not failed over several years) and a 10-8 rear with rounded bottom. I find I am as fast as Big Dots, but have an advantage at 10+ yards.
Trijicon HD or Ameriglo pro glo sights. Priorities are bright green dot, i dot, then unotch.
I’m trying an rmr this month, so I can’t comment on that yet.
I have really become fond of the Wilson Combat sights for the glock. The U rear black out notch just sucks my eyes to the front fiber optic sight. I have found I prefer the u rear notch vs the traditional square. How the wilson is only 1/2 serrated, around the outside edge, and the middle where the U notch is has no serrations is what my eyes now prefer.
johnnywitt
10-28-17, 11:45
Ameriglo BOLDs' (FBI's w/ a Square Notch Rear) with the .125 orange front swapped out with a Green .140 on the 19 & 26. On a 17, 17L or 34 I would stick with the .125 Front, or maybe if I was younger without presbyopia for all Glocks.
I want to try the new FBI sights with the U Notch Rear as well. I will still swap to a Green .140 front though. I've shot U Notch before and couldn't get my head around them after a Lifetime of shooting Sq. notch rears, but maybe I will have another go at them.
I'm done with the Trijicons, tear you up and don't hit POA/POI @ 25 (at least for me) and they are expensive as well. Additionally, I also really like the CS over at Ameriglo: good Folks IMO.
"Range gun" sights; .100" to .090" wide, green FO FS with "BoMar" type adjustable rear having .140" square notch.
FS is thin enough there is a lot of daylight beteen FS and rear.
"Carry gun" sights; .125" serrated ramp or blade with Tritium vial for FS with Standard Novak or Heinie, fixed, rear sight.
I shoot gun from bench (25 yds.) with carry ammo of choice- and order the FS of appropriate height to shoot right on top of the Tritium dot at 25 yds.
Phillygunguy
10-28-17, 12:58
Ameriglo Hacks have them on 2 glock gen 4 19s I like then because they're low profile bright orange front sight with tritium and black rear sight. Easy to pick up only focus on the front sight
I have Trijicon HD front with a Vickers battle sight u notch rear on my glock 17 but the sights are too tall for me.
QuickStrike
10-28-17, 13:59
I like the warren tacs with the 3 lamp set up. Most 3 dot tritium sights on my stock sig and berettas are pretty decent though, so I don’t feel a great need to swap them out.
Tried the trijicon HD’s on my mk-25 and was shooting worse, so I swapped it back to stock.
For me, I don't think that there is a sight system available that does "great" in all lighting conditions. Hopefully, it won't be a unicorn chase in the end. Some factory sights are really good, same with some aftermarket ones, but not in all conditions. Without us being able to forecast the conditions for when we might require them, then this is still an evolving process.
I found myself migrating from tall front / full rear blade style of Heinies that I literally had on all my pistols before, to lower front sight post / minimalist rear sights. I found that I acquire shorter front sight faster than a tall one, and I also found how much rear sight plays out in concealment. That's for carry guns. Game guns, standard 0.100 fiber front / 0.120 LPA rear. Optic, none of them meet my criteria so I don't.
IrishDevil
10-28-17, 19:38
Redback One Enhanced Combat Sights with fiber optic front. Rear is serrated front and back with a wide notch, works great for single hand manipulations. Best sights I've found next to Heinie Straight 8s which I also have on a pair of guns with Ameriglo fiber optic front sights. I've found tritium sights are pretty much unnecessary for me.
dirkmagurk
10-28-17, 20:13
I've been using the Ameriglo Defoor sights for a couple years now on two Glock 19's and one 17. I'm extremely happy with them, they hit POA/POI at 25 yards which is about as far as I spend any serious time training with a pistol. They are also cost effective and have a nice clean sight picture both in day light and low light in conjunction with my x300's.
Trijicon HD, Lime front. I pick up the lime front ring better than I do the orange which I have on my G19. I also own Ameriglo which are great for the money.
Straight Shooter
10-29-17, 06:23
Amerigo CAP'S on 4 Glocks. Brightest sights Ive ever seen in pitch black...very easy to pickup fast in daylight.
I generally use Warren Tactical or WC/Vickers; both give great sight pictures and have features I like. If it is a range pistol or has a weapon mounted light I use a F/O. I lean toward a Trijicon HD-XR front on a carry pistol.
I use Warren Tactical (FO front/plain Black rear) for gaming and Trijicon HD’s for SD.
