New M&P 9 full size: What sights to buy?

[smitty704]

I know this can be a pretty open ended question, but I have been looking at sights tonight and it's almost overwhelming at all of the options on the market.

First, let me tell you what roll this pistol will fill. It will be my home defense, "gun beside the bed" pistol, but also a range gun. It wont be my EDC, the G19 is for carry. The DCAEK is almost installed as well as the RAM, and now it's time for some sights.

The rear sights I have looked at: plain black Warren Tactical sights, plain black Bowie Tactical Concept sights, plain black Novak, 10-8, etc.... What I'm getting at is I like the untraditional black rear with a fiber optic front. I will be shooting mostly indoors at medium to close ranges.

As far as front sights I would like a fiber optic front, probably Dawson Precision. I like the POA/POI of the stock sights and dont want to change it much.

What sights do you guys recommend? What do you think about plain black rear sight? And what heights do you recommend to maintain the POA/POI from the factory sights?

Thanks in advance.

-smitty704

[mkmckinley]

I use the Ameriglo SW-201 Pro i-Dot sights for my Glocks and M&Ps. They work great for any defensive role and are as easy to pick up as fiber optic sights. For a defensive gun I stay away from fiber optics because the rods can break. The simple dot-over-dot configuration of the i-dots is intuitive and the orange paint is very fast to acquire. The paint is subjectively 90% as bright as my fiber optic sights in most lighting conditions. I don't notice a difference between trying to track a fiber optic sight and on of the Pro-Glo fronts.

[smitty704]

I use the Ameriglo SW-201 Pro i-Dot sights for my Glocks and M&Ps. They work great for any defensive role and are as easy to pick up as fiber optic sights. For a defensive gun I stay away from fiber optics because the rods can break. The simple dot-over-dot configuration of the i-dots is intuitive and the orange paint is very fast to acquire. The paint is subjectively 90% as bright as my fiber optic sights in most lighting conditions. I don't notice a difference between trying to track a fiber optic sight and on of the Pro-Glo fronts.

I just checked those out and they look sweet! They will be on my short list that's for sure.

What do you think about Ameriglo's set with the black serrated rear? I have yet to shoot a pistol equipped wih a black serrated rear.

[mkmckinley]

I have a set with the black serrated rear and a few with the non serrated rear and 6 o'clock tritium ampule. I don't notice a huge difference shooting during the daytime between the two. At night or in low light the ones with tritium are obviously easier to pick up. The rear sight just need to frame the front without distracting the eye or taking focus off the front. I find that serrations get damaged a little over time and the exposed metal is more likely to cause a glinty spot than the standard non-serated rear. That alone has been enough to keep me from buying any more serrated rears for carry pistols.

I do have a pure range/competition gun and on that I use Dawson Precision's excellent serrated adjustable rear and fiber optic front. They're great sights but they live in a padded case when they're not being used at the range.

[smitty704]

I have a set with the black serrated rear and a few with the non serrated rear and 6 o'clock tritium ampule. I don't notice a huge difference shooting during the daytime between the two. At night or in low light the ones with tritium are obviously easier to pick up. The rear sight just need to frame the front without distracting the eye or taking focus off the front. I find that serrations get damaged a little over time and the exposed metal is more likely to cause a glinty spot than the standard non-serated rear. That alone has been enough to keep me from buying any more serrated rears for carry pistols.

I do have a pure range/competition gun and on that I use Dawson Precision's excellent serrated adjustable rear and fiber optic front. They're great sights but they live in a padded case when they're not being used at the range.

Excellent advance sir, thank you very much. It will stay away from using the serratic rear sights on my carry gun. I really like the look of those Ameriglo Pro iDot's.

[Jonny4523]

I'm a big fan of the Dawson's for competition/range use. But for my bedside gun I use TruGlo's TFOs. Have you given any thought to something like that? It has the fiber optics in front and back that pick up a lot of light during a day at the range. But at the same time, it can sit in the drawer for weeks without seeing any light. Then you get it out when it is pitch black and your dots are still as bright as ever.

[smitty704]

I'm a big fan of the Dawson's for competition/range use. But for my bedside gun I use TruGlo's TFOs. Have you given any thought to something like that? It has the fiber optics in front and back that pick up a lot of light during a day at the range. But at the same time, it can sit in the drawer for weeks without seeing any light. Then you get it out when it is pitch black and your dots are still as bright as ever.

Ya know, I have looked at the TFO's but for some reason the massive front sight turns me off. Maybe I'm being closed minded. I the front sight prone to breaking? I have this is true but obviously haven't seen it myself.

[Jonny4523]

Ya know, I have looked at the TFO's but for some reason the massive front sight turns me off. Maybe I'm being closed minded. I the front sight prone to breaking? I have this is true but obviously haven't seen it myself.

I've put these sights on 2 pistols and neither one has ever experienced a break. The first pistol is what I got started in USPSA with. The second is my EDC and bedside pistol. I have heard of them breaking, but I have quite a few rounds through both of these and have never had them break. But I've never dropped it on concrete or anything like that either.

I have had several front FO break with my Dawson sights. But I run a pretty small diameter rod that see a lot more rounds than any of the pistols with the TFOs. The front FO on the Dawsons are also very cheap and easy to replace and only take about a minutes to do. Not sure how much a replacement for TFO is or how difficult it is to replace.

[jumpthestack]

I like the Warren Tactical 2 dot night sights. I used to have a SIG with the TFOs. Aside from any question of the tubes falling out, I think the front sight is way too big on the TFOs.

If you're worried about exact POI, you can always get a slightly higher front sight and file it down to the right height. Also, a lot of the aftermarket sights are slightly oversized in the base to ensure a tight fit on all pistols, so you might need to sand the base of the sight down a little bit to get it to go in the dovetail.

[TAZ]

My glock wear the Ameriglo's linked to above and my MP9 has Trijicon HD's. They are very similar in appearance, but not in price, however for some reason the HD seem to allow for a faster sight picture. Not sure if it's due to the lower recoil of the 9 or just enough difference in the sights, but the HD works better for ME.

Neither sight set is a bulls eye sight though. Both have big front dots that obscure a lot of real estate on a target so there is a trade off there. How much is going to be purely subjective.

Also used Warrens as well. They worked well and offered very good accuracy as well as speed. However as my eyes crap out I find the big orange ball much easier to track than the white dot of the Warrens.