Open sights

[Mojo58]

Which type of sights are faster to align? The horizontal dots (Trijicon) or vertical dots (Heinie). I remember reading somewhere that one type is easier and faster for the human eye to align.

[John_Wayne777]

Which type of sights are faster to align? The horizontal dots (Trijicon) or vertical dots (Heinie). I remember reading somewhere that one type is easier and faster for the human eye to align.

Sight arrangements are an intensely personal thing. Most folks are going to find that a particular arrangement works better for them than others.

[Jay Cunningham]

I read somewhere that vertical is faster - that doesn't make it true.

For myself, the three dot Trijicons were too busy; I replaced them with flat black Heine slantpro's on the back and low profile trit dot on the front.

This arrangement made a world of difference for me.

[Robb Jensen]

I second that sights are a very personal thing.

I'm mostly a competitive shooter (USPSA/IDPA) I'm not trying to shoot 2" groups at 50yds, I'm trying to hit a 30cm x 48cm A zone in USPSA and a 8 inch circle in IDPA everytime as fast as I can. Most targets aren't more than 20yds. Average is probably 12yds for both games.

For shooting fast I find that a thin front sight (.100") and a pretty wide rear notch are very fast. They do give up a slight amount of precision for speed.
How fast the sights align are probably the last thing that will improve your shooting speed. Things like your draw speed, how fast you do reloads, target transition, movement between arrays is where about 90% of the wasted time is located.

There's a pretty well know instructor who argued with me (on his own forum) that Ashley XS sights are great for accurate shooting fast. My argument was that they are incredibly fast but not at more than about 10-15yds. He then made a video of himself shooting a standard standard Pepper Popper at 100yds in 9 seconds (it didn't really prove anything, just that he's a pretty decent shot). A few people on this forum have seen me repeatedly hit a small piece of steel at 150yds (this piece of steel is about the size of the mini Pepper Popper) in about 6 seconds (draw and shoot) with my old Glock 34. For me that's about being able to hit it in about 4.75sec as my average draw speed is 1.2sec.

For those that don't know how big Pepper Popper and Mini Poppers are, they're on page 86 of this PDF USPSA/IPSC rulebook (http://www.uspsa.com/rules/Handgun_15th_2004.pdf).

[John_Wayne777]

I read somewhere that vertical is faster - that doesn't make it true.

For myself, the three dot Trijicons were too busy; I replaced them with flat black Heine slantpro's on the back and low profile trit dot on the front.

This arrangement made a world of difference for me.

I also find three dot arrangements to be a pain.

The best arrangement I have found thusfar is plain black sights like Heinies or Novaks and then painting the front sight bright yellow with model paint.

Works great for me.

[Mojo58]

Thanks guys. What I was alluding to was a study that examined the way the eye organizes images (eg. vertical alignment vs. horizontal alignment). I appreciate that everyone has a personal preference. If my memory is correct, during a unbiased and objective evaluation, one was considered more eye friendly. Anyone remember this source?

[Bonk2029]

I remember seeing that study, but have no idea what the final result was (damn, I am about useless today.... FWIW, I prefer the standard Trijicons.