Redback One Enhanced Combat Sights with fiber optic front. Rear is serrated front and back with a wide notch, works great for single hand manipulations. Best sights I've found next to Heinie Straight 8s which I also have on a pair of guns with Ameriglo fiber optic front sights. I've found tritium sights are pretty much unnecessary for me.
It's funny.. I ran Jason's RB1 sights for years with the narrow tritium front sight. After taking a class with Frank Proctor I was convinced to give a narrow fiber optic front sight a try. I really liked that setup, so I ordered Dawson Precision fronts to go with my RB1 rears. Next thing I know RB1 is doing the same thing.
I've been using 10-8 rears and fiber optic fronts as of late. I like it.
For me, I don't think that there is a sight system available that does "great" in all lighting conditions. Hopefully, it won't be a unicorn chase in the end. Some factory sights are really good, same with some aftermarket ones, but not in all conditions. Without us being able to forecast the conditions for when we might require them, then this is still an evolving process.
So in other words, blah blah blah, just like every other vague and informationless post you make.
So in other words, blah blah blah, just like every other vague and informationless post you make.
Is there something specific that you would want discuss in detail?
No, you just have a weird way with words. I read everything you post, but most of it is so vague that I don't get anything out of it.
No, you just have a weird way with words. I read everything you post, but most of it is so vague that I don't get anything out of it.
Sorry that I came off that way with you. I do get varied responses from others about my level of details. In person it seems to some to be in excess and that loses them. In this case I guess, since I can't type as fast as talking, I'm losing some at least the other way?
Hey, 17K, it's just his way.
If one were to quibble, your post: I've been using 10-8 rears and fiber optic fronts as of late. I like it. really doesn't give anyone anything specific to consider other than some unknown dude named 17K likes 10-8 rears. Why do you like the 10-8, fiber optic combo?
My preference for my daily shooter's (full size) are non-fiber optic Dawson Precision Competitions. I like about .020 difference between front width and rear notch on full size pistols, that seems to be the best compromise for quick centering and precision.
The guns that I carry have either Defoor Tactical sets with their tritium fronts, or Heinie Straight-Eights. I prefer those sights because they give me the option on having a crisp black front sight picture (like my daily shooters) if things are well lit and the tritium dot to confirm alignment in dim light situations.
To me, the weak point with the Defoor's is that they are not for the casual shooter who presents and then has to search for his front sight in the rear sight. To use them quickly your mechanics of grip and presentation have to be sound. In that respect the Heinie's 'dot the i' is more forgivable.
Even though I am not a 'three dot' guy, our bedside gun is an M&P with stock nights and a WML - the night sights are for if the WML fails.
Much like Tom12.7 suggests, to get where I am with these preferences has been a journey that involved a lot of, in particular, front sight replacements.
TLDR: No one sight is going to be PERFECT for all situations.
Ya know......lots of folks been done in over the centuries with blade sights.
Sights can help, but yeah....nothing is ever 100%.
Hell....look at the old Smiths and Colts of the 1800s. Ol' JEB Stuart didn't have an RDS. Neither did John Wesley Hardin.
Oh well. It seems like tom is going to come out with some seriously insightful stuff then he loses me. :lol:
To clarify my sight preference, 10-8 rear with a .140" notch with a 10-8 .125" wide red fiber optic front.
I'm thinking about trying a .154" notch rear to see if I like it, but I'm scared the wider notch might be too sloppy for me.
Ameriglo Spauldings for me have them on 4 glocks simple and effective
I like a front sight of about .115-.125 wide. Bright white, or green/lime with tritium.
For the rears .135-.165 wide depending on sight radius and the front sight. Blacked out.
A bright front sight is quick to pick up. Blacked out rears help focus attention on the front sight. A narrow to medium width front sight increases my precision.
Not necessarily in the “favorite” category, but I did the free mod on my PX 4 sights. Blacked out the rear dots, and painted the front dot red. I saw zero difference in speed during dry fire practice, and wasn’t even sure I would like it. Then I shot it live yesterday. Previously, I was shooting a few inches low, which I can only assume was my fault.
270 rnds fired:
100 Singles from holster, 7 yds, random beep: time is still on par with my average; accuracy showed immediate improvement. First shot went through the “zero” in the “-0” on the IDPA target, much to my surprise. I did not expect any accuracy improvement. I also expected a time improvement on the first shot from the holster, which did not occur. I sped up as I warmed up, but I don’t think the sights did that because I felt like I was getting quicker on the draw, rather than quicker confirming sight picture.
