Tall vs short pistol sights

[rifleman0311]

I occasionally use compensators on my pistols so I usually grab "supressor ready" models due to the threaded barrel and ability to co witness if I thow a red on it. Question for you all....does anyone notice poi/poa shifts or accuracy issues comparing standard sights to the taller ones? I don't really notice much difference...and I'm wondering if I'm starting to prefer taller sights over stock sights. I do pick them up faster. Any thoughts or experiences comparing the two would be great. Thanks

 

[CDR_Glock]

I have several pistols that are Suppressor hosts. Majority of them have the Suppressor height sights.

I have no discernible differences in POI for any.

Some hosts do not have those higher sights, though, and I’m still able to hit well without them.

Because of shots like this...

I get pistols like this.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Taller sights are farther away from the bore axis duh: ). This means that, regardless of the zero distance, the arc of bullet travel between the near zero and the far zero is going to be more pronounced. What that means for you depends on what distances you shoot at.

 

[Road_Clam]

Question for you all....does anyone notice poi/poa shifts or accuracy issues comparing standard sights to the taller ones?

None whatsoever. Fixed sights weather they be low profile, or tall suppressor are designed to impact a specific point at a predetermined distance with a specific weight bullet at a predetermined velocity. It's up to you to test and determine exactly what that combination yields as far as POA hold and distance. I actually really like my FNX45T's tall suppressor sights. Very quick target acquisition and a nice wide field of view of the target.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Taller sights are farther away from the bore axis duh: ). This means that, regardless of the zero distance, the arc of bullet travel between the near zero and the far zero is going to be more pronounced. What that means for you depends on what distances you shoot at.

I must be suffering Thanksgiving hangover -- as I simply don't understand the point you've made.

I don't understand why a taller set of sights (which ride higher over the bore) or a lower set of sights (which ride closer to the bore), will result in different bullet arcs.

Perhaps you're making an obvious point that is eluding me (it wouldn't be the first time that has happened)...

But, it seems to me that with either set of sights (high or low) given the same barrel length and loads, and the gun sighted to hit the point on the same near or distant target, the amount of adjustment needed to change the point of impact should be the same regardless of the sight's height about the bore axis. That's because the bullet's path (i.e., its arc) is dependent on bullet velocity and gravity (the time it takes the bullet to get there) and whether the shooter picks the right point of aim. I don't understand how the sight's height above the bore axis can affect the bullet's arc.

If you're saying the bullet will hit a distant target at the end of the arc rather than at the front, I see your point, but don't understand why the shorter sight's height above bore axis is ever going to affect the point of impact more than the taller sight's height above the bore axis a greater amount than the difference in the sight heights... That's how I interpreted your comment above. Maybe I just read too much into it?

Can you expand a bit on that point?

 

[Sharkbite]

Walt, just like hight over bore makes a difference when mounting a scope and the adjustments needed, a taller set of pistol sights will have a similar effect.

The effect is so small that most people cant shoot a pistol well enough to see it, it is there none the less

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Walt, just like hight over bore makes a difference when mounting a scope and the adjustments needed, a taller set of pistol sights will have a similar effect.

The effect is so small that most people cant shoot a pistol well enough to see it, it is there none the less

Let's start with a handgun or rifle on or in a fixed rest, and shooting the same rounds and shooting at the same point on the target -- with the target close or distant.

I agree that you must compensate for that "sight" height difference when you change from one sight set to the other, but what you are doing then is changing YOUR LINE OF SIGHT (what you see through the sights) to make the sights work with the existing bullet path. Which is an ARC.

Whether the sights are tall or short, the bullet path from the barrel in the gun rest will be the same regardless of the sight set used, and where the bullet hits the target will vary depending on how far away the target is.

If the sights are adjustable, the fix is easy. If they're fixed, you've got to change your point of aim and be more creative -- but the bullet path (from barrel to target) will be the same whether the tall sights or shorter sights are used. The barrel IS the BORE AXIS and THAT is what dictates where the bullet will hit on the target.

You've just changed how you look at the target using the sights so that what you see is what the barrel is pointing at.

 

[lordmorgul]

The difference is the Point Blank Range or “Combat Zero” changes as sight height increases.

If you take an extreme case it’s easier to see. When you separate the sight line origin from the bore line origin by several feet, the angle between the sight line and the bore line would be larger to zero the sight, it would result in only being able to make the parabolic arc of the bullet path cross the sight line once, not twice as is common with lower sights, for instance the AR15 zeros of 30m/300m, 25y/300y, 50y/200y, etc, as the bullet rises above sight line and returns to sight line.

If pistol sights are high, you’ll have a wider range between the bullet crossing the sight line, increasing the “combat effective zero” distances provided the bullet is moving fast enough. But as consequence, the sights are actually inaccurate over the distance between the two sight line crossings to some degree.

If you zero for the distance you’re shooting for score, it never matters what your sight height is, provided there is no obstruction of sight picture.

40s&w 185gr at 900fps, vital zone 5in, zero at 25y, drop table shows at 70 yards to get the end of combat zone drop, 66 yards if shorter sight height, it’s basically not a pistol-range relevant phenomenon.

Andrew - Lancaster, CA
NRA Life Member, Calguns.net contributor, CGF / SAF / CRPA / FPC / NRA-ILA contributor, USCCA member

 

[Walt Sherrill]

The arc the bullet travels is the same whether the sights are HIGH above the bore or close to it. The arc DOES tighten as the bullet's velocity slows and gravity has more time to drag the bullet down.

The arc the bullet follows changes because of physics-- and NOT because of the sight's height above the bore axis. More adjustment may be required to make the line of sight (using the sights) coincide with the point of impact with one set of sights than the other -- and I think that was probably the point Aquila Blanca was making but that point didn't come through clearly as I read it.

I've got several ballistic charts like the one shown above. Many of them start with the barrel LEVEL, and you see nothing but bullet drop as the distance increases.

Other charts from some ammo makers use 25 yards as the the desired point of impact, and they show an arc that has the bullet's arc rising until 25 yards and then dropping from that point. Like this:

My point was that the arc will be the same regardless of sight height -- and the point that Aquila Blanca (and you, I think) were making was that the amount of adjustment may be greater, depending on the height of the site and the distance to the desired point of impact -- especially when shooting at a target close to the shooter.