Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Best sights for personal defense

I've been using Glocks with factory NS for a long time and never thought I needed anything new/different for personal defense. Fast forward to my latest aquisition - a G19 sporting XS Big Dot NS that I picked up as a partial trade towards a rifle I was selling. At first I wasn't very keen on the "Big Dot" sight but after using them for awhile now I REALLY dig this sight!! Its definitely not a target sight but for fast target aquisition on 1st and/or followup shots, this setup is fantastic and has made a noticible difference on my speed and accuracy. I love the XS ghost-ring sights on my lever-actions and this is definirely one more product from their lineup that I would highly recommend!

So what sights are you running and how would you rate them for personal defense?

Plain black Novaks on my autos and whatever S&W sent their revolvers out the door with. Most normally the narrow ramp front and gutter rear on my M36 and or the post on my High Standard derringer I have in my pocket.

I really like the Trijicon HD night sites with the orange front sight. I've got them on several "carry" guns.

Big Dot Tritium is probly the best with Trijicon HD next

I put these on my Springfield TRP and really like them. Plan to put them on some others when I get around to it.

I'm not sure that A LASER SIGHT wouldn't be the best self defense sight.

I am a big fan of Tru-Glo Day-Glo sights. Nice and large for my aging eyes.

I've bought more sets of Trijicon's then anything else for defensive pistols, Meprolite's come in 2nd!


Mike

I've used Glock branded night sights, Meprolights and Trijicons for years and they were all fine. Now that the eyesight is changing at "computer" distance, I have been running TFXs on one gun and they seem to offer the best combination for all lighting conditions. The weird part about the TFX sights is that the top of the front sight is lower than the top of the rear sight if the dots are lined up. It takes some time to get used to the correct sight picture.

I have a Big Dot on a NAA Pug, and I don't think I would want that on a gun to be shot at distance.

I have some HD sights on order for my Glock 43, so I have not had a chance to test drive them yet.

There's a bit of a learning curve with XS sights, but once you figure them out, you can do some pretty good work with them at any distance you would likely use your pistol for defensive use .... especially if you have visual acuity issues.

I use plain black Heinie's but it's only because I hunt with my carry guns. The express sight design isn't really a proper sight for that purpose.

I don't know about a laser being the best but I do know that showing that red light where a hostile citizen can see it makes them downright negotiable if not friendly.

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I wear trifocals and struggle with just about all factory sights and particularily dislike the 3 dot arrangements common on many. I tried the XS Big Dot on a M&P for a while - shot it well initially, but seemed to shoot worse over time which makes no sense to me. I switched to Warren Tacticals and really like them - Trijicon dot front with a single, smaller (more subtle) Trijicon dot rear. I put a Warren all black rear on a 1911 that came with a Trijicon front and like that as well or better. For me, an all black rear with a wider notch so I can see some daylight, and some kind of dot front seems to work. I'm using fiber optic front sights on most of my revolvers for field use.

Most folks tend to overwork the XS sight system and doing that not only fails to produce a better result, it's actually counterproductive.

The "express" sight configuration was designed to do one thing; get you on large targets quickly at relatively close range. The XS does that extremely well.

In my opinion, it doesn't really matter what sight system you use as long as you can see your sights. Especially the front sight.

What makes the difference is practice. Practical practice.

No sight compensates for knowing how to shoot and operate your handgun. And where it hits when you do shoot it.

Lots of people spend large amounts of money on sight systems marketed to give a better this or that, or one that they say gives them a no-fail edge.

Their money would be better spent on ammo to practice with, and getting familiar with the operation of the gun they depend on.

Another vote for Trijicon HD's

I love the BIG DOTs. Love 'em.




Travis

'visual acuity issues'

Holy [bleep]

As much as I enjoy shooting a laser, I don't think they're nearly as fast as the Big Dot when fast matters. That being said, I'm very glad my LCP has a laser in case I'd need to aim it!

I always practice point shooing - just in case!
It's also a lot of fun.