50 strong/weak: no change. I suck too bad at this for sights to make a difference, anyway. I am the limiting factor.
120 rnds; pairs and triples from holster, 7 yds IDPA target, random beep: splits improved, alot. I was able to track the sights during recoil, and get back on much faster. The rear sights seemed invisible on the second and third shot, but I was still hitting -0 and -1. Also, I dropped fewer shots than usual into the -1.
I got more out of this mod than I expected, especially since dry fire was unremarkable. Cheap and reversible. My front sight focus was improved in a very obvious way.
Yup... It's not getting old that sucks... It's BEING OLD that sucks. Now that I'm over 50, I just gave up on trying to shoot like I did when I was 25.
I just put a pair of these Tru-Glo TFX pro on my G20. They work great so far.
48637
I notice Sig is making a front sight similar to these. I am probably going to put them on my Sigs also. The hi-vis fiber optic/tritium combo is GREAT for my older eyes.
Has anyone here ever used reverse taper sights, like the ones that come on the “Honor Guard”? Shelf in the front for one handed manipulations, slant in the back to prevent snags.
I like Warren plain black rear/ FO front for the Range or comp. I like the Trijicon HD for carry.
Ya know......lots of folks been done in over the centuries with blade sights.
Sights can help, but yeah....nothing is ever 100%.
Hell....look at the old Smiths and Colts of the 1800s. Ol' JEB Stuart didn't have an RDS. Neither did John Wesley Hardin.
Been giving this post a lot of thought. 100% correct with the added caveat that Tritium is beneficial in less than ideal lighting conditions and sights like the Trijicon HD's even more so as we approach and then pass 50 years of age. From a certain perspective nothing more should be needed than standard Tritium sights without any added colored or even white rings.
Then i start thinking about Sergeant Alvin York. Colt 1911 (neither Ted Yost or Bill Wilson worked on that gun), 7 round (non-Mccormick, Wilson, etc.) magazine, non-match grade barrel, service trigger, and barely visible sights. He wasn't using Slip 2000, Fireclean, Frog Lube or Mobil1. He wasn't using HST's, Rangers or Gold Dots. 6 Germans dead.
Sancho Panza
11-18-17, 10:52
I prefer the simple, USGI type sights of the M1911A1 & M9. Only difference is I like 3 dot, as on Commercial offerings.
No snag.
ExplorinInTheWoods
11-18-17, 17:03
I like trijicon HD's for my carry 19 and dawson fiber front and black rear on my 34 MOS. I've played a little with the 3.25 MOA RM01 non adjustable and the dot size is good but i just have not worked with it a whole lot.
I prefer the simple, USGI type sights of the M1911A1 & M9. Only difference is I like 3 dot, as on Commercial offerings.
No snag.
I don't disagree that the M9 has a decent set of sights, the single rear dot is fine, I always blacked the rear out and left the front alone. The 1911A1 sights are good for slow fire accuracy in good outdoor light, suck for everything else. Too tiny.
Trijicon HD's. I'm just now dabbling with the whole RMR set up on a gen4 19, and it is really starting to grow on me
GiddyHitch
11-21-17, 11:37
Oh well. It seems like tom is going to come out with some seriously insightful stuff then he loses me. :lol:
To clarify my sight preference, 10-8 rear with a .140" notch with a 10-8 .125" wide red fiber optic front.
I'm thinking about trying a .154" notch rear to see if I like it, but I'm scared the wider notch might be too sloppy for me.
I’m running a similar 10-8 setup but with the Defoor widths (.115/.155) based on his demonstrated capailities with them and feeling that stock sights are typically too tight for either speed or accuracy for me. I initially compromised by getting the u-notch thinking that i preferred a square notch but I have definitely come around to agreeing that a square notch is slower at speed due to the eye being drawn to the extra straight line in the sight picture.
17K, if you think that .155 is too wide, you really wouldn’t want to run the .180 Ameriglo Hackathorn rear on my G19. No real issues with it and a .135 FO front in an Aaron Barruga class for me but it’s definitely more work when shooting 25y bulls and I want to standardize on the .115/.155 10-8s with a u-notch.
I like the Vickers Tactical sights that came on my Vickers Glock 19; although the front sight worked itself loose after 50 rounds that was nothing that loctite couldn't fix. I really like the wide rear notch, serrated rear blade and bright yellow front sight. Not the greatest sights for precise work, but very fast.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.