A few M&P Questions

[Tornado_Racing]

I've had my M&P9 for about 6 months now and had a few questions for you guys.

1. For HD how far out should I zero my CT Laser?
2. Who makes a smaller/thinner/taller front night sight?
3. A good option for a matching rear sight?

I would like to increase my sight picture as much as possible for shooting at distance. I am having a hard time with accuracy on the stock sights and would like to improve my long distance sight picture with a thinner/smaller/taller front sight.

TR

[wahoo95]

Hey Tony...Take a look at the following sights:
10-8 sight
Heine sights
Warren Tactical

If you can make it out to the PHA match this weekend there wll be a few guys with upgraded sights for you to check out.

[John_Wayne777]

1. For HD how far out should I zero my CT Laser?


That's a matter of personal preference. Just realize that just as with a red dot optic, there is an offset to deal with when you zero a laser. It will only be truly zeroed at one distance.

If you zero for a really close range like 5 yards, you will create a significant offset at longer ranges. In order to zero at 5 yards you have to set the diode inside the CT unit at a severe angle, which would place the laser dot far off the path of the bullet at 5 times the distance, 25 yards. If, however, you zero at 25 yards the laser's beam will be fairly close to the path of the bullet for most of the 25 yards. The tradeoff there is that there will be some offset (low and to the right) at closer distances like 5 yards.

Generally speaking, offset is easier to deal with at close range with a handgun than at longer ranges.



2. Who makes a smaller/thinner/taller front night sight?
3. A good option for a matching rear sight?


I use Warren Tactical sights on my M&P's. Heinies would also be a good option.



I would like to increase my sight picture as much as possible for shooting at distance. I am having a hard time with accuracy on the stock sights and would like to improve my long distance sight picture with a thinner/smaller/taller front sight.


You may find that a smaller front sight can actually make that somewhat worse.

A narrow front sight allows a lot of "light" around the front sight when you are looking at it through the rear notch. Often narrow front sights are sold in packages with rear sights that have wider than normal rear notches. This setup is great for being able to see the front sight somewhere in the rear notch at speed at relatively close distances, which aids in placing accurate shots.

The downside to that sort of sight picture is that the narrow front sight and wide rear notch make it more difficult to notice a slight misalignment of the sights. It's easier to get the front sight a little bit too far to the left or a little bit too far to the right without realizing it. That's not a big deal at 5 yards, but at 25 it can make the difference between hitting in the black or in the outer scoring rings.

A number of bullseye shooters actually prefer to have a very minimal amount of light around the front sight so that they see a bare sliver on either side of the front sight as confirmation that they're on the money. If they see no daylight on one side of the sight then they know they are misaligned.

[Magsz]

JW,

In regard to your last statement i think its uniquely personal preference how your sights are set up.

I prefer a thinner front sight as it obscures less of the target up close and at distance.

I believe you can tailor your light bar ratio to give you essentially any degree of precision you desire with your chosen widths in the front or rear. The key word or statement being light bar ratio.

Let me know if that makes sense.

[John_Wayne777]

I agree. Sighting preferences are generally intensely personal and what works best for one application may be sub-optimal for others. I've found in my experiments with sights that the wider rear notches are my preferred setup, but I have to really dial in and pay attention when it comes time to hit that 5.5" bullseye at 25 yards.

[Magsz]

JW,

Ive settled on warren rears with the .150 notch.

For my front sights ive gone from .125 to .115 to .100 and im staying with the .100's.

To the OP, find what light bar ratio works well for you and run with it. We are going to be hard pressed to tell you what is going to work "best" for you.

If you're looking for something in the middle so to speak, try the warren/sevigny sight sets. I believe they have an option for a .115 width front coupled with their .150 rear.

[mnoe82]

I've had my M&P9 for about 6 months now and had a few questions for you guys.

1. For HD how far out should I zero my CT Laser?
TR

I zeroed mine for the longest possible shot inside my home.

[Tornado_Racing]

Thanks for all the input guys. Went to the range today and at distance the front sight is blurry and it's hard for me to pick up the target.

I've been looking at the VTAC sights, not too happy with the price tag though. I may take and tapper the stock front sight and open up the rear some and give those a try.

I've got a threaded barrel and considering a suppressor so opting for taller sights may be the best route to go.

[Tornado_Racing]

I agree. Sighting preferences are generally intensely personal and what works best for one application may be sub-optimal for others. I've found in my experiments with sights that the wider rear notches are my preferred setup, but I have to really dial in and pay attention when it comes time to hit that 5.5" bullseye at 25 yards.


Today I did put 20 out of 22 on a shoot-n-see 8" at 20 yards but like I said the front sight was very blurry making it hard to pick up the target.

[SteveL]

I put Warren Tactical 2 dot night sights on both of my M&Ps and really like them so far. I also zeroed my CT laser grips at 30 yards for the reasons John Wayne777 explained above and I've been happy with the results.