Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Let's talk about front sights

Have you, or have you ever seen someone pick up a handgun and say, "I sure wish the front sight was much wider"?

Honestly, what's up with making front sight blades so thick that they cover the ENTIRE black on a 25 yard bullseye target? Is it that they are building all handguns on the off chance that it will be purchased by Mr. Magoo?

Now honestly I can deal with a wide front sight blade(don't like to, but I can), especially if there's tritium in there. What I can't deal with/tolerate/understand is a rear sight with a notch that is so small that the light coming in on either side is less than that of an Olympic free pistol. And that's the situation for nearly every combat pistol I've ever seen??? WTF, Over???

With the exception of my S&W 617, I have taken a file to either the front, rear, or BOTH sights to get a respectable amount of light through. After all, our eyes are collectors of LIGHT for crying out loud.

What's up with this? Is it just me? Are you happy with the arrangement for the vast majority of handguns? Or should we just medicate Gibson to get him to shut up, and perhaps send him off for an eye exam?

I've only bought two guns recently, a SA XD-S and a Kahr CW-9. Have not noticed a problem with front sight width.

I have the front sights of the important handguns cut to .100.

Kevin,

I recently bought a Ruger 1911.
One of the first things I did was open up the back sight to the edge of the white dots.

It was a simple job with a needle file, and sure makes the gun easier to hit with. It makes target accusation a LOT quicker.

Virgil B.

I really don't mind a largish front sight, probably because I am damn close to being Mr. Magoo. I have never understood the concept of rear sights being so narrow that the front sight takes up all the space on either side. In my mind the night sights on Kimbers are horrible in regards to the narrow rear sights.

I have begun replacing the sights on my Glocks and Kimbers with TruGlo day glo sights as my vision deteriorates.

-Z

Besides for durability, that's the main reason that I replace the sights on my Glocks.

I hate wide front sights, but generally speaking I think factory sight options are all designed by knuckle dragging, window licking, that's-the-way-we've-always-done-it idiots anyway.

I just had my front sight on my Wilson/Colt Gold Cup converted to the Wilson low mount battle sight.

This sight is slick for tired old eyes but even for young eyes it's slick.

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Lo-Mount-Adjustable-Sight-Blade-Battlesight/productinfo/428BB/

I dont mind a fat front sight as long as there is plenty of width in the back. The current gen 4 factory night sights on the glock are horrible in this respect, almost no daylight on either side of the front site.

This is currently my favorite sight but the head poobah has said that all guns must be exactly out of the box, no polishing, sights, grip mods etc for uniform use. What is strange to me is that for off duty almost anything goes and our patrol rifles are supplied buy the officers and are as varied as you can imagine.

Adding these and a better trigger are a huge asset for me once you get past bad breath range.

http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/glock/night-sights/complete-sets/i-dot

I agree that most factory front sights are too thick, but I think that's the factories being responsive to their customers.

Most new pistol buyers want "combat" type sights. If they shoot at all it will likely not be at 25 yards on a Bullseye target, but much closer (15 or even 7 yards) on a silhouette target.

My home range just installed several new 7 yard bays, in response to member demand, in addition to the open-air "action" range bays that are about 15 yards deep. Go there on a weekend and every short-range bay will be taken up. Go to the 25/50 yard pistol range and it'll be wide open.

If the factories aren't selling precision, it's likely because noone's buying.

Derby I like that rear sight. That is another issue on sights that has always bothered me, why do they have to be super wide on the rear. IMHO the best rear sight I have ever used was the HK P7, it was a wide notch but a narrow overall width so targets were not obstructed while aiming.

The worst sight setup I have ever had was an old S&W 1917 45ACP. The front sight was like half a nickel, very wide and high in that shallow narrow grove on the frame. Could not hit well with that one. Another I am mixed on is the sights on the 357PD (41 mag version of the 329PD) The red fiber optic sight in the V groove rear blade is not so hot at paper, but does work well at distant targets.

I've always heard that bigger front sights are faster and better suited to "combat". But in actual use I've never found them to be noticeably faster.

My preferred front sight, 20 degree cant, serrated and .100" wide.

I do to. I have been able, when I do my part, off a rest get a 3-4 shot group at 25 yards that could be covered by a .50 piece. That's plenty good enough for me.

KG, we are of the same mind on sights. I replaced the sights on my HP many years ago with Novak's sights. When I picked it up at my gunsmith one look through the sights and I knew it wasn't going to work for me. I had him open up the rear sight and all was better. I prefer a plain black rear sight so I don't have to worry about dots, bars or white outlines when I open them up. I later bought a 1911 and put the same sights on it with the rear sight opened up just like the HP. The front sights show up very well now for fast shooting and I have no problems with longer range precision.

Glock sights are the absolute worst in this respect. They mount a front sight that looks like an 8 inch concrete block and then a rear with a narrow gap that is completely filled by that bastard of a front. The best thing to do is take a pair of channel locks and twist them off, just before you replace them with a set of Heinie's.

I prefer thick front sights....if I see daylight on either side of my front sight then my sights are not properly aligned. To me it's faster to shoot with a wide front sight at the 6 o'clock position than any other way.

This is the type of light I like, Ameriglo front sight and a glock rear opened with a round rasp. I think the rear is about .175" and is perfect for my eyes.

Ding, ding, ding; we have a winner. Yep, that's exactly how I see it too.