Best defensive handgun sights

E

ECHOONE

Moderator
Ok could use some feedback on what everyone feels the overall best defensive handgun sights are with the exception of XS Sights as I looked into these and although they do have some strong features for me they had some drawbacks that knocked them out of the running.
the sights need to be accurate for close in as well as working out to longer distances, they need to be durable and reliable, prefferable something that has enough edge that it could be used to catch the belt or heel to do a one handed draw of slide, once mounted it should blend nicely onto a round slide 1911 and not have any square edges hanging from slide making it look like a backyard mechanic put them on, the front sight should be Tritium or Fiber optic if you pick one over the other state why, the rear sight should be able to be aquired in several notch widths as I probably would like a wider notch for added space between my front sight for my eyes that are starting to get older, I like the Idea of a tritium bar on the rear sigh of a notched sight,but cant seem to find one out there 3 dot system I have it's ok but seems a little to busy for me.Heine Pro straight *'s are nice but think there over priced
whats everyone using and how happy are you with them and if you were to do it over again what would you do?
 
Some folks are arguing that the Warren Tactical two dot tritium is a great combat sight. Here is a photo taken of them in a dark room:

warren-mp-ns.jpg



And here is an illustration of how faster it is to line up two dots compared to three:

sights.jpg



Retail price for this complete sight set is $115

Visit: http://www.warrentactical.com/

for more info.

.
 
For me the best choice is something with a big square notch in the rear and a big square post up front, both with tritium inserts - IOW Patridge style night sights. I prefer different colors between the front and rear. I also prefer a good bit of space to be visible on either side of the front post.

I don't believe you lose any speed with the square notch and post and you gain precision at longer distances.

My only complaint with the two vertical dots is that it doesn't look to me like it gives a good vertical reference. How do you know how far apart to keep the dots? I guess practice would show you but with three dots you put them at the same height and keep the odd color dot the same distance from the other two.
 
The best night sight is the one that puts a small, brilliant red dot smack dab on the target. I have three handguns that can do that, and would not buy one that can't. The company that made my brilliant red dot thingies also has an outstanding customer service as well.

Gwan, guess ---
Jack
 
I like the Idea of a tritium bar on the rear sigh of a notched sight,but cant seem to find one out there
Click to expand...
Is this what your looking for?

PT Bar/Dot

bar.gif



I always had troubles with the two dots over the three. With the two dot, how do you know for sure your alignment is correct? Your only getting half the solution, and even then, you dont have a reference. If all you can see is the dots, you dont have anything to verify or visually compare to know the alignment is correct.

Seems it would be better if the dots set on top of each other, like SIG's bar/dot, instead of having a gap.

My problem with them is, my brain is drawn to worrying on solving the solution of the sights gap instead of just shooting. I dont have that trouble with the three dots.

With the three dots, you get instant verification, both horizontal and vertical. You get an even row of equally spaced dots and the bullet goes where the center dot is placed.

I realize at close range it all means little, all of them will let you index the gun, but for more precise and/or longer distance shooting, I think the three dot is the way to go


I suppose a lot of it is what you learned on and what your used to too.
 
I can consistently hit sillouette targets in the center at 25 yards with my XS Sights. They're not for shooting bulleyes, but they are the fastest defensive sights out there. I put them on 3 pistols, including one used for IDPA shooting. The problem is that most people rarely shoot anything but targets at 25 yards. The public range I go to most won't even allow rapid shooting or shooting closer than 25 yards. Slowfire target shooting IS NOT defensive shooting. Yeah, taking my XS Sighted pistols to a bullseye range is gonna be a drag, but by golly it will eat up the metal targets!
 
Greetings,

The best defensive sights have to be either XS 24/7 or Novak ghost sights. Theres even a tritium trapezoid set that is supposed to be pretty quick.

I've tried the XS's on a Beretta I had and they are extremely fast! They're not very accurate at longer distances, but for self defense it shouldn't be a problem. I didn't put very many rounds through the XS sights so i'm sure accuracy could be improved.

A gentleman from Border patrol told me the Novak Ghost sights are great and there was little difference in accuracy at 25 yards compared to standard sights. I've been interested in these for a while and might have to slap a set on my .45.

Other than that, I suppose a wide notch rear sight would be your best bet. You have to choose what you want. Do you want target sights for accuracy, standard sights as a middle ground, or XS/Novak Ghost sights for speed?

I would definately rethink the XS sights!

Take care
 
Thanks for the reply's so far, I looked at the Warren Tactical very nice sights but looks like there only made for the Glocks at this time, The Mepro's look good but I hear there Tritium doesn't last as long as the Trijicon's do, the one sight shown with the bar was close but looking for a bar like the Sig sights with a vertical bar post not Horizontal but they only seem to make that sight for Sigs. Granted The XS big dot is one of the fastest defensive sights for defensive shooting but its been documented that alot of people using them have found themselves completely lossing there front sight when they found themselves trying to sight against a white back round , IE a white room,furniture,curtains, you get the idea. not saying it going to happen but it could very well happen in a home defense scenerio a lot of homes have whitewalls, loosing your front sight could cost you your life,I'm not taking that chance with my sights. Seems the best is to stay with what I'm accustom to and have been most accurate with over the years just upgrade to night sights and a wider notch with contrasting dots just decide on the style I like that has Trijicon vials
 
I once read in a scientific journal somewhere that the human eye is biased towards discerning vertical misalignment versus horizontal, meaning that the human eye can perceive a vertical object faster than a horizontal object (trying to find that documentation now).

Because of this tendency, the "ball over bar" sight configuration is quicker for the eye to process than the horizontal "three dot" sight configuration.

Interestingly, the human eye is however able to perceive horizontal misalignment more precisely. For example: have you ever noticed a picture hanging on the wall that appears slightly off level? Try measuring how much it is off next time...the eye can perceive a distance of less than 1/100th of an inch!

The Sig Sauer and the XS sight system "ball over bar" is far quicker for the eye to process, a debatable benefit in combat situations, while the "three dot" system may perhaps be more precise for target shooting.

XS sights:
xssight.gif


Sig "ball over bar" sights:
sights.jpg
 
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Great info on vertical/horizontal alignment, thanks. I would have to concur with that since lining up my XS sights was so fast and easy.

I've never came across any "documented" cases of someone losing the big dot on white targets, but if that's a potential problem just get the standard dot. I've heard it's pointless to get the standard dot versus the big dot, but I bought the standard dot and thought they were great.
 
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