If you are going to use the XS Sight would you prefer the Big Dot or Standard Dot? Does anyone uses these sights and how do you like them ? Accuracy wise how do the compare to stand Night Sights?
A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
Most detractors of XS sights complain that the Big Dot covers too much of the target and doesn't allow for precision shooting at small targets. Well they're right. The sight system was designed for hitting relatively large targets at relatively close range in low light. Within those design parameters, the sight system works as designed and I find it VERY quick to use.
The Standard Dot was not initially offered but was introduced later simply due to customer demand, not because it had merit. The Standard Dot largely negates the attributes of the XS sight system and I find it no better than post and notch sight system.
Like most things � these observations are subjective.
Last edited by 41magfan; 06/30/12.
The uninitiated are always easily impressed. NRA Endowment Member
You may want to look into the Trijicon HD sights. They have a flourescent circle (orange or yellow) around the front vial and just a "dash" at the bottom of the rear notch. PS The yellow actually has a green tint to it.
If XS would supply a Tritium rear sight i would go with the Big Dot on my Shield since it is a primary Personal Defense Weapon. I have Trijicon on most of my carry guns but not the HD's
A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
I use the standard bead on my XS's Bea, the big one covers to much of the intended target, also very simple and quick in the dark, just keep that dot bouncing on top of the I, and keep her lit.
Most detractors of XS sights complain that the Big Dot covers too much of the target and doesn't allow for precision shooting at small targets. Well they're right. The sight system was designed for hitting relatively large targets at relatively close range in low light. Within those design parameters, the sight system works as designed and I find it VERY quick to use.
Excellent post, you've summarized the strengths and weaknesses nicely.
I've tried the Big Dot sight at night and it's really fast on close targets. The standard dot really gives no advantage over a good tritium over-and-under configuration like the Heinie Straight-8, and loses ground to the Straight-8 (or similar sights) that work in daylight just as well as any conventional square-notch rear sight.
So in my view, if you're going to an XS sight, go to the Big Dot.
"I'm gonna have to science the schit out of this." Mark Watney, Sol 59, Mars
Just a suggestion: Resist the urge to overwork the sight. By that I mean, don�t look for finite feedback from the sights as far as alignment goes. If you have a long history with traditional post & notch sights you will have to embrace a different expectation regarding feedback. Put the dot in the shallow grooved rear sight and let the shot go with a smooth trigger pull.
All my experience with XS sights comes from shooting a friend�s guns after he installed them on every pistol he owned. I shot the piss out of them every chance I got before he joined the sight of the month club.
Let me illustrate what I was alluding to about overworking the sights. We have a permanently mounted 10� metal plate on our range off to one side. We use it verify sight adjustments and as a stationary target when coaching students, etc. With his pistols, I could ring that plate with a single round in under 2 seconds from the holster at ranges back to 25 yards IF I LET THE SHOT BREAK AS SOON AS I VERIFIED ROUGH ALIGNMENT. If I took a few extra tenths in an attempt to really clean up my sight alignment, my hit probability actually went DOWN.
For a guy approaching 55 years old with 3.5 diopters of corrected vision, that�s smokin� my friend. I haven�t seen a clear front sight in almost a decade without glasses set up specifically for shooting and this shooting was done without my �shooting� glasses.
Give them an honest try at realistic targets at realistic ranges and let us know how it goes.
The uninitiated are always easily impressed. NRA Endowment Member
I have a number of pistols for target shooting and wanted these sight for my carry pistol for close fast target acquisition on my Shield which isn't a target pistol by a long shot but will say it is accurate for it size . I believe if i ever have to use my carry pistol for self defense the range will be less than ten yards and probably closer to five and if the range exceeds more than 10 yards it will be hard to defend as a justifiable shooting and i don't want to go to jail. I believe these sights will fit the bill for what i want in a carry gun. Will post how i like when i install.
A